Revelations that old, unused tires could be hazardous — and that manufactures chose not to tell Americans about this tire defect — have many scrambling to find out if they have defective tires.

Further, with the amount of letters and numbers on a the sidewall of a tire, it’s no surprise the average consumer has trouble understanding all of this alphabet soup – if the consumer even knows there IS information on the tire.

While some people may know how to tell the tire’s width and size, the manufacturer, and the maximum inflation pressure, it is less common to know how to read the tire’s DOT serial numbering system. This DOT number was never really meant to be read by the consumer, but it includes valuable information about the tire including when the tire was manufactured – something that could determine if your tire is “expired.”

To locate your DOT number, find the 3 or 4 numbers at the end of the serial number. If a tire has three numbers, it means that the tire was made prior to January 2000, and four numbers indicates that the tire was manufactured after January 1, 2000.

The first two numbers indicate the date of manufacture, and the last number indicates the year. For example, 175 would indicate the tire was made in the 17th week of 1995. If the tire says 3206, it shows the tire was made in the 32nd week of 2006.

Some experts believe that tires do have a shelf life and that it is critical to the safety of the consumer. Tires can sit on shelves in stores for years before they are sold. While there is no official expiration date on tires, research and tests show that tires begin to dry up and degrade after about six years of age – even if they’re never been driven a mile.

These “new” tires may look new on the outside, but begin to dry out and lose elasticity. This can cause tread separation, even if the tires have plenty of tread depth. If a tire de-threads at highway speeds, the result could be a deadly vehicle accident. Motorists should check their tires’ manufacturing date and replace the tires after six years of age – regardless of the mileage.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Defective Products, Tire Defects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.