I'm on another forum and this was posted there about the dangers of tires older than 6 years and thought you all might want to keep this information handy.
Tire Manufacturing Date Code
To find the date code on a tire, look for a three or four digit number at the end of all the small numbers and block letters imprinted on the tire around the wheel rim for the manufacturing date code. Note that on tires older than a year or so, these date codes are often only visible on the INSIDE of the tire, which means you have to get under the car with a flashlight to see them.
The first two numbers in the date code are the week number in the year the tire was manufactured. In a three-digit date code, the last number "x" is the final digit in year 199x. In a four-digit date code, the last two numbers "0x" are the final digits in year 200x.
Examples:
414 means the tire was made in the 41st week in 1994...
4202 means the tire was made in the 42nd week in 2002...
231 means the tire was made in the 23rd week in 1991...
2301 means the tire was made in the 23rd week of 2001.
None of these tires should be sold and installed now as "new", because they're too old. Yet some dealers will try to install old tires like these as new on your car when you buy replacement tires. Don't let them do this to your car.
Hidden Tire Date Codes
Linear Mode
