Monsoon tyre checks in 2026: what the campaigns looked at

Dealer monsoon campaigns put tyres on the checklist again this year. BMW Group India announced its annual Monsoon Service Campaign on 30 June 2026, offering a complimentary health check at its authorised workshops that included a tyre condition check for tread depth, cuts, bulges and irregular wear. The tyre industry runs its own safety drives through its association ATMA, focused on two things every driver can check: inflation pressure and the tread wear indicators. Here is what those checks look for, and what the law requires.

What the dealer campaigns checked

BMW’s 2026 campaign list, alongside the washers, the rain sensor, headlamp alignment, door and sunroof seals, brakes and the underbody, covered the tyres’ condition: tread depth, damage such as cuts and bulges, and irregular wear. The company said the campaign was meant to give owners guidance on vehicle care during the rainy season.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s campaign of the previous year shows the same pattern in a mass-market network. Announced on 3 July 2025 for its dealerships in South India, it offered a free 20-point check including tyre and battery testing, with offers on tyres and batteries, and advised customers to keep tyres at the right pressure for monsoon driving.

The tyre industry’s safety drives

ATMA, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, and its technical wing, the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee (ITTAC), run tyre care campaigns for motorists. Under a tie-up with Indian Oil, ATMA describes a pan-India drive at Indian Oil retail outlets in which motorists are taught about inflation pressure and tread wear indicators, with booklets in several languages. It lists Apollo Tyres, Birla Tyres, Bridgestone India, CEAT, Continental India, Goodyear India, JK Tyre, Michelin, MRF, TVS Tyres and Yokohama among the members that have taken part in its safety campaigns.

The drives also offer hands-on checks. At a three-day drive on the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway in Maharashtra in January 2024, organised with the state road development corporation, certified engineers from member companies carried out free tyre health checks at the Nagpur entry point, timed to coincide with National Road Safety Week.

What the law requires

Rule 94 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules requires tyres to be kept properly inflated and in good and sound condition. A car tyre whose non-skid tread depth has fallen below 1.6 mm, the level marked by its tread wear indicators, fails that test, as does one with exposed casing fabric or a bulge. For two- and three-wheelers the tread limit is 0.8 mm.

Why tread matters most in the rain

Tread grooves carry water away from the contact patch, and they carry less as they wear. A test Michelin commissioned this year, run on a Hyundai Creta at the NATRAX track in Indore, put numbers on it: its new Primacy 5 stopped from 80 to 20 km/h on a wet surface in an average of 30.5 m when new and 37.6 m when worn to 2 mm. The competing tyres in the test averaged 38.6 m new and 46.5 m worn. They are the maker’s own figures, but the gap between new and worn tyres is the point.

Checks to do yourself

You do not need a campaign to do the basics, and after a season of rain and broken roads they are worth doing now:

• Tread depth. Look at the wear indicators in the main grooves, or use a gauge. Our guide to tyre tread depth explains how.
• Pressure. Check monthly with the tyres cold, against the placard. See how to check tyre pressure.
• Sidewalls. Look for cuts and bulges on both sides of every tyre; a bulge means the tyre must be replaced.
• The spare. Check its pressure and condition too.