Tyre tool
Tyre age calculator: read the DOT date code
Find the week and year a tyre was made and when it is due for replacement.
Every tyre carries the week and year it was made at the end of its DOT code. Type those four digits to see how old the tyre is and where it stands against the usual replacement guidance.
Check a tyre's age
Worked example: 2319
- Made
- Week 23, 2019
- Age today
- 7 years 4 months
Over six years
Past the six-year point some carmakers give for replacement, whatever the tread looks like. Plan to replace it.
Made in the week starting 3 June 2019. Five years: 3 Jun 2024. Six years: 3 Jun 2025. Ten years: 3 Jun 2029.
Guidance, not a rule: these are the intervals commonly advised by carmakers and tyre makers. Heat, sunlight, under-inflation and long parking age a tyre faster; your vehicle handbook and a tyre inspection decide.
Examples
| DOT date | Made | Age | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1224 | Week 12, 2024 | 2 years 7 months | Under five years |
| 3621 | Week 36, 2021 | 5 years 1 month | Five to six years |
| 0820 | Week 8, 2020 | 6 years 8 months | Over six years |
| 4517 | Week 45, 2017 | 8 years 11 months | Over six years |
| 2214 | Week 22, 2014 | 12 years 4 months | Ten years or more |
Ages as of 25 October 2026.
How to find the DOT code on a tyre
- Find the DOT code. Look on the sidewall for the letters DOT followed by groups of letters and numbers. The full code is often moulded on one side only, so check the inner sidewall too, with a torch if the car is parked close to a wall.
- Read the last group. The date is the final group of four digits, usually set apart from the rest, sometimes in a small oval. The letters and numbers before it identify the factory, the tyre size and the maker’s own batch.
- Split it into week and year. The first two digits are the week of the year and the last two are the year. 2319 means week 23 of 2019, the week starting 3 June 2019.
- Work out the age. Count from that week to today, or type the four digits into the tool above, and set the age against the five, six and ten-year guidance.
Tyres made before 2000 used a three-digit date (week and the last digit of the year). Any tyre with one is far past every guideline. The DOT code itself is a United States requirement; tyres sold in India usually carry the same four-digit week-and-year date on the sidewall, with or without the DOT letters in front of it.
How old is too old
Rubber ages whether or not the tyre is used. Oils in the compound dry out, the rubber hardens and grip in the wet falls away, and fine cracks open in the sidewall and between the tread blocks. Heat, sunlight and long periods parked speed this up, which makes it a real question in Indian summers and for cars that sit for weeks between drives.
The guidance most often given runs in three steps. From five years old, have the tyres inspected at least once a year. Some carmakers advise replacing tyres at six years whatever the tread depth. Tyre makers commonly give ten years from manufacture as the outer limit for any tyre, including a spare that has never touched the road. This is guidance, not a rule: a tyre that is cracked, bulging or worn to the tread-wear indicators needs replacing at any age, and your vehicle handbook takes precedence.
Check the date when you buy
New tyres can spend months in a warehouse before they are sold. A tyre a year old at fitting is normal; one several years old is not new in any useful sense, and you are entitled to ask for fresher stock. Read the DOT date on each tyre before it is fitted, not after.
Sources
- US eCFR 49 CFR 574.5: tyre identification requirements (the DOT code and its date) (checked 25 Oct 2026)
- NHTSA: tyre safety, sidewall markings, the tyre identification number and tyre ageing (checked 25 Oct 2026)