How Old Are Tires When You Buy Online? Read the DOT Date

Four new tires, one small number

The box is on the porch. The tires smell new, the tread is perfect and the labels are still on. Then you spot four small digits near the rim and realize you have no idea when these tires were made.

That's a fair question to ask about any tire, and a common worry about buying online. Here's how to read the date, what the official guidance says about age, and what to do before a single tire is mounted.

The short answer: "new" means unused, not freshly built

A tire sold as new is a tire that hasn't been used. It isn't a promise about when it came off the line.

NHTSA has addressed this directly. In an interpretation letter about a tire that was several years old when it was sold as new, the agency said it has no regulation requiring a tire to be sold within a certain amount of time from its date of manufacture.

So the age isn't set by any rule. It's written on the tire. Every tire sold in the US carries a DOT tire identification number, and the last four digits tell you exactly how old it is. NHTSA's Tire Buyers' FAQ tells drivers to check that date when purchasing tires and to know their vehicle maker's recommended tire replacement timeframe.

The clock starts at the factory, not at your car

It's tempting to think a tire's life starts the day it's mounted. The tire makers don't see it that way.

• Michelin says its guidance (a thorough inspection every year from five years, and replacement ten years after manufacture) runs from the date of manufacture, whether the tire was in use or in storage.
• Bridgestone recommends replacing tires ten years after they were made, regardless of tread depth, with a professional inspection at least once a year from five years.
• NHTSA's TireWise guidance notes that some vehicle and tire makers recommend replacing tires that are 6 to 10 years old, regardless of treadwear.

Storage matters too. Michelin's storage advice is a cool, dry, dark place away from heat sources and electric motors, because rubber does age on the shelf. You can't see a warehouse's conditions from your porch, which is one more reason the date code is worth reading.

How to read the date when the box arrives

Find the letters DOT on the sidewall near the rim. The number after it ends in four digits:

• the first two are the week of manufacture
• the last two are the year

NHTSA's example: 0308 means the third week of 2008. The full number may be stamped on only one side, so if you find DOT but no four-digit ending, check the other sidewall.

Type the four digits from each tire here to see its age:

A three-digit code means the tire was built before 2000. Our guide to reading the tire date code covers that case and the rest of the DOT number.

So what age is reasonable for a "new" tire?

Nobody publishes a single cut-off for tires at the point of purchase, and we won't invent one. What you can do is put the date next to the guidance that does exist:

Think of it this way: every year between the build date and the day you mount the tire is a year off the time the tire makers expect it to stay in service. If your owner's manual sets a shorter timeframe than the tire maker, plan around the shorter one. Our guide to how old is too old for tires lays the guidance out side by side.

Online or local, tires travel the same road

A tire on a local shop's rack and a tire shipped to your door both started at a plant and moved through distribution before they reached you. The date code doesn't care which route it took. That's why the check is the same either way: read the four digits before the tires go on the car.

What changes with an online order is timing. At a counter, you can read the sidewall before you pay. Online, the first chance is when the box arrives, so make that moment count.

How TireDrop handles it

TireDrop doesn't keep its own stock. Orders ship from distributor warehouses, which move tires through rather than holding them on a showroom floor. We don't print an age promise on top of that, because the date that matters is the one molded into your tires, and you can read it yourself.

If a date code on your order is older than you expected, call (954) 773-1896 before anything is mounted. Under our terms, a tire that has been mounted on a wheel can't be returned, even if it was never driven on. The conversation has to happen while the tires are still unmounted. Our shipping page covers how damaged or wrong tires are handled.

The arrival checklist

Do this before the tires go to an installer, or before the installer mounts them:

1. Count and match. Same brand and model on every tire you ordered.
2. Check the size, load index and speed rating against your door placard, not just your old tires.
3. Read all four date codes. Write them down by position.
4. Look for shipping damage along the beads and sidewalls.
5. Photograph each full DOT number. A recall lookup needs the whole number, not just the date.
6. Raise anything odd before mounting. Once a tire is on a wheel, your options narrow.

If you're shipping straight to an installer, ask them to read the date codes to you, or to set the tires aside until you've seen them. Our guide on getting tires installed after buying online covers that handoff and the questions to ask the shop.

After the install

The date code keeps being useful long after the box is gone:

• Recalls. Tire recalls are tracked by the tire identification number, so keep your photos.
• The five-year mark. Note when your tires reach five years from their build date. That's when Bridgestone and Michelin want a professional looking at them every year.
• Mixed sets. If you later replace two tires, the set will carry two ages. Track both.

Want a quick read on tread and age together? Try Do I Need Tires Yet?. Ready to shop? Browse by size or vehicle, and read the dates when your order arrives.