Tire Recalls: Check Your DOT Number and Register Tires

Recalls happen to tires too

Most drivers know to check their car for recalls. Fewer know that tires get recalled on their own, separately from the vehicle. A recall check by VIN covers the car; the tires you bought last year have their own lookups.

Two habits close that gap: knowing your tires' identification numbers, and registering them with the maker. Here's how to do both.

Where the TIN is on a tire

Every tire sold in the US carries a tire identification number, or TIN. It starts with the letters DOT and sits on the sidewall near the rim.

The catch: the full number may not be on the side you can see. NHTSA advises checking both sides of the tire, because the full TIN may not be on both. On many cars that means a flashlight and a look at the inboard sidewall, the one facing under the car.

What you're looking for:

• The letters DOT, followed by a string of letters and numbers.
• A group of four digits at the end. Those are the week and year the tire was made.
• If the code stops short of four digits, you're probably on the partial side. Check the other sidewall.

NHTSA's 2015 rule standardized a 13-symbol TIN with a three-symbol plant code for new tires, so you'll see both older, shorter numbers and newer, longer ones on the road. Either way, a recall lookup needs the whole thing, not just the date. The date tells you a tire's age. The full TIN tells a recall database which tires you have, down to the plant that built them, so one wrong character can turn a match into a miss. A clear photo beats copying it by hand on a dark garage floor.

Type the last four digits into the reader below to see when a tire was made. Then copy down the full number.

Our guide to reading the tire date code breaks down each part of the number.

How to check a tire recall, step by step

1. Find DOT on each tire, spare included. Check both sidewalls.
2. Copy the full TIN for each tire, or take a clear photo of it.
3. Enter it in the USTMA Tire Recall Lookup. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association's free lookup takes the full TIN and covers recalls on tires made by its members from 2000 on. If a tire matches, it gives you the maker's contact for the remedy.
4. Search NHTSA's recall site at nhtsa.gov/recalls. For tires, it returns recalls, investigations and complaints by tire brand and tire line. Use it for brands outside USTMA's membership, or when you're not sure who made the tire.
5. If a tire is recalled, contact the tire maker and follow its instructions for the remedy. Our post on what to do with a tire recall notice covers the free remedy and its deadline.
6. Repeat for every tire. A set that has been partly replaced can mix makers and dates.

A TIN that won't read clearly is a reason to have an installer look, not to skip the check.

Registering your tires

A recall only helps if the maker can find you. That's what tire registration is for: it links your name and address to your tires' TINs, so the maker can mail you a recall notice.

What the federal rules say

The rules live in 49 CFR Part 574, Tire Identification and Recordkeeping. In plain terms:

• Tire makers must supply registration forms to the dealers who sell their tires.
• Independent dealers, when they sell you tires, must either give you a registration form with the full TIN already filled in, or register the tires with the maker themselves, on paper or electronically.
• If a dealer registers you electronically, the rule says your invoice has to state that.

NHTSA's letter to new tire buyers puts the practical version simply: ask your retailer whether they registered you on site, or ask for a registration form.

How to register

• Mail the form the dealer gave you, with the TIN filled in.
• Or register online. Many major tire makers take registrations on their own websites; you'll need your contact details and each tire's TIN.
• Sign up for alerts. NHTSA also offers tire recall email alerts, per its new-tire-purchase letter.

Register every tire, because each one has its own TIN, and the date digits can differ even within one set.

Buying online? Plan the TIN handoff

When tires ship to you or to an installer, the person who sells them and the person who mounts them can be different. Two easy fixes:

• Photograph the full DOT number on each tire when the set arrives, before it's mounted. It's also when to check the date; our post on how old tires are when you buy online covers what to look for.
• Ask at installation whether registration is handled for you. If not, register each tire with the maker yourself.

Our post on getting online tires installed in Broward walks through that handoff.

A once-a-year routine

1. Read each tire's DOT date and note its age; our guide How Old Is Too Old for Tires? explains the five- and 10-year markers.
2. Run each full TIN through the USTMA lookup.
3. Check NHTSA's recall site for your tire brand and line.
4. Run tread, age and damage through Do I Need Tires Yet?.

If it's time for new tires, shop tires by size, with your size read off the door-jamb sticker by the Tire Size Finder. Free shipping covers the 48 contiguous states and DC. Extreme Tires installs at the Sunrise shop or by mobile van in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach; see how installation works, or call (954) 773-1896 with a code you can't read.