Deciphering Date Code on Tire

Updated 12/31/2020 | Published 12/30/2020

Question:

The last four digits on my tire are F9U4, it is a ST205/75R15 load range D

asked by: Terence Q

Helpful Expert Reply:

A tire date code typically begins with the letters 'DOT', which indicates that the tire meets the minimum Department Of Transportation standards for tires sold in the US. The last 4 digits of the code should be all numbers, with the first two indicating which week of the year and the second two digits indicate the year the tire was constructed. For instance, if the last 4 digits were 4216, it would mean that the tire was manufactured in the 42nd week of 2016.

I ran the code you provided through a DOT index decoder I found online and got no results, so I suspect the number you provided isn't actually a date code.

Usually the tire date code is printed on both sides of the tire, but not always. I'd recommend looking at the other side of the tire to see if the code is there. I'll link you to our series of trailer wheel and tire help articles.

expert reply by: Mike L