Tires: Cooper CS4 Tires, DOT Date Code

Question
I can't find a manufacture date on my new tires.  Can you tell me how or what the date is?  The only numbers I can find are:  DOT U9LM CL3

Answer
Patsy,

DOT codes are a 10 to 12 digit number located near the letters "DOT".  BTW the digits can be numbers or letters.

The first 2 digits are a code for the manufacturing plant.

The next 2 digits are a code for the tire size.

The next 3 or 4 digits are a code for the type of tire.

The last 3 or 4 digits are the date code.  The format is week/week/year/year or week/week/year

Starting in the year 2000, the date coding used is 4 digits.  That means the highest number you should see for the year is 08.  Before 1999 the format was 3 digits.  1999 and 2000 are transition years, so you will find both 3 and 4 digits.

What you are missing is the date code.  The date code only has to be on one side - and I'll bet it is on the inside.