Tires: tire codes, Tire DOT Code

Question
Hi Barry,
The tires on a 1996 Volvo 850 we bought from my brother-in-law has a code like this:  DOT VWCB    That's it!?  Does this make any sense to you?  Appreciate the help!

Answer
Carol,

Yes,  those are the first 4 letters in the DOT Code.


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.

You should be aware that the DOT code only has to appear on one side of the tires and it is permitted to have a partial DOT code on the other.

So look on the other side of the tire for the full DOT code.