In short. A tyre lasts until the first of three limits is reached: the tread wears down to the legal minimum, the tyre is damaged, or it gets too old. No national law in the UK, the US or Canada sets an age limit for private-car tyres; the tyre makers set their own, and they do not agree. Goodyear's US site says to replace any tyre after 6 years in service, spare included; Michelin says to have tyres checked every year after 5 years of use and to replace them 10 years after manufacture; Continental recommends replacing tyres over 10 years old. The age starts from the four-digit date code at the end of the "DOT" string on the sidewall: 4521 means week 45 of 2021.
The "6 years, 10 years max" you read everywhere mixes those two positions. Below: each one with its source, the date code decoded, and a table showing whether, at your mileage, the tread or the calendar decides.
What the tyre makers and the industry actually say
| Source | What it says about age | Spare tyre |
|---|---|---|
| Goodyear US | Replace any tyre in service for 6 years or more, "even if such tire appears serviceable" and even if it has not reached the legal wear limit. If you do not know when it was fitted, count 6 years from the DOT date. A carmaker's advice can shorten that, not lengthen it | Included, whether or not it touches the road |
| Michelin UK and Australia | "After 5 years of use, have them checked by a professional at least once a year." If tyres have not been replaced 10 years after their date of manufacture, Michelin recommends replacing them as a precaution | Included |
| Continental UK | Recommends replacing all tyres over 10 years old, from the date stamp; adds that the service life of a given tyre "is not possible" to predict accurately | Not mentioned on the page we read |
| ETRTO (European tyre and rim standards body), 2 September 2024 | No age limit. Storage and service conditions vary so widely that "accurately predicting the serviceable life of a tyre in advance is not possible"; the older the tyre, the greater the chance it will need replacing after an inspection. For tyres fitted as original equipment, the carmaker's replacement advice must be followed | "Should be used with caution and be replaced as soon as possible" if old or aged |
Two things stand out. First, the counting does not start at the same moment: Goodyear counts from the day the tyre went into service (or from manufacture if you cannot tell), Michelin and Continental from manufacture. Second, carmakers can be stricter: Goodyear writes that "various automobile manufacturers" publish age-based replacement advice and tells you to read the owner's manual. We could not open a carmaker's handbook on the day we wrote this, so we do not quote one; check yours, under tyres or wheels.
What nobody publishes is evidence that a tyre fails at a given age. The ETRTO says so plainly, and so does Continental. The 5, 6 and 10-year figures are precautions set by each maker.
How to read the DOT date code
The age is in the Tyre Identification Number (TIN). On tyres made for the US market it follows the letters DOT; Michelin and Continental describe the same four final digits on the tyres they sell in the UK, and the MOT manual warns that the code is "usually located in a 'window'" and may not sit at the end of the DOT number. US federal rule 49 CFR 574.5 sets out the groups:
| Group | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Plant code | 3 symbols | The manufacturer's or retreader's plant, code assigned by NHTSA. Two-symbol codes could be used until 13 April 2025 |
| Manufacturer's code | 6 symbols | Chosen by the maker (size, type); not used on retreads |
| Date code | 4 digits | "The first and second symbols of the date code must identify the week of the year"; the third and fourth "the last two digits of the year of manufacture" |
So DOT XXX XXXXXX 4521 is a tyre from week 45 of 2021, the example Continental UK uses. Michelin explains the same four digits and calls the string the Tyre Identification Number (TIN).
If you cannot find the date. The rule only requires the full number on one sidewall. NHTSA's 2015 rule explains that radial tyres for vehicles under 10,000 lb carry either a full or a partial TIN on the other side, and that "a partial TIN excludes the date code". If the side facing out shows a shorter string without four final digits, the date is on the inner sidewall: look from under the wheel arch with a torch, or ask a fitter to look when the car is on a lift. Do not crawl under a car held only by a jack: if you need to get under it, it must be raised and on axle stands.
Three digits instead of four. Before 2000 the year took a single digit (NHTSA, 2015: "originally only one symbol"). The UK MOT manual draws the conclusion: "Tyres with a three-digit code will be more than 10 years old." By any maker's rule above, such a tyre is due for replacement.
Which week is week 01? None of the tyre makers' pages we read says. Two official texts do, and they agree. 49 CFR 574.5 uses "the first full calendar week" and adds that the week "runs from Sunday through the following Saturday" (its own example: 0109 is the week beginning Sunday 4 January 2009); Canada's Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations define week 01 as "the week that begins on the first Sunday in a year". We applied that rule and compared it with the ISO calendar (weeks starting on Monday). The difference is never more than six days, so for working out an age it does not matter, except in late December and early January.
Our worked examples, ages on 16 October 2026
| Date code | Week starts on (US and Canadian rule: week 01 begins on the first Sunday) | Age on 16 Oct 2026 | Against the makers' limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0126 | Sunday 4 January 2026 | 0.8 years | Under all |
| 5225 | Sunday 28 December 2025 | 0.8 years | Under all |
| 4521 | Sunday 7 November 2021 | 4.9 years | Under all; Michelin's yearly check starts after 5 years of use, counted from fitting |
| 0120 | Sunday 5 January 2020 | 6.8 years | Past Goodyear's 6 years, under 10 |
| 2219 | Sunday 2 June 2019 | 7.4 years | Past Goodyear's 6 years, under 10 |
| 4116 | Sunday 9 October 2016 | 10.0 years | Past Michelin's and Continental's 10 years |
| 1016 | Sunday 6 March 2016 | 10.6 years | Past every limit |
| Three digits | Before 2000 | More than 10 years (MOT manual) | Past every limit |
The arithmetic is ours: days between the start of the week and 16 October 2026, divided by 365.25. With the ISO calendar, 0126 would start on Monday 29 December 2025, a week that falls partly in the previous year.
Miles or years: which limit comes first for you
How many miles a tyre gives depends on the tyre, the car, the pressures, the alignment and the way it is driven. Goodyear's US page gives 40,000 to 70,000 miles, and 3 to 6 years, for all-season car tyres, about 64,000 to 113,000 km; it gives no source for that range, and it is far above what a soft performance tyre on a powerful car will give. We have therefore added a lower case of 25,000 miles, which is our own assumption and not a maker's figure.
The table divides that tread life by annual mileage. It shows which limit is likely to come first, not when your tyres will wear out.
| Miles a year (km) | Tread life 25,000 mi (our assumption) | 40,000 mi (Goodyear, low end) | 70,000 mi (Goodyear, high end) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 (4,800) | 8.3 years: age decides under Goodyear's rule | 13.3 years: age decides | 23.3 years: age decides |
| 5,000 (8,000) | 5.0 years | 8.0 years: age decides under Goodyear's rule | 14.0 years: age decides |
| 7,500 (12,100) | 3.3 years | 5.3 years | 9.3 years: age decides under Goodyear's rule |
| 10,000 (16,100) | 2.5 years | 4.0 years | 7.0 years: age decides under Goodyear's rule |
| 13,500 (21,700) | 1.9 years | 3.0 years | 5.2 years |
| 20,000 (32,200) | 1.3 years | 2.0 years | 3.5 years |
"Age decides" means the tyre would still have tread when it reaches 6 years (Goodyear) or 10 years (Michelin, Continental). The pattern is clear: drivers who cover a lot of miles wear their tyres out long before age matters; low-mileage cars, weekend cars, caravans and the spare in the boot are the ones where the date code is what you need to watch.
Other factors move these figures. Michelin lists under-inflation and over-inflation as causes of premature wear, along with kerbs, potholes and speed bumps that can knock the alignment out; Goodyear notes that regular rotation extends tread life (our guide to tyre rotation patterns gives the intervals).
The tread limit: 1.6 mm, 2/32 in
UK. The MOT manual requires the main grooves of a car's tread to be "at least 1.6mm deep" across the central three-quarters of the tread and around the whole circumference; below that, the defect is classed as dangerous. The same section treats a cut deep enough to reach the ply or cords as a major defect, and a lump, bulge or tear from structural failure, with cords exposed or damaged, as dangerous.
US and Canada. Goodyear's US page describes the tread wear bars moulded into the grooves: they are 2/32 in (1.6 mm) high, and when they are flush with the tread, the tyre "should be replaced". Its "how long do tires last" page adds the penny test: a penny upside down in a groove, and if you see all of Lincoln's head, there is less than 2/32 in left. In our reading, tread depth rules for road use are set at state and provincial level; our guide to legal tread depth in the UK, US, Australia and Canada goes through them.
Everywhere. The ETRTO points out that 1.6 mm is a wear indicator, not a safety threshold: grip in the wet "progressively decreases" with wear, and it is "impossible to specify a minimum tread depth" valid for all tyres. If you drive fast or in heavy rain, a tyre at 2 or 3 mm is legal but not equivalent to a new one.
What the law says about tyre age
United Kingdom. For cars, no age limit. The MOT manual says the tyre age check "applies to all vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats". The rule that exists, often quoted as if it applied to everyone, is the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1178), made on 26 October 2020 and in force since 1 February 2021. It forbids a tyre whose week of manufacture "falls more than 10 years before" the day the vehicle is used, on:
- a front axle of a bus other than a minibus;
- any axle of a minibus where a single wheel is fitted at each end;
- a front axle of a goods vehicle over 3,500 kg.
It also forbids an illegible date code on any tyre of buses, minibuses and goods vehicles over 3,500 kg, applies the same 10 years to retreads from their date of retreading, and exempts vehicles of historical interest at least 40 years old used for non-commercial purposes. In the MOT manual for passenger and light commercial vehicles, a tyre over ten years old on the front steered axle of a bus or coach, or on any single-wheel axle of a minibus, is a dangerous defect; heavy goods vehicles go through a separate annual test with its own manual.
United States. No federal age limit. In 2003 NHTSA put off a proposed tyre-aging test "because the agency believed that additional research should be undertaken". In January 2006 it recorded a request for tyres to carry an "expiration date" and answered that it was "currently conducting research on tire aging. When this research is complete, the agency will decide how to proceed." No expiration date has been added to the TIN rule since: the 2015 rule we read changed the plant code, not the date code. We could not open NHTSA's own consumer pages on tyre aging on 16 October 2026 (access refused), so we do not summarise its later research results.
Canada. No age limit in the federal tyre rules we read; Canada's regulation defines how the date is marked, not how long a tyre may be used.
Australia. We did not find a national age limit for car tyres in the texts we could open. Michelin's Australian site gives the same 5-year check and 10-year replacement advice as its UK site.
When to replace: a decision grid
Our grid, built from the sources above. Each line says who it comes from; when two rules apply, the stricter one wins.
| What you see | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tread at 1.6 mm (2/32 in) or wear bars flush | Replace | MOT manual; Goodyear US |
| Cords visible, bulge, lump or tear | Do not drive on it: fit the spare or have the car recovered, and have the tyre checked by a specialist before the car goes back on the road | MOT manual |
| Cracks in the sidewall or tread ("dry rot", weathering) | Have a tyre specialist inspect it | ETRTO; Goodyear US |
| More noise or vibration than before | Have it inspected | ETRTO; Continental UK |
| Over 5 years since first use | Professional check at least once a year | Michelin |
| 6 years in service, or 6 years from the DOT date if you do not know | Replace, according to Goodyear | Goodyear US |
| 10 years from the DOT date, or a three-digit code | Replace, according to Michelin and Continental | Michelin; Continental UK; MOT manual |
| Car or caravan parked for months | Take the weight off, cover from light, inspect before use | ETRTO; Goodyear US |
| Spare that has never been used | Same age rules as the others | Goodyear US; Michelin; ETRTO |
| Your car's handbook gives an age | Apply it if it is stricter | ETRTO; Goodyear US |
Storage and "new" tyres that are already old
A tyre ages on the shelf too, more slowly. Continental UK writes that ageing of new tyres "occurs very slowly" if they are stored cool, dry and away from light, chemicals and ozone, and that "a properly stored, unused tyre up to 5 years old can be sold as a new tyre". Note that on the page we read, this paragraph and the 10-year advice sit under a heading about motorcycle and scooter tyres, although the wording says "all tyres". The ETRTO's storage chapter recommends first in, first out stock management. So a new tyre with a two- or three-year-old date code is normal; what matters is how it was stored. Continental also notes that the warranty period starts from the purchase date, not the date code.
At home, keep them out of direct light and away from heat and ozone, as the ETRTO's storage chapter says; Goodyear names electric motors as an ozone source to keep tyres away from; our guide on how to store tyres and wheels between seasons gives positions and pressures.
Used tyres, used wheels and the spare
Goodyear's position is the strictest: "consumers should never purchase or install used tires of any age", because their history is unknown. If you buy a car or a set of wheels with tyres already fitted, read all four date codes before you agree a price; our checklist for buying used alloy wheels covers the wheels themselves. The spare is the tyre most often forgotten: it is often the original one and, by Goodyear's and Michelin's rules, it counts like the others. Our guide to the space saver, full-size spare or repair kit explains what each one allows.
When you replace tyres, the size, load index and speed rating are on the same sidewall as the date code: our guide on how to read a tyre size, load and speed index explains them. Onyx Forged does not recommend a size or an offset: the car maker's documents and the tyre maker's notice decide.
Frequently asked questions
How long do tyres last in years?
There is no single figure. Goodyear says 6 years in service at most; Michelin and Continental say 10 years from manufacture, with a yearly professional check after 5 years of use according to Michelin. Most tyres wear out before either date if the car does average or high mileage.
How long do tyres last in miles?
Goodyear's US site gives 40,000 to 70,000 miles for all-season car tyres. Driving style, pressures, alignment and the type of tyre move that figure a long way; the UTQG treadwear grade on US tyres gives a relative comparison between tyres, as our guide to UTQG ratings explains.
How do I know how old my tyres are?
Find the string beginning with DOT on the sidewall. The last four digits are the week and year: 2219 is week 22 of 2019. If the string has no four-digit ending, the full number is on the other sidewall.
Is a tyre with a three-digit date code legal?
On a car in the UK, age alone is not an MOT failure. But a three-digit code means the tyre was made before 2000, and every maker quoted here says it should have been replaced.
Are tyres over 10 years old illegal in the UK?
Only on front axles of buses and coaches, single-wheel axles of minibuses and front axles of goods vehicles over 3,500 kg, since 1 February 2021 (vehicles of historical interest at least 40 years old used non-commercially are exempt). There is no age limit for private cars.
Is a new tyre with a date code two years old acceptable?
According to Continental, a properly stored unused tyre up to 5 years old can be sold as new, and the warranty runs from the purchase date. Ask how it was stored if the date code surprises you.
Do tyres expire if the car is hardly used?
They age even unused: the ETRTO says tyres on vehicles parked for long periods "age and crack more quickly". For a low-mileage car, the date code, not the tread, usually decides.
Does the spare tyre count?
Yes. Goodyear includes it whether or not it touches the road, Michelin applies the same 10 years to it, and the ETRTO says an old spare should be used with caution and replaced as soon as possible.
What does cracking on the sidewall mean?
Goodyear calls it sidewall weathering, sometimes "dry rotting": the rubber compounds start to break down, and the cracks can make a weak spot. The ETRTO lists cracking as a possible sign of ageing. Have the tyre inspected by a specialist before relying on it.
New tyres are also the moment to look at the wheels they go on: Onyx Forged makes forged wheels to order, designed to JWL/VIA standards. See the catalogue.
Sources
- Rules: 49 CFR § 574.5, tire identification (Cornell LII); Federal Register, 13 April 2015, Tire Identification and Recordkeeping; Federal Register, 6 January 2006, FMVSS Tires; Canada, Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations (SOR/2013-198); UK, SI 2020/1178; GOV.UK, MOT inspection manual, section 5.2.3.
- Tyre makers and industry: Michelin UK, how long do tyres last; Michelin Australia, how long do tyres last; Continental UK, tyre age; Goodyear US, how long do tires last; Goodyear US, when to replace tires; ETRTO, Recommendations, edition 2, 2 September 2024 (PDF).
All pages were read on 16 October 2026.
The Onyx Forged design office.