It is important to check a new tyre’s warranty expiration date before purchasing it.
New tyres generally have a five-year warranty expiration date after which they may start compromising your safety on the road.
“Most vehicle owners probably don’t know this fact and wouldn’t even consider it to be an issue,” said Vishal Premlall, national director of the Tyres Equipment Parts Association (Tepa).
Depending on the popularity of a certain vehicle, the particular tyre it requires may have been sitting in the backroom of the wheel shop for an extended period of time and can still be considered “new” as it has never touched the tarmac.
However, it may have reached its expiration date while in storage and consequently be unable to provide the grip and performance of rubber that just exited the factory a few days ago.
How to find a tyre’s expiration date
The age of a tyre can be determined by looking at the side wall for the following markings:
As indecipherable as it may seem, this sequence of numbers and letters tells you all the vital information regarding the tyre’s age if you know what to look for.
The most important figures in the “DOT U2LL LMLR 5107” sequence are the last four digits – the “51” and “07”.
According to Premlall, these indicate that this specific tyre in the image was produced in the 51st week of the year 2007, which ran from 17-23 December, so they would have been labeled expired by 24 December 2012.
As such, if you’re shopping for a new tyre today, 18 April 2024 – which is the 16th week of the year – the last four numbers on the side wall mustn’t be lower than 1619 else the tyre has passed its warranty expiration date.
“It’s important that consumers know what to check for when it comes to purchasing tyres since it is a costly but essential purchase,” said Premlall.
“By asking the right questions and understanding what you should be looking for there’s less chance you’ll be duped into buying a compromised part which could impact your safety.”
A legitimate way of ensuring that you buy tyres within their expiration window is to only shop at reputable dealers, preferably those who are part of an association such as Tepa.
This way, you have extra peace of mind knowing that the seller is bound to a specific code of conduct, as well as several avenues for recourse should the tyre not be what it purports to be.
“Should you believe you have been sold a tyre post the five-year warranty expiry mark, the first option is to approach the dealer,” said Premlall.
“If you can’t resolve the issue, the next step is to approach the RMI (Retail Motor Industry Organisation) or Tepa for assistance.”
He advises that the evidence needed to support your claim is the dated invoice of the sale and the last four digits on the side wall indicating the tyre manufacturing date.
Be wary of going pre-owned
Second-hand tyres may be imported into South Africa for re-treading purposes, however, the direct resale of imported second-hand tyres in the country remains illegal.
Despite this, there has been a noticeable increase in consumers purchasing used tyres that are over five years old, in the process putting their lives at risk.
“The incidence of the illegal sale of imported used tyres has unfortunately exploded in recent years, with more and more second-hand dealers springing up,” said Premlall.
He notes that motorists must be wary when considering these vendors as they usually operate without adequate quality control measures in place, and they do not provide sales invoices to avoid leaving a paper trail that can be tracked by the authorities.
“In addition, the running-cost calculation of second-hand tyres usually works out to be more expensive than new tyres,” said the expert, as they wear out faster meaning you’ll have to buy them more frequently, and they negatively impact fuel consumption, thus forcing you to spend more on petrol.
How old are your tyres?
If you notice your tyres have reached the five-year mark, the best course of action would be to visit the nearest tyre fitment centre and have the condition of the rubber assessed, as a specialist could see safety-critical issues you may have overlooked.
In the event of a report of visible ageing, it is advised to replace the tyres immediately, ensuring that they are replaced as axle pairs i.e. two at a time minimum.
“Ensuring tyres are in good condition needs to be a priority for all drivers, particularly since many of our roads are in poor condition,” concludes Premlall.
“It’s not worth skimping or trying to cut corners when it comes to tyres.”
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