How old is my Nitto tire?
Type the dot date code from the Nitto label to see when it was built. Nitto units are built by Toyo Tire, so the serials follow that company's format.
Example
- DOTDOT: meets U.S. safety standards
- 1EEPlant: 1EE = Nitto Tire Company, Ltd., Samukawa-Machi, Japan
- ABCDEFManufacturer's code
- 10Week: 10 (March)
- 19Year: 19 = 2019
Built Week 10 of 2019 (around March)
7 years, 7 months old
In replacement window. Inside the usual 6 to 10 year lifespan, so replacement could come any time. Worth budgeting for it.
How this was read
- "DOT" means the tire meets U.S. federal safety standards. The tire identification number follows it.
- The first three symbols, 1EE, are the plant code. NHTSA lists it as Nitto Tire Company, Ltd., Samukawa-Machi, Japan.
- The plant list names the company that runs the factory. It may build tires sold under other brands.
- The next 6 symbols are the manufacturer's own code for size and type. They are not part of the date.
- The last four digits, 1019, are the date code.
- The first two, 10, are the week. The last two, 19, are the year: 2019.
- Week 10 of 2019 runs from Sunday, March 10, 2019 to Saturday, March 16, 2019.
Format: DOT date code, week and year. Sources: 49 CFR 574.5, tire identification requirements (eCFR), NHTSA: Tires (how to find the tire age), Federal Register, 2015 rule on three-symbol plant codes, NHTSA vPIC tire plant code list.
Reading a Nitto serial number
Nitto is part of Toyo Tire Corporation. Its tires use the standard DOT date code.
The date code is a week and year, like 2219 for week 22 of 2019. Read it on every tire, including the spare, since tires on one car often differ.
About Nitto
- In July 2005 Toyo split Nitto off into its own U.S. sales company, Nitto Tire North America, based in Cypress, California.
- Toyo’s plant in White, Georgia, builds Nitto tires along with Toyo tires. That plant’s code is 173.
- The example code 1EE belongs to Nitto Tire Company’s plant in Samukawa, Japan.
Sources: Toyo setting up separate US sales company for Nitto brand, Toyo's Georgia plant reaches 5-million-tyre milestone, NHTSA vPIC: Get Equipment Plant Codes (tires, 2026)
DOT date code, week and year
Used july 2000 to today. Example: DOTU2LLLMLR5107
The date code is the last group of the DOT number on the sidewall. The first two digits are the week and the last two are the year, so 5107 means week 51 of 2007.
Worked example: DOT 1EE ABCDEF 1019 was built Week 10 of 2019 (around March), so it is 7 years, 7 months old as of October 2026.
Sources: 49 CFR 574.5, tire identification requirements (eCFR), NHTSA: Tires (how to find the tire age), Federal Register, 2015 rule on three-symbol plant codes, NHTSA vPIC tire plant code list
Pre-2000 DOT date code, week and year digit
Used before July 2000. Example: DOTMJL9ABC218
Tires made before 2000 end the DOT number with three digits: the week, then the last digit of the year. Many 1990s tires add a small triangle after the code.
Worked example: DOT MJ L9 ABC 218 fits Week 21 of 1988 (around May) or Week 21 of 1998 (around May). The page above explains how to tell which.
The full lookup tables are on the Bridgestone page, since Nitto uses the same code.
Sources: Federal Register, 1999 rule moving to a four-digit date code, Vintage Tyres: reading tyre age codes, 49 CFR 574.5, tire identification requirements (eCFR)
Factories that make Nitto tires
The two or three symbols right after "DOT" name the factory. These are the plant codes NHTSA lists for Toyo, which makes Nitto tires. A code from this list on a Nitto tire is a good sign it is genuine.
| Code | Location | Operator | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02F | Beijing, China | Toyomoto Corp. | Listed |
| 05C | Indjija, Serbia | Toyo Tire Serbia društvo sa ogranicenom odgovornošcu Boegrad | Listed |
| 1CX (CX) | Iwanuma City, Japan | Toyo Tire Corporation - Sendai Plant | Listed |
| 1CM (CM) | Perindustrian Kamunting Raya, Malaysia | Toyo Tyre Malaysia SDN BHD | Listed |
| 1EE (EE) | Samukawa-Machi, Japan | Nitto Tire Company, Ltd. | Listed |
| 12D (2D) | Taiping, Malaysia | Toyo Tyre Malaysia Silverstone Berhad | Listed |
| 1N3 (N3) | Toin-Cho, Japan | Toyo Tire Corporation - Kuwana Plant | Listed |
| 173 (73) | White, GA, United States | Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. | Listed |
| 1PW (PW) | Zhangjiagang, China | Hengdasheng Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co.,Ltd. | Listed |
| 190 (90) | Zhucheng, China | Toyo Tire (Zhucheng) Co., Ltd. | Listed |
| 1CW (CW) | Itami, Japan | Toyo Tire & Rubber Co, Ltd. | Closed |
Old two-symbol codes are in brackets. Source: NHTSA vPIC tire plant codes, checked October 2026.