Your non-diagnostic vehicle-related problems solved by Steve Rothwell
GENERAL
Q I Could you please advise why cannot find a date of manufacture on two of my tyres? One is a Dunlop Sport SP, the other is a Michelin Pilot HX.
These tyres were on the rear of my Mondeo when I purchased it last year. I want to replace these tyres with a matching pair (fronts are Bridgestone) but would like to find their age. There are numbers on the tyres in question but not in the usual format of week and year. Can you advise please?
I tried to take photos but could not make out the numbers, please find below the numbers I have been able to read.
Michelin Pilot HX 026507, Dunlop SP SPORT 0225892, Bridgestone Turanza ER30 54807 (this number on both front tyres) 019 and 56008 (2900 on offside front )
A The age mark on tyres has been a legal requirement for many years now and before the year 2000 was a three-digit code showing the week and year. After the year 2000 this was changed to a four-digit code. The tyre date code is printed into the tyre’s sidewall along with a series of numbers known as the DOT code. These number will often follow the word DOT on the tyre.
If you have a 7-12 character DOT code. The first two characters will be a code that represents the assigned plant code for the manufacturer. The next one or two characters represent the tyre size code. The next grouping can be no more than four characters that are designated by the manufacturer with their internal codes for the specific construction of that tyre. Because these characters are optional for the manufacturer, the DOT code can be any length up to a maximum of twelve characters.
The final four digits, for any tyre made since the year 2000, are the tyre date code and represent the date of manufacture. The first two of these digits designates the week of the year the tyres were made, and the final two digits are the last two digits of the year of manufacture. For example, 2620 would indicate the twenty-sixth week of 2020.
If you have a 13 character DOT code. The first grouping consists of three characters that represent the factory code. Due to legislation this has increased from the earlier factory code of two characters, to three.
FORD MONDEO
Q I am a retired GP and have a2009 Ford Mondeo Ghia 2.0 TDCi– mileage 125,000 – regularly maintained, which after a battery charge with an old-fashioned battery charger has never worked since for four months. It won’t turn over (good battery fully-charged) and appears to have closed down electronically.
It was taken to a competent Auto electrical garage by the AA. After a diagnostic check we decided it was a faulty ECU. I had it reconditioned but no joy. Because this garage didn’t have the latest Ford diagnostic kit, they said they couldn’t fix it. So, I had it taken to another garage run by two properly qualified lads wh
