NHTSA Complaint #10610515 — 2000 FLEETWOOD SOUTHWIND

PURCHASED SIX SAMSON GL 283 245/70/R/19.5 TIRES (DOT OD J D 22 ------) THROUGH WILKE TIRE SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS FROM AMERICAN TIRE DISTRIBUTORS ON HORNE ROAD IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS. I HAD REQUESTED FROM WILKE TO RECORD ALL MANUFACTURERS DATE ON THE TIRES, HOWEVER, AFTER THE TIRES WERE MOUNTED ONTO MY VEHICLE, I COULD NOT FIND A MANUFACTURE DATE ON FIVE OF THE TIRES AND A DATE OF MAYBE 2114 THAT WAS BARELY READABLE ON ONE TIRE. THE OTHER MGF DATES LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD EITHER BEEN BUFFED OFF AND/OR MELTED OFF. WHEN I CONFRONTED WILKE TIRE ABOUT THE DATES, THEY REPLIED, WELL ANYONE CAN SEE THEY ARE NEW TIRES AND ANOTHER PART OWNER REPLIED THAT THE TIRES WOULD DRY ROT BEFORE WEARING OUT. I REPLIED, THAT IS THE VERY REASON I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DATE THEY WERE MANUFACTURED AND/OR HOW LONG THEY HAD BEEN STORED IN THE WAREHOUSE. HE THEN TOLD ME THE TIRES WERE MANUFACTURED IN 2013. I CONTACTED ATD AND THEY ASKED FOR THE DOT NUMBER AND ALL I COULD GIVE THEM WAS DOT OD J D 22 ----, AND SINCE THEY WERE BLANK AND HAD NO DATE, HE INFORMED ME JUST BASED ON THE DOT NUMBER, THEY WERE MANUFACTURED IN 2012! I THEN DROVE TO THE ATD WAREHOUSE AND HAD ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES TRY TO FIND A DATE ON THE OTHER FIVE TIRES, HE COULD NOT, BUT INFORMED ME THEY DID NOT SELL ANY OLD TIRE AND THAT THEY SHOULD BE ALRIGHT TO SUM IT UP, I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING WHAT AGE THESE TIRES ARE! I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT BY DOT AND NHTSA REGULATIONS THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE IS REQUIRED BY LAW? *TR