March 2019
Tire Registration
Are your tires registered? Did you receive a registration form when you purchased them, whether at a retail store or online? How about when you bought your RV?
Federal law requires that tire identification numbers be registered when a new tire is sold, and for good reason. A tire’s full DOT serial number (including the date numbers at the end) must be recorded so that the tire company can contact the owner when a tire is recalled.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that tire dealers provide a preaddressed tire registration form to every purchaser of new tires. Or, the tire dealer must complete the tire registration process electronically on behalf of the consumer. Motor vehicle dealers, in this case, are considered to be tire dealers. Motor vehicle manufacturers or their designees are required to maintain the registration information for five years from the time of the first sale.
Based on my experience, I believe some people either do not receive the preaddressed registration form or they don’t bother to complete it.
If you buy a used RV (or other vehicle), those tires also should be registered. Again, that’s so you can be notified should the tires be recalled. By law, the information cannot be used for any other purpose.
If you are unsure whether your tires are registered, contact the tire manufacturer. And do yourself a favor: Register all your tires, whether they are on your RV, car, truck, or trailer. If they are the subject of a recall, you may end up with a new set.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association website has a page where you can find all tire brands in one place for registration purposes: www.ustires.org/register-tires. For more information about tires, visit my blog, www.rvtiresafety.net.
— Roger Marble, F399427, Ravenna, Ohio