In a bid to make our roads safer, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be soon rolling out the new Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) nationwide. This system is designed to make sure that all the motor vehicles registered are not only road-worthy but also compliant with strict safety regulations.
This means, almost all of the vehicle’s components will be scrutinized by a certified Motor Vehicle Inspection Technician (MVIT) from the Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (PMVIC). Among the aspects they will be inspecting, besides the 99 decibel limit on exhaust pipes, is the age of the tires.
According to the new guidelines, a motor vehicle’s tires only have a useful life of five years. If the manufacturing date exceeds 5 years, it will be considered as EXPIRED and will automatically fail inspection.
How to check tire age
To know the manufacturing date of your motorcycle’s tires, look for the four consecutive numbers (shown below) on the sidewall of your tire. The first two digits indicate the week it was manufactured and the last two digits indicate the year.
Based on the photo above, the tire was manufactured on the 36th week of 2019, or between September 2 to 8 of that year.
Besides age, the MVIS will also be inspecting the tire's condition. Your motorcycle’s tires should have no visible cracks or fractures, any welding defects, and the tire wear indicator should not be exposed.
While these requirements may not be a problem to those who ride their motorcycles daily, as they may be changing their tires more frequently due to wear. Some motorcycle riders, however, might find this troublesome, especially if they do not ride their steeds daily. Tread wear may not be as bad leading some to think they still have 'good' tires despite exceeding five years of age.
Even if your bike fails inspection, a Motor Vehicle Inspection System Report (MVISR) will still be issued by the MVIT as a guide for the needed repairs or corrections to be done on the motorcycle. After the repairs or corrections are done (meaning you have swapped your old tires for new ones), the motorcycle can be brought back to the PMVIC for re-inspection. A PhP300 re-inspection fee will be collected.
