TreadGrade

Known errors in NHTSA's UTQG data

Source: NHTSA UTQG tire ratings, equipment plant codes, and tire-recall file, last updated November 9, 2026 (UTC).

This page counts limits in the NHTSA files this site publishes. The figures are taken from those files when the site is built. A listing is not a claim that a tire is on sale. A sort of the grades orders NHTSA's published UTQG list. It is not a ranking. How the files are paged, deduplicated, and refreshed is on the data sources page.

Counts in this pull

Data last verified November 9, 2026 (UTC). The recall file was retrieved November 9, 2026 (UTC).

Counts from the NHTSA files verified November 9, 2026 (UTC).
What Count Unit
Source rows in the ratings file 7,628 source rows
Exact duplicate grade rows dropped 6 source rows
Grade rows shown 7,622 grade rows
Raw brand strings 228 brand strings
Brands after letter case and spacing 215 brands
Brands after punctuation is also ignored 214 brands
Retired addresses after that punctuation merge 2 addresses
Line names under more than one brand 130 line names
Tire lines with more than one treadwear number above 0 465 tire lines
Grade rows with treadwear 0 2 grade rows
Grade rows with no treadwear number 1 grade row
Grade rows with traction or temperature outside the usual letters 8 grade rows
Grade rows with the active flag set 0 grade rows
Grade rows with an issue count above 0 0 grade rows
Plant records 1,248 plant records
Plant records with a former two-symbol code 938 plant records
Tire-recall campaigns 201 campaigns
Recalled lines in the recall table 437 recalled lines

Examples from this pull

Each example below was found by looking up the name in this pull. A name that is not in the file is not listed, except for a coverage row, which stays and shows a count of zero.

Known-error examples in the NHTSA files verified November 9, 2026 (UTC).
Kind Example What this file shows Grade rows How this site handles it
Repeated line name ADVAN A048 Stored under Vercelli (5 grade rows), Viking (3 grade rows), Vikrant (2 grade rows), Visa (8 grade rows), and Vitour (1 grade row). Not stored under Yokohama. Those brand strings are next to one another in this site's brand index. 19 Kept under the brand string NHTSA stored. Other brand strings with the same line name are linked. The shared name is not treated as a rebadge, and the brand string is not corrected.
Repeated line name P ZERO ROSSO Stored under Nokian (10 grade rows), Norauto (2 grade rows), and Pirelli (4 grade rows). Nokian and Norauto are next to one another in this site's brand index. 16 Kept under the brand string NHTSA stored. Other brand strings with the same line name are linked. The shared name is not treated as a rebadge, and the brand string is not corrected.
Repeated line name Mach 4 R302 Stored under TBC (2 grade rows), Telstar (12 grade rows), Tempest (4 grade rows), and Tempra (18 grade rows). Those brand strings are next to one another in this site's brand index. 36 Kept under the brand string NHTSA stored. Other brand strings with the same line name are linked. The shared name is not treated as a rebadge, and the brand string is not corrected.
Repeated line name Strada I Stored under Tribune (5 grade rows), Ultra-Tech (3 grade rows), Ultrex AS 4 (1 grade row), Union 76 (6 grade rows), and Vanderbilt (4 grade rows). Tribune, Ultra-Tech, Ultrex AS 4, and Union 76 are next to one another in this site's brand index. 19 Kept under the brand string NHTSA stored. Other brand strings with the same line name are linked. The shared name is not treated as a rebadge, and the brand string is not corrected.
Treadwear 0 American Racer, line American Racer American Racer, line American Racer: 1 grade row with treadwear 0. 1 Shown as 0. Left out of usable treadwear, including the highest treadwear in NHTSA's published UTQG list. A high-to-low treadwear sort still orders 0 as a published number.
Value outside the usual grades Bridgestone Turanza EV Bridgestone Turanza EV: 1 grade row with no treadwear number and temperature "500". 1 Shown as published. Quoted instead of being stated as a grade. Traction and temperature sorts order only the usual letters, and these values sort after those letters. The row stays in the table.
Value outside the usual grades Eldorado Tourmax GFT Eldorado Tourmax GFT: 1 grade row with temperature "W" and traction "W". 1 Shown as published. Quoted instead of being stated as a grade. Traction and temperature sorts order only the usual letters, and these values sort after those letters. The row stays in the table.
Value outside the usual grades Hankook iON evo (OE) Hankook iON evo (OE): 2 of 33 grade rows with temperature "AA". 2 Shown as published. Quoted instead of being stated as a grade. Traction and temperature sorts order only the usual letters, and these values sort after those letters. The row stays in the table.
Value outside the usual grades Hankook iON Supreme (OE) Hankook iON Supreme (OE): 2 of 8 grade rows with temperature "AA". 2 Shown as published. Quoted instead of being stated as a grade. Traction and temperature sorts order only the usual letters, and these values sort after those letters. The row stays in the table.
Value outside the usual grades Hankook veNtus S1 evo3 SUV (OE) Hankook veNtus S1 evo3 SUV (OE): 2 of 18 grade rows with temperature "AA". 2 Shown as published. Quoted instead of being stated as a grade. Traction and temperature sorts order only the usual letters, and these values sort after those letters. The row stays in the table.
Treadwear 0 Toyo PROXES TQ Toyo PROXES TQ: 1 grade row with treadwear 0. 1 Shown as 0. Left out of usable treadwear, including the highest treadwear in NHTSA's published UTQG list. A high-to-low treadwear sort still orders 0 as a published number.
Treadwear varies by size Bridgestone ECOPIA EP150 Bridgestone ECOPIA EP150: Treadwear from 200 to 880 across 8 grade rows. 8 Each size series stays on its own row. The line is not collapsed to one treadwear number.
Treadwear varies by size Hankook veNtus S1 evo3 SUV (OE) Hankook veNtus S1 evo3 SUV (OE): Treadwear from 180 to 520 across 18 grade rows. 18 Each size series stays on its own row. The line is not collapsed to one treadwear number.
Treadwear varies by size Toyo VERSADO LX Toyo VERSADO LX: Treadwear from 360 to 700 across 3 grade rows. 3 Each size series stays on its own row. The line is not collapsed to one treadwear number.
Not in this file Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack No grade row in this file matches Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack. 0 Not filled in. Absence is not a grade, and it is not a claim that the tire is unsold.
Not in this file Westlake No grade row in this file matches Westlake. 0 Not filled in. Absence is not a grade, and it is not a claim that the tire is unsold.
Not in this file Linglong No grade row in this file matches Linglong. 0 Not filled in. Absence is not a grade, and it is not a claim that the tire is unsold.
Not in this file Lexani No grade row in this file matches Lexani. 0 Not filled in. Absence is not a grade, and it is not a claim that the tire is unsold.
In this file Michelin Defender 2 Michelin Defender 2 has 1 grade row. 1 Shown as published. The file does not say that missing sizes exist, and a missing size is not a grade.
Not in this file BFGoodrich KO2 No grade row in this file matches BFGoodrich KO2. 0 Not filled in. Absence is not a grade, and it is not a claim that the tire is unsold.

Sources and refresh

UTQG grades come from https://api.nhtsa.gov/tires?dataSet=ratings. This pull stored 7,628 source rows and shows 7,622 grade rows after dropping 6 exact duplicate grade rows. Plant codes come from https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/GetEquipmentPlantCodes?year=2026&equipmentType=1&reportType=All&format=json. Search criteria returned with this pull: Year:2026 | Equipment Type:1 | Report Type: All. The saved plant file is the 2026 response and contains 1,248 records. Tire-recall filings come from https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/rcl/FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip. In this pull that file has 201 tire campaigns and 437 recalled lines.

The refresh workflow is scheduled for 14:23 UTC each Monday. It replaces the saved files only when the new counts pass the checks on the data sources page. A short or broken response does not overwrite the files. The dates on this page are the verified times of the files this build used. An earlier check recorded on the data sources page, dated October 21, 2026, compared the 2016, 2020, 2024, 2025, and 2026 plant requests. That comparison is not repeated at build time.

Brand strings

The ratings file has 228 distinct brand strings. Strings that differ only by letter case or spacing are one brand, which is 215 brands. The brand key also drops characters other than letters, digits, and spaces, so a spelling that differs only by punctuation joins that brand. This site publishes 214 brands. Spaces stay in the key, so a space still separates two brands. "BF Goodrich" and "BFGoodrich" do not merge. The spelling with the most rows is the one shown. A tire-line name keeps its own punctuation, so a plus sign still separates lines.

In this pull, Multimile (1 row) is included under Multi-Mile. The address that stays is the previous address with more tire lines.

Each retired address is still published as a noindex page. Its canonical link and immediate refresh point at the address that stays. Retired addresses are left out of the sitemap.

A brand string that looks like the wrong company is not corrected by hand. The row stays under the string NHTSA stored.

Repeated line names

130 line names, after letter case and spacing are normalized, appear on more than one brand page. A shared name is a match of the string. It is not evidence of rebadging, and it is not evidence that the tires are the same product. The tire-line page links the other brand strings. Who makes it? does not use these matches.

The line name ADVAN A048 is stored under Vercelli, Viking, Vikrant, Visa, and Vitour (19 grade rows). Those brand strings are next to one another in this site's brand index. It is not stored under Yokohama. Those rows stay under the brand strings NHTSA stored.

The line name P ZERO ROSSO is stored under Nokian, Norauto, and Pirelli (16 grade rows). Nokian and Norauto are next to one another in this site's brand index. Those rows stay under the brand strings NHTSA stored.

The line name Mach 4 R302 is stored under TBC, Telstar, Tempest, and Tempra (36 grade rows). Those brand strings are next to one another in this site's brand index. Those rows stay under the brand strings NHTSA stored.

The line name Strada I is stored under Tribune, Ultra-Tech, Ultrex AS 4, Union 76, and Vanderbilt (19 grade rows). Tribune, Ultra-Tech, Ultrex AS 4, and Union 76 are next to one another in this site's brand index. Those rows stay under the brand strings NHTSA stored.

These names are examples. They are not the whole set of 130 shared names. A run of neighboring names in the brand index is not a finding that the rows were shifted, and it is not a finding that one of the brands is the maker.

Values outside the usual grades

Usual traction letters in 49 CFR 575.104 are AA, A, B, and C. Usual temperature letters are A, B, and C. This pull has 8 grade rows with a traction or temperature value outside those letters, 2 with treadwear 0, and 1 with no treadwear number.

A value such as temperature "500" or temperature "AA" sits in a field that usually holds a different grade. This site does not move it to another field. Treadwear 0 is a whole number, so it does not by itself open the notice a tire-line page shows for a value outside the usual letters. The answer box still leaves 0 out of usable treadwear. The ratings table flags a row as invalid when traction or temperature is outside those letters, or when treadwear is not a whole number. It flags a row as suspect when treadwear is 0 or not reported and the row is not already invalid. The row stays in the file. A control on the table can hide the flagged rows. Choosing a traction or temperature letter in the filter leaves other values out of that filtered view. They are not deleted. Open this list in the table: invalid rows. Open this list in the table: suspect rows.

Grades that vary by size

465 tire lines have more than one treadwear number above 0. A single number for the line would hide that. The tire-line page keeps each size series, and it says when the grades differ. When that difference is treadwear or traction, the page shows a grade-varies-by-size note and the count of size rows for each value. Why treadwear can differ by size. The ratings table marks a row size-specific unless the size text is only “all”, “all size”, or “all sizes”. Open this list in the table: size-specific grades. Open this list in the table: all sizes.

No category, and fields that are empty on every row

The stored rating fields are id, brand, tireline, size, const, wear, trac, temp, active, complaintsCount, recallsCount, investigationsCount, and manufacturerCommunicationsCount. A category field is not among them. The active flag is set on 0 of 7,622 grade rows. Complaint, recall, investigation, and manufacturer-communication counts are above zero on 0 grade rows. The active flag is not shown as "for sale" or "discontinued." A zero issue count is not shown as a clean bill of health. Recalls on this site come from the separate recall file below.

Some line names contain a category-like fragment. In this pull that is 155 lines with "A/S", 85 with "A/T", 146 with "touring", and 47 with "H/T". Those are matches on the name. They are not a category field, and a page does not treat them as one.

Lines the file does not contain

49 CFR 575.104 applies to new pneumatic tires for passenger cars. It does not apply to deep-tread, winter-type snow tires, space-saver or temporary-use spare tires, tires with nominal rim diameters of 12 inches or less, or limited-production tires. Light-truck tires are outside that section because they are not passenger-car tires. NHTSA's 2017 consumer guide describes the same passenger-car scope (DOT HS 812 459). The file has no category, so this site does not label a missing line as exempt and does not label a present row as a light-truck tire. Absence is not a grade. The same is true of a passenger-car line the file simply does not contain. KO2 and the BFGoodrich lines in this file are counted from the committed rows.

Plant codes are not brands

The plant file has one name and one address per code. The stored plant fields do not include a brand. Which plant makes which brand cannot be derived from this list. 49 CFR 574.6 describes what an applicant submits. The vPIC response used here does not carry a brand. 938 of 1,248 records include a former two-symbol code. The name is the registrant at registration time, not a current owner. Many former codes are the old two-character code. The status field is Active on 1,180 records, Closed on 50, and empty on 18. Active is left as published. It is not a current-operations flag.

Records marked Active in this pull include The Gates Rubber Company (1BW), The Gates Rubber Comapny (1BX), The Gates Rubber Company (1BY), Phillips Petroleum Company (1J1), and Phillips Petroleum Company (1K1). The spelling is the file's spelling.

Plant codes on this site come only from that vPIC response. Other published plant-code tables are not consulted. On October 21, 2026, the plant-code table at wfirm.com included codes XXXX and XXXXXX for Wetherington Law Firm. XXXX and XXXXXX are not in this saved file. This site does not use that table.

Recall filings, and what they do not prove

NHTSA's flat recall file, rows with RCLTYPECD T, gives a brand (MAKETXT), a line (MODELTXT), and the company that filed the Part 573 report (MFGNAME). This pull has 201 tire campaigns and 437 recalled lines. The filer can be the factory, an importer, or the brand owner. The wording covers that recalled line and that campaign. It does not cover the rest of the brand, and it does not cover a UTQG line that shares a name.

Tireco, Harbor Freight Tools, TBC, and Discount Tire stay "recall filed by" when they are the filer, including when the report's manufacturer field repeats their name. They are importers or brand owners. In this file the matching filer names are Discount Tire (1 recalled line), Harbor Freight Tools (2 recalled lines), TBC Corporation (5 recalled lines), and Tireco Inc. (3 recalled lines). The preparation rules are on the data sources page and on Who makes it?.

How to report an error

Email hello@treadgrade.com about a data error. Include the page address and the NHTSA record id if you have one. The contact page publishes this address. This page does not add a form.

The flat-file campaign list is on Tire recalls. That page is not a TIN check. For a recall or a safety complaint about a tire, use NHTSA rather than this site.