The Consumers' Foundation yesterday said that as much as 60 percent of tire shops across the country sell tires with no expiration date label.
A survey conducted last month of 50 tire shops and suppliers in various parts of the country showed that 66 percent sold tires with only country of origin labels written in English, 50 percent sold tires with manufactured date labels containing inadequate information or with English-only information and 60 percent sold tires that lacked expiration dates.
The consumer rights watchdog also found that many of the tires also did not indicate the phone numbers and addresses of the tire manufacturer and distributors.
Foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said that according to the Commodity Labeling Act (商品標示法), Chinese-language labels are mandatory on products while English-language labels may be included as supplementary information. He urged authorities to conduct thorough inspections to ensure that tire manufacturers and retailers clearly indicate information such as the manufacturer, product name and manufacturing date in Chinese.
He pointed out that some manufacturers label the manufactured date by branding the tires in a set of code that is used industry-wide, but the average consumer would not know the meaning of these codes. Shopkeepers who place the tires on high shelves also make it difficult for consumers to read the information on the labels, he said.
The foundation used safety standards set by the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association as a reference, which advises consumers to send tires back for inspection after five years of use and to dispose of tires that are more than 10 years old, even if the tire appears to still be usable.
“Driving with old tires is very dangerous, as the tires could be worn out without the driver knowing it,” Hsieh said. “The Ministry of Economic Affairs should develop regulations to prohibit the sale of old and worn-out tires, and require that all tires come with Chinese-language labels.”
The foundation also urged consumers to purchase only tires within two years of its manufactured date, as well as to take note of whether spare tires have outlived their expiration date.
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