How to Inspect Tires & Check Tire Wear

Once every month, or before you embark upon long road trips, check your tires for wear and damage problems. One easy way to check for wear is by using the penny test. All you have to do is grab an Abraham Lincoln penny and follow 3 easy steps.

Take a penny and hold Abe's body between your thumb and forefinger.
Select a point on your tire where tread appears the lowest and place Lincoln's head into one of the grooves.
If any part of Abe Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, you're driving with the legal and safe amount of tread. If your tread gets below that (approximately 2/32 of an inch), your car's ability to grip the road in adverse conditions is greatly reduced.

For more serious problems, we’ve created an easy-to-use online tire inspection tool below to help you identify issues and learn how to fix them. (And if you need new tires, there’s an easy-to-use Michelin Tire Selector Tool)

Find a Dealer

Search by

Address, City or ZIP code

You are using an unsupported web browser

You are using a website browser that is not supported by this website. This means that some features may not work as intended. This may result in strange behaviors when browsing. Use or upgrade/install one of the following browsers to take full advantage of this website

INSPECT YOUR TIRES ROUTINELY

How to inspect a tire

To make sure your car's tread is road ready, watch the video below to see the Penny Test in action.

Do I need to Replace my Tires? Tire Wear Bars Technology

Tire Pressure - How to Check Tire Pressure

Tire Rotation - How to Rotate Tires

Can My Tire be Repaired?

Tire Storage

Visual Inspection

Routine Tire Care Tips

Related Pages