What 393.67F-F means in plain language
FMCSR 393.67F-F addresses tire conditions that go beyond simple wear. If an inspector cited you for this code, they found one or more of your tires showing visible damage: exposed fabric layers, bumps, bulges, or cuts in the sidewall or tread. These aren't minor cosmetic issues. They indicate structural failure of the tire itself—the kind of defect that can lead to a blowout, loss of control, or tire separation at highway speeds.
The regulation requires that every tire on a commercial motor vehicle be in safe condition. Safe means no fabric showing through the rubber, no swelling or deformation of the tire body, and no cuts deep enough to breach the reinforcement. If an inspector spotted any of these problems during your roadside inspection, you were cited under this code.
This is fundamentally a pre-trip inspection failure. You or your company should have caught these defects before the vehicle left the yard. That's why understanding what to look for—and how to spot trouble early—matters.
What our enforcement data actually shows
Across our 13 million roadside inspection records, 393.67F-F is a low-volume citation code. All-time, we see 50 citations for this specific violation. In the last 12 months, we recorded 31 citations, and in the last 90 days, 11 citations. None of those 50 all-time citations resulted in an out-of-service order—a 0.0% OOS rate.
That zero OOS rate is striking. It stands in sharp contrast to the all-FMCSR average out-of-service rate of 31.4%. Why? Because tire defects, while they must be fixed, typically don't immediately ground a vehicle during the inspection itself. An officer usually cites the violation and gives you time to correct it. You're not being pulled off the road on the spot, but you are getting a documented violation that goes into your safety record and your carrier's CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) profile.
The code carries a CSA severity weight of 6—moderate importance in the eyes of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Over the past three months, we've seen 11 citations; in December 2025 alone, that number spiked to 13 citations in a single month, suggesting seasonal or weather-related tire degradation issues.
Who gets cited most
Our inspection records from the last 180 days show 24 citations in the United States total. The top states are:
- US (national aggregate): 24 citations, 0.0% OOS rate
- Arizona: 2 citations, 0.0% OOS rate
- Montana: 1 citation, 0.0% OOS rate
The concentration is overwhelmingly national-level data; inspection volume and carrier distribution mean most citations cluster where traffic and enforcement activity are highest. All three regions show a 0.0% OOS rate, consistent with the national pattern for this code.
Looking at carriers in our all-time data, fleets such as Mantenimiento Limosa SA de CV (USDOT 4182303) and Transportes Riol SA de CV (USDOT 4195933) each appear with 3 citations under this code. Several smaller operations and owner-operators show 1–2 citations. This distribution suggests tire defects are not concentrated in any single carrier type—they appear across the industry whenever pre-trip inspections miss visible damage.
How severe is this compared to similar codes
393.67F-F sits in the Vehicle Maintenance category alongside major codes that receive far more enforcement attention. For context:
- 393.9(a) — Inoperable required lamps: 660,737 citations with a 15.4% OOS rate. Lamps draw roughly 13,000 times more citations than tire defects.
- 396.3(a)(1) — Inspection/repair/maintenance general: 236,919 citations with a 45.3% OOS rate. This broader maintenance code is cited 4,700+ times more often and has a substantially higher OOS rate—indicating that general maintenance failures are treated more severely.
- 393.78 — Windshield condition defective: 157,894 citations with a 0.3% OOS rate. Even windshield defects draw over 3,000 times more citations, though they also rarely result in out-of-service orders.
In the context of vehicle maintenance violations, 393.67F-F is genuinely rare. It's not a high-volume enforcement target. That rarity may reflect one of two things: either most carriers catch tire defects during pre-trip inspections, or inspectors rarely encounter the specific conditions described (exposed fabric, bulges, cuts) because tires are replaced before they reach that state of decay.
How to avoid it
Your defense against this citation is a disciplined pre-trip tire inspection. Here's what the data tells us about prevention:
Inspect tires systematically before every trip. Walk around your vehicle and look at every tire—all four corners and any doubles or super-singles. Use a flashlight if you're checking in low light. Look for:
- Any spot where the rubber surface is torn away and you can see darker material underneath (fabric, cord, or the inner structure). That's your hard stop—the tire must be replaced.
- Any bulge or swelling on the sidewall, especially between the rim and the middle of the tire. This signals internal damage.
- Any cut, gash, or separation in the tread or sidewall deeper than a shallow scrape.
Check tire pressure and condition together. Underinflated tires overheat and degrade faster. Use a tire gauge and verify pressure matches the placard on your driver's door frame or fuel-filler door. Our data shows common co-occurring violations include brake and coupling defects (393.55D1-B, 393.43B-BATV), which suggests inspectors conducting deeper vehicle checks. A systematic pre-trip that catches tire defects will also catch other emerging problems.
Pay special attention to high-mileage equipment. Our vehicle data shows International (17 citations), Freightliner (8 citations), and Volvo (4 citations) tractors appearing most often in 393.67F-F citations. This doesn't mean these brands are defective—it reflects their prevalence in the fleet. However, if you're operating an older International or Freightliner with significant mileage, tire age and condition deserve extra scrutiny. Tires 6+ years old are at higher risk of sidewall cracking and bulging, even if tread depth is adequate.
Replace tires proactively, not reactively. Don't wait until you see a bulge. Replace tires at 4/32" remaining tread depth, not the legal minimum of 2/32". Older tires (5+ years) should be inspected quarterly and replaced if you spot any fabric exposure, cuts, or bulges. The cost of replacement is far less than a citation (CSA severity weight 6), a repair order delay, or worse—a blowout on the highway.
Document your pre-trip. Make a habit of noting tire condition on your vehicle inspection report (DVIR) every day. If you spot a developing issue—a small cut, early bulge, or unusual wear—report it immediately so maintenance can schedule replacement before it becomes a defect. That paper trail also protects you if an inspector later questions when the damage occurred.