Blemished Tires 101 (BLEM Tires)

Table of Contents

What Are BLEM Tires?

Blemished tires are selected on the same principle as a blemished clothing item. If an item of clothing has a small mark or an area with a poor stitching or a button missing, they are considered to be blemished. Blemished items are sold at lower prices as they are not up to the maker’s standards.

Blemished tires are tires which feature cosmetic damage. These tires are cosmetically damaged or incorrectly made in the manufacturing process. A blemish can be anything from a slight cosmetic mark on the sidewall to incorrect white lettering.

Such tires are sold at lower prices, due to the cosmetic marks on the sidewalls.

How Are BLEM Tires Made?

Mistakes occur during all manufacturing processes. With the higher production costs and the excessive research and development put into tire manufacturing, one would think that there are no issues during tire manufacturing. However, like with all processes, tires can become blemished as well.

These issues range from cosmetic to more problematic issues.

Cosmetic issues are ones that are visually noticeable along the tire. The rubber poured into the mold incorrectly can result in a shorter tread. A mark on the sidewall, smudged white lettering which might not even be noticeable for people not part of the industry will result in the tire being labelled a blemished product. However, cosmetic damage will not hinder the tire’s driving safety levels.

BLEM tire with minor cosmetic imperfection on the sidewall.

Problematic issues, on the other hand, will result in tire failure. A more serious issue would be, for example, the tire’s internal construction’s lacking in quality, such as a missing steel belt in the structure. Such problems will make these tires dangerous to use.

Once a tire fails the quality control, the manufacturer’s quality control team will remove the serial number of the tire. The serial number specifies where, when and what product was made during the manufacturing process. By removing this, the manufacturer withdraws the warranties they offer for specific products. These tires are then embossed with ‘blem’ or ‘blemished’ on their sidewall.

How Does Quality Control Work?

Tire manufacturers take quality control seriously. Unlike with a poorly constructed clothing item, when tire failure occurs it can lead to fatality. As a result, even the smallest issues will cause a tire to be marked as a blemished product.

Manufacturers have their own quality control team. Highly trained quality inspectors use state-of-the-art specialist machinery to check each and every tire to see if they fit the safety requirements or not. These machines usually include an X-ray type system that is able to check for internal problems, such as tire air bubbles in the rubber or the construction’s faulty structure.

Expert checking the quality of tires.

If they find an issue with a tire, no matter how insignificant it might seem to be, they discard it from the high quality product line. As these tires do not meet the first-rate product requirements, they are not sold as quality products.

Are Blemished Tires Safe?

Blemished tires with smaller, cosmetic issues are safe to use. These products were discarded from the first-rate quality product line for cosmetic reasons. They will not have as high of an aesthetic appeal as first-rate items will, but they have no internal issues.

However, tires with more serious problems can prove to be unsafe. Tires with problematic constructions will cause tire failure and they are not to be trusted.

If tire distributors sell tires that were marked as ‘blemished’, those tires must only have cosmetic imperfections. Such tires are sold for a lower price. Those tires do not feature the manufacturer's warranty. However, as their blemished status was received due to a cosmetic issue, these tires are still safe to be used for everyday performance.

Priority Tire does not sell blems, however, blemished tires are still available for online purchases through other vendors.