‘Technology has come a long way’: Man jokes about tapping tire icons to change modes, but the symbols actually reveal something important

A TikTok user named Marcos made a funny video that got over 1.3 million views. In the clip, he pretended his new tires had different “modes” based on the weather. He walked up to his car and showed off symbols on his tire that looked like weather icons. There was a sun, a cloud with rain, and a snowflake.

According to Motor1, Marcos joked that you could tap these symbols to change your tire’s setting for different weather. Since it was sunny that day, he pressed the sun icon on his tire. Of course, this was just a joke, and tires don’t actually work that way.

But those symbols on the tire actually mean something real and important for drivers to know. The symbols on Marcos’s tires aren’t just decorations or joke material. Other people online have talked about these same icons, including users on Reddit. They figured out that these weather symbols are actually treadwear markers that show how worn down your tires are.

The weather icons are actually wear indicators

Here’s how it works: each symbol sits at a different depth in the tire tread. As your tire wears down over time, the symbols start to disappear one by one. When the snowflake vanishes, it means your tire is no longer safe to use in snowy conditions. Then the rain symbol goes away, and finally the sun symbol.

Continental, a tire brand, uses a similar system on their all-season tires. Instead of weather icons, they use the letters D, W, and S, which stand for Dry, Wet, and Snow. The idea is the same though. Much like how AI technology reveals hidden details, these tire markers show what’s not immediately obvious. Once the S or snowflake wears away, you shouldn’t drive those tires in snow anymore because they’ve lost their grip.

All-season tires work fine in mild weather conditions. If your area gets a little bit of snow, these tires should be okay. But if you’re dealing with moderate or heavy snowfall, all-season tires will probably make your car slip and slide.

All-weather tires are different and provide better grip than all-season ones. They can handle mild to moderate snow without too much trouble. However, even all-weather tires struggle in severe snow. Understanding what products can and can’t do is important, similar to knowing what’s really inside tech products. If you’re driving through places like Alaska with heavy snow, you need dedicated winter tires for the best traction and safety.

People in the comment section of Marcos’s video appreciated his sense of humor. One person wrote: “You really bout to have ppl out here looking for these tires.” Another jokingly said: “thats not how it works at all. you have to hold it down for 5 secs.”