Tire rotation

10427 Views 14 Replies 11 Participants Last post by mrv, May 8, 2005

DaleK

Discussion Starter · May 4, 2005

Does anyone know why the owner's manual states that tire rotation "must" be front to back and back to front (keeping the wheels on the same side of the car)? I've always preferred criss-crossing (front to back and back to opposite side front).

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KTPhil

· #2 · May 4, 2005

Today, some tire lug patterns are directional, and can't be crossed. Tires with good rain drainage channels are examples.

The no-rotate advice used to be common for early steel belted radial tires, in the belief that with the softer sidewall, the belt takes a set based in forces in one direction and might cause eneven wear if crossed. I think it turned out to be hogwash, but the advice stuck around anyway.

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DaleK

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 4, 2005

Right, I have uni-directional Toyo tires on my Chrysler 300M, but that certainly isn't the case with the original equipment tires on the Prius.

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rpm

· #4 · May 4, 2005

yikes, I just rotated my tires myself using the car's jack...that'll give you a workout. Had to jack up each side 3 times, using the donut tire as a filler. I decided to rotate because I was at 5k miles, and was jacking up the rear anyway to install the mud flaps. At least when I buy mounted Blizzaks this fall, I'll only have to jack up each side twice.

rpm

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An04Prius

· #5 · May 4, 2005

rpm said:
yikes, I just rotated my tires myself using the car's jack...that'll give you a workout. Had to jack up each side 3 times, using the donut tire as a filler. I decided to rotate because I was at 5k miles, and was jacking up the rear anyway to install the mud flaps. At least when I buy mounted Blizzaks this fall, I'll only have to jack up each side twice.

rpm

Sounds like a lot of work. Many dlrs will include tire rotation in 5K service for free or small charge. Ck it out. It does seem to be good practice to rotate every 5K.

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dgstan

· #6 · May 5, 2005

rpm said:
yikes, I just rotated my tires myself using the car's jack...that'll give you a workout. Had to jack up each side 3 times, using the donut tire as a filler. I decided to rotate because I was at 5k miles, and was jacking up the rear anyway to install the mud flaps. At least when I buy mounted Blizzaks this fall, I'll only have to jack up each side twice.

rpm

I too rotated my tires this weekend. However, I went to Pep Boys and bought a hydrualic jack, jack stands, and wheel chocks. They had a special all-in-one kit that also included a creeper. All for $29. Best $29 I ever spent.

My local dealer wanted $30 for an oil change and another $20 for a tire rotation. Screw that!

DGStan

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Sanny

· #7 · May 5, 2005

dgstan said:
... They had a special all-in-one kit that also included a creeper.

Is a creeper one of those little pastel fleece suits with the footies and a bunny on the front next to the zipper? $29 for a set of jacks and a creeper with a bunny is definitely a bargain!

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Ray Moore

· #8 · May 5, 2005

I think tire rotation is a waste of money. I inspect my tires weekly for uneven wear and have not found any evidence of that yet. I have over 30,000 miles on the OEM tires. I rotate every 20,000 miles to keep the lug nuts from becoming too difficult to loosen. I will get at least 40,000 miles out of these tires. If you pay fifteen dollars per rotation, that is six more rotations by 40k at an additional cost of 90 dollars. That is almost half the cost of these tires new. If you got an additional 10,000 miles(doubtful) out of these tires by rotating them, the value of rotation is 50 dollars in additional tire life but you will have paid 135 dollars on rotation fees. If you pay 20 dollars to rotate the total fees would be 180 dollars. That's almost the total replacement cost. If you paid 150 dollars per tire, then it might be worthwhile to rotate.(might)

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hyperion

· #9 · May 5, 2005

Ray, I agree with you completely but I recognize that Japanese cars are different and thats the reason folks buy them. When I brought my car in for it's free five thousand mile check-up and oil change I told the service manager to skip the free rotation. (I really did not want to spend the time) He told me in no small terms that Toyota believes very strongly in the fact that the car really needs these rotations at the recommended times. (every 5,000 miles) They weren't making a dime here but they will "down trhe road" but I won't argue with the expert who is expected to know.

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KTPhil

· #10 · May 5, 2005

On front wheel drive cars rotation makes them wear out evenly, so you don't have half worn, half good tires, which might confuse ABS and definitely is "interesting" to drive with in rain. I also had to rotate them on my old VWs because of the strange camber of their suspensions. The front-heavy, front drive Prius probably needs it. I just do it myself, so it's free.

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hyperion

· #11 · May 5, 2005

Thats true but on my Chrysler mini vans I never had any sign of abnormal wear on the front tires but still rotated them at thirty thousand miles just to keep any wear the same when they were replaced at about 65,000 miles. They also had ABS. Depends upon the "animal" I expect but Toyota must have a good reason for their recommendations.

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dgstan

· #12 · May 5, 2005

Sanny said:
dgstan said:

... They had a special all-in-one kit that also included a creeper.

Click to expand...

Is a creeper one of those little pastel fleece suits with the footies and a bunny on the front next to the zipper? $29 for a set of jacks and a creeper with a bunny is definitely a bargain!

You know, I'm sure you think you're funny, but it's not a bunny.

It's a ducky!

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Astrowoman

· #13 · May 5, 2005

I'm pretty sure
It's a sort of a dolly--
If you think it cries "mama"
that's surely your folly.

You won't run amuck
sliding under your truck
With this little trolley

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BIF

· #14 · May 6, 2005

For you non-technical folks, there's only ONE reason you need for rotating your tires:

To avoid VOIDING your tire warranty!

It's the same reason you have your oil changed every 5,000 miles!

How do I know? My tire warranty was voided once, because the tire dealer had no record that I had taken the car in for rotations. I had distinctly uneven wear, and they were not useful anymore before the end of the warranty period (I dunno...40,000 miles? 50,000 miles?).

I still had time on the clock for a pro-rated credit toward a new set of tires, but the tire-dealer said they couldn't honor it, because the uneven wear was so distinct, it was obvious that I hadn't rotated my tires since they were new....it was more than 20,000 miles or so.

So live and learn!

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mrv

· #15 · May 8, 2005

Depends - which model year owner's manual are you reading? I know the rotation pattern changed from 2001 to 2002. (don't recall if X to front/back or the other way).

As long as you're rotating at every oil change, and not crossing if you have put on unidirectional tires (often winter tires), you should be fine.

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