How Often to Rotate Tires
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends rotating your tires every 5,000 miles for safety reasons. For more specific instructions for your specific make and model of car, there is information in your owner’s manual.
To make it easy, many experts recommend getting your tires rotated when you have your oil changed. However, if you have an older car that requires more frequent changes or don’t drive more than 10,000 miles a year, you might not need to rotate your tires that much. Typically, both oil changes and tire rotation can happen every six months. However, some car models like BMW only need oil changes every 15,000 miles, which is far too long to wait for a rotation.
Steps for Rotating Tires
The easiest way to have your tires rotated is to take your car to a mechanic or dealer. This is because you need a car lift so that you can remove all the tires at once, rather than the tedious method of taking one tire off at a time. The mechanic will usually just switch the tires from front to back to even out the wear and tear. However, if there are signs of irregular wear, they might also cross rotate to help everything stay equal.
Signs You Need to Rotate Your Tires
You’ll be able to tell from the way your car handles that your tires need a rotation. While cruising down the highway, you might begin to feel a slight vibration at the steering wheel. This happens because of uneven wear on the tires. In fact, if you take a look at your tires, you might actually notice these irregular patterns of wear. One side of your tire might be smoother than the other. Finally, pressure loss is also a frequent symptom of tires that need a rotation.
Benefits of Rotating Tires
There are myriad benefits to rotating your tires, the main of which is extending the life of the tires. They’ll keep their traction longer and support better overall tread. With more tread, you’ll also have increased traction and handling in adverse conditions, like wet or icy roads. Your car will grip the road better, helping you stay in control of the vehicle. Lastly, having your tires rotated keeps them under warranty should you ever experience a manufacturer’s defect.
If you don’t feel comfortable rotating your tires yourself, we can easily do this service for you. Just bring your car to Priority Toyota Chesapeake to have us take a look. While you’re here, you might even want to think about taking a test drive to see what your upgrade options are.
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