Why Should I Rotate My Tires?

Why should I rotate my tires? I wonder this, especially when I’m paying the bill for my oil change at the dealership. Just how important is it, really? It’s really important if you want your vehicle to be at it’s best and want to get the maximum life out your tires. You see, tires tend to wear unevenly.  Your front tires tend to wear on the outside edges because every time you take a corner the tire leans. The rear tires tend to follow the front tires, so they usually wear more evenly. So, if you leave your tires in place, those outside edges on the front tires will wear down much faster than the rear tires. That means you will be replacing those tires much sooner than you should have to. And as someone who just purchased new tires, they are expensive, I want them to last as long as possible so I guess I will get my tires rotated every 6k miles like the manufacturer suggests.

There are other reasons your tires could wear unevenly, like your car being out of alignment. That can cause your tires to wear unevenly and if left uncorrected can shorten the life of your tires. Rotating tires keeps them from wearing unevenly, helps to identify when they are wearing unevenly and can help to even out your tires from when they have worn unevenly.

Rotating your tires on a set schedule will make your ride smoother and handle safer. It will also extend the life of your tires, saving you time and money in the long run. Getting new tires can easily set you back anywhere from $500-$2000+ depending on your vehicle plus it’s a complete time suck. Plan on spending a few hours at the dealership or dropping your car off.

I take my SUV to the dealership for all oil changes and while I am there they rotate my tires. It only adds on about 15 minutes to my appointment, those 15 minutes make a world of difference in the health of my tires. So, take those 15 minutes and get your tires rotated every other oil change to help extend the useful life of your tires.