Why Tire Rotation is So Important

 n

Have you rotated your tires lately?

Even in terms of having a mental checklist of common car maintenance, remembering to get the tires rotated is not one of our first thoughts.  People will inspect their tires to make sure they are properly inflated.  They may also make sure the tread is good to make sure they have the proper traction.

Tires are very important to the overall safety and performance of your car, and should be given plenty of attention. Specifically, you should be thinking about getting them rotated.

By doing so, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Why tires need to be occasionally rotated. In theory, if every road around the country was equally smooth, you might not have to rotate your tires. You could drive until they had equal amounts of wear and tear and eventually needed to be replaced. But roads have potholes, cracks and bumps. Meanwhile, some tires, simply due to how they’re made, hit the road differently, depending where they are on the car.

Your tires are beaten up on a daily basis.

Over time, tires start to wear down – but each tire doesn’t become worn in the same way. You may have less tread on the front tires than those in the back. If you rotate your tires, they are worn more evenly. That means it will take longer for your tires to wear out and need to be replaced.

If you don’t regularly rotate your tires, and one or two tires become thinner far faster than the others, the odds increase of having a flat tire.  Even worse, you could experience a blow out, which will require and emergency tire change or services of a tow truck. If that happens, with some makes and models, you will be advised to buy not just one tire but two or even four.

How often should you rotate your tires? It is always best to heck the owner’s manual, but generally, you need to do it every 5,000 to 7,000 miles.

It may be fine to go longer without rotating your tires, but if your car manual suggests you do it every 6,000 miles, we’d strongly suggest following that advice.

According to Angie’s List, the average cost to replace four tires is $637.

Generally, you can get away with buying new tires every three or four years. But if you don’t rotate your tires every once in awhile, you may not be so lucky. Depending on how often you drive, rotating your tires every other oil change is probably ideal.

Here’s the good news. Fortunately, you don’t have to always have to fill your tires and feel pressure before you get a flat. You can drop by Milex Complete Auto Care for your regular oil change, and we’ll always put air in your tires, and if you want, we’ll gladly rotate them.

Like most areas of car maintenance, the closer you pay attention to the care and rotation of the tires, the longer life you will get from them and the safer you will be on the road.