How often should the tires be rotated?
I know that Toyota Sienna is a Front-Wheel drive car, but is it the reason that the front tires and running out faster than the rear wheels? Is it normal?
I bought my tires from Costco, which in turn they do the rotation for free when I bring the car in. If I bought a new car, will the dealer do the rotation for free too? If not, what is the normal charge to do this kind of thing?
I know there’s a coin trick (penny) to check if you need to have the tires replaced, but it doesn’t quite work out for me? Is there any other way I can check to see if my tires need replacement now?
Thank you very much,
neonung
Rotate the tires every second oil change, at the same time as the oil change. That saves on labor and lift time. $10-$15 should cover it, less sometimes…FWD vehicles eat their front tires. That’s why you rotate them, to even out the wear. When 80% of the original tread is gone, you can consider them worn out…
Even on a rear drive car, the front tires wear out faster. They carry more weight and do all the steering.
You do not get free tire rotation on a new car, unless it is a special deal such as “3 years free maintenance” as some brands offer now. Costco is very good about the free rotation and balance; I’ve used them for many years.
The cost of tire rotation is all over the map; my local garage charges $20 to take my winter tires off in the spring and replace whem with the summer tires already on the rims. They charge the same for rotation. Balancing is extra.
If you bring your Costco tires in regularly, they should WEAR OUT EVENLY.
The penny check works for all tires; however, driving longer does not necessarily turn your car into a death trap. It just has less traction and does not handle as well.
It sounds like you have not been rotating your tires in the past; believe me, $20 every 10,000 miles is a good investment to maximize tire life.
Please state what you believe your present problem to be!
The rotation schedule for your vehicle is in your owner’s manual.
Rear tires on a front driver wear oddly and become noisy and must be rotated to offset this.
Ask the dealer.
Your tires have wearout indicators molded into the treads. No penny is needed.
If the 4 tires on the car are not worn in a very similar fashion, there is one explanation for this situation, namely owner negligence.
If tires are rotated every 5k miles or every 7.5k miles, if they are inflated correctly, and if the vehicle’s wheel alignment is within factory specifications, then tire wear should be very close to even on all 4 tires.
Tire rotation is not a “whenever I think of it” service, and it needs to be done at the same interval each time (5k or 7.5 k). When the tires are rotated, take a look to see if there are uneven wear patterns across the width of the tread. If there is more wear in some areas than others, this indicates that the tires are not properly inflated, and/or that the wheels need alignment, and/or possibly that repairs to its front-end components are needed.
Tire pressure needs to be checked every few weeks. When it is not checked frequently, you run the risk of low inflation pressure, and this situation leads to increased tread wear.
Your Owner’s Manual will provide information on how to check for tire wear, as well as info on tire inflation and rotation.
Time to open the glove compartment, take out the manual, and read it!
You can buy a depth gauge for tires, they are very inexpensive.
The standard recommendation from tire manufacturers - and it should say something similar in your owners manual - is to rotate tires every 5K to 8K miles.
BTW FWD cars tend to wear the front tires 2? time faster than the rear. This is normal. The front tires are doing all the steering, all the accelerating, and most of the braking, so they’ll wear faster.
“If the 4 tires on the car are not worn in a very similar fashion, there is one explanation for this situation, namely owner negligence.”
Really? Only ONE explanation? That’s your opinion as a mechanic, that there’s only ONE explanation for that? Hmmm.
ZW
I have yet to see any evidence of automotive knowledge or diagnostic ability in any of your posts. Every post of yours that I have observed is either a comment on the solution to the largely non-automotive Puzzler from the radio program, or a snarky comment regarding someone else’s post, albeit lacking any actual repair advice or diagnostic insight on your part.
Since tire wear that varies more than slightly from one tire to another is traceable to lack of rotation, and/or improper inflation pressure, and/or failure to have alignment done promptly when problems first surface, then–yes, I do believe that owner negligence is the central factor in these situations.