Tires don't wear evenly. On a front-wheel-drive car the fronts do the steering, most of the braking and all of the pulling, so they wear faster than the rears. Rotating moves each tire to a new position so the set wears down together.
Balancing fixes a different problem. No tire and wheel is perfectly even in weight, so small weights are added to the rim to cancel out the heavy spots. When a weight falls off or a tire wears unevenly, you feel it as a shake in the steering wheel or the seat, usually around highway speed.
The rotation pattern depends on your car and tires. Directional tires can only move front to back on the same side, and cars with different sizes front and rear can't be rotated front to back at all.
Why it matters
Even wear, longer life
A set that wears evenly can be replaced as four at once, instead of two at a time with mismatched tread.
A smoother ride
A balanced wheel spins without hopping. An unbalanced one shakes the steering, wears suspension parts and can cup the tread.
It matters more on AWD
Many all-wheel-drive vehicles need all four tires close in tread depth. Regular rotation keeps them that way, so you don't end up buying four tires because two wore out.
Signs it's time
- Steering wheel shakes at highway speed
- Vibration through the seat or floor
- Front tires noticeably more worn than the rears
- Scalloped, choppy wear on the tread
- More than 10,000 km since the last rotation
- A wheel weight missing from the rim
What's included
- Tread depth measured at each position
- Tires rotated in the pattern your car and tires allow
- Each wheel balanced on a wheel balancer
- Old weights removed and the rim cleaned where new ones go
- Pressures set to the door-placard spec
- Wheel nuts torqued to manufacturer spec
- TPMS relearn if your car needs one after a rotation
How often
About every 8,000–12,000 km
Check your owner's manual for the exact interval. Many people rotate at every other oil change, or at each seasonal tire changeover.
