A tire rotation is an essential part of proper vehicle maintenance that every driver should do, but for regular drivers, knowing when to get a rotation can be challenging. If you notice any of these signs on your vehicle, you should rotate your car’s tires immediately.
Vehicle Vibration
One of the most significant signals that your tires are due for service is that the vehicle vibrates while driving. This vibration typically happens when the car goes at high speeds—at least above 45 mph. If you’re on the highway and feel the car vibrating or jostling strangely, it could be due to the tires.
When the tires become unbalanced, the vehicle can vibrate at high speeds due to the tread on certain tires wearing down faster than others. This vibration could also come from more severe issues, like wheel misalignment, so either way, you should get it checked out immediately.
Uneven Tread Wear
Another clear sign that you should immediately rotate your car’s tires is that there’s noticeable uneven wear. Uneven tire wear most commonly manifests in the front tires, which wear down faster than the rear tires, so it’s wise to compare those closely.
If the difference isn’t too significant and the wear pattern is not too irregular, rotating the tires will fix the issues and slowly balance everything out. However, if the discrepancy is prominent and the wear pattern is irregular enough, your tires may be beyond saving, and you may need to spring for new ones.
Loss of Pressure
Does your car’s tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) keep alerting you that one tire is losing pressure faster than the others? The imbalance of the tire tread can cause this loss of pressure, but it’s not always the tire with the least amount of tread that loses pressure.
Check all your tires carefully and compare the wear on each to see if they’re unbalanced. The tire may leak or have other issues, but a tire rotation may quickly and affordably fix the problem.
How Often Should I Rotate My Tires?
These warning signs occur when it’s well past the time to rotate the tires, so how often should drivers rotate their tires to avoid these issues? How frequently you get a tire rotation depends on how often you drive your vehicle and how many miles you put on it.
The common recommendation is to get your tires rotated yearly, but that’s a common tire myth that’s been debunked. Around every 5,000 miles is a good time to consider a tire rotation, but you should never go over 8,000 miles without rotating. If you have a long commute and put many miles on your vehicle, you may have to rotate your tires closer to twice a year.
