How often should you rotate your tires?

Rotating tires evens out wear and extends tire life.

Skipping rotation means the hardest-worked pair wears out well before the other, so you replace tyres in pairs and sooner. It also changes the front-to-rear grip balance, which matters most in the wet.

1. Check the correct pattern for your car. The handbook is the authority. As Michelin describes it, front-wheel drive moves the fronts straight to the rear and crosses the rears to the front. Rear-wheel drive is the reverse: rears straight forward, fronts crossed to the rear. Directional tyres only swap front to back on the same side.
2. Loosen the nuts before lifting. Break each wheel nut a quarter turn while the wheel is still on the ground.
3. Raise and support on stands. On level ground, on axle stands at the jacking points in the handbook, with the wheels left on the ground chocked. Never rely on a jack alone.
4. Move the wheels to their new positions. Follow the pattern. Mark them with chalk if you are likely to lose track.
5. Inspect each tyre while it is off. Look at tread depth, uneven wear patterns, sidewall damage, and any embedded stones or screws.
6. Torque the nuts in a star pattern. Use a torque wrench to the manufacturer’s figure. Do not use an impact gun to final-tighten.
7. Recheck the torque after a short drive. Wheel nuts can settle, particularly on alloy wheels. Follow the recheck distance in the handbook or from the wheel maker.

• A visible tread depth difference between front and rear
• Feathering or cupping on the tread edges
• Increased road noise, often the first symptom of uneven wear
• The car pulling or the steering feeling vague

• Rotating directional tyres across the car, which puts them backwards
• Ignoring the pattern on all-wheel drive, where the handbook is often specific
• Final-tightening with an impact gun, which can over-torque the nuts
• Rotating tyres that are already worn unevenly without finding out why, which just moves the problem

• Michelin’s standard recommendation is every 5,000 to 7,000 miles, or every other oil change, and it notes that all-wheel-drive vehicles usually need rotating more often
• Cars with staggered fitments, where the rear tyres are wider, may not be able to rotate front to rear at all
• Combine it with the seasonal tyre changeover if you run winter tyres

Uneven wear that returns after rotation means an alignment or suspension fault. That needs measurement on proper equipment rather than another rotation.