Tire Rotation

[peterk9]

I for one will not be following the tire rotation diagram as outlined in the Owner's Guide for the following reasons;

1. Some tire shops recommend to keep the tire motion going in the same direction which was used to break it in. Switching a tire from one side of the vehicle to the other means that the tires will now be going in an opposite direction (backwards) to that which was used to initially break them in. It is believed that this could possibly lead to belt separation.

2. Many tires now a days, mine included, have a directional tread pattern. Switching the tires from one side to the other will mean the tread is now running backwards. Not a good idea.

For the last 10 years I have had full time AWD/4WD Highlanders and have always rotated the tires front to back, back to front on the same side without any issues. I did not include the spare in any rotation.

I also think that in regards to point #2, this is someting that Ford should have mentioned in the Owner's Guide.

 

[LONO100]

you have to check and see if your tread pattern is omnidirectional or unidirectional. this will determine whether you should be switching tire sides or not. omni yes, uni, no. most tires you see today are usually unidirectional. also, the more often you can rotate your tires the better. i try to do mine myself on all our vehicles every 3k miles. good luck!

 

[stripesace]

So how do you tell if they are uni or omni? I'll never understand why service centers charge so much to rotate tires...

 

[harlenm]

Unidirectional will have an arrow on the sidewall with a direction.

 

[harlenm]

Example

 

[VinceL]

Example

Well there it is, you learn something new every day.

 

[TIO M]

Well I took mine in for a oil change at got a rotation and they did the front to back. I confirmed it because my front tire had something sticky goo on it and when I picked it up it was placed on the rear axle. So I know they are atleast doing it that way.

 

[peterk9]

Well I took mine in for a oil change at got a rotation and they did the front to back. I confirmed it because my front tire had something sticky goo on it and when I picked it up it was placed on the rear axle. So I know they are atleast doing it that way.

Just curious if your tires have a directional tread or not.

 

[harlenm]

Just curious if your tires have a directional tread or not.

The 20" Hankooks are not directional, just checked them.

 

[peterk9]

So how do you tell if they are uni or omni? I'll never understand why service centers charge so much to rotate tires...

The tire should be marked on the sidewall indicating the rotation. If not, you should be able to tel by looking at the tread pattern. In the picture which shows the tire I have, you can see that the pattern is shaped somewhat like an arrow. That also indicates the direction of the forward travel.
Also, I found out that it is best to check your tires after an installation or a rotation is done, especially if you have directional ones. When I had mine installed initially, the ones on the right were installed backwards and had to be re-done.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Discount tire advice

I just had a tire rotation discussion with Discount Tire personnel when I purchased two new radials for my front wheel drive Toyota Highlander. Directional tires are not cross rotated. For non-directional tires and front wheel drive the two new tires go on the rear to promote understeer for safety in turns. Front to rear rotation tires stay on same side. Rear to front rotation tires are crossed. The rationale is that uneven tire wear is worse than cross tire wear. Therefore, crossing the tires extends the mileage life of the tire. I argued that if there is an alignment problem then it should be corrected by realignment instead of crossing the tires but that is their policy.

 

[peterk9]

I just had a tire rotation discussion with Discount Tire personnel when I purchased two new radials for my front wheel drive Toyota Highlander. Directional tires are not cross rotated. For non-directional tires and front wheel drive the two new tires go on the rear to promote understeer for safety in turns. Front to rear rotation tires stay on same side. Rear to front rotation tires are crossed. The rationale is that uneven tire wear is worse than cross tire wear. Therefore, crossing the tires extends the mileage life of the tire. I argued that if there is an alignment problem then it should be corrected by realignment instead of crossing the tires but that is their policy.

My Highlander was the 4WD and if I remember correctly, the Owner's Manual showed front to back and back to front with no crossover. I know that at one time when radials came out, many people ran into belt separation by running the tires in the opposite direction to which they were broken in. Some tire personel still feel they should not be crossed because of that. Perhaps that is no longer an issue but I can see why there would be a concern. Both my '06 and '09 Highlanders required 4 wheel alignments within the first 2 years.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

I'm on my 4th Explorer in the past 7 years. Over 280,000 miles total. Have had many tire rotations. All done by the book. Never had any belts seperate.