$75.00 for a tire rotation!

[ruby110]

Without a lift, I think the very limited jack points make tire rotation quite challenging for a DIYer

Tesla told me mobile service could rotate the tires. I had it down at a service center: there was no charge.

 

[Msjulie]

Mobile service came to my house yesterday to rotate tires at 63xx miles - I repeated asked and was repeatedly told no charge and indeed a receipt for $0 came in email not long after

Something weird going on I'm thinking..

 

[Runt8]

Omg.
Please tell me, we’re not going to see hundreds of threads from new model 3 owners dramatically complaining every time they go to a dealer. ...

They charge by the hour, so I guess your dealer might charge $75 an hour. It is what it is.

If you don’t like it, do it yourself, or go some place else.

The way it’s going we’re going to see hundreds of threads from just one user dramatically complaining about everything...

 

[AlexanderAF]

This is like the joke about the customer who complained about the washing machine repairman charging $50 and all he did was turn a screw. “I want an itemized bill,” the customer said. “OK”, said the repairman, and he wrote “Turning screw— 5 cents. Knowing which screw to turn— $49.95”.

When I had annual service for my Model S rotating the tires was included in the price, but when I went just for that I was charged as you were.

Stop complaining and pay the $75, or take your chances with a tire shop that charges less.

I immediately thought of this

 

[abasile]

While in for an "annual" service appointment, we had our Model S tires replaced at our Tesla Service Center, for a somewhat higher price than our local, independent shop in town. The service center told us that they'd include free tire rotations if we purchased tires from them. They've done one free rotation on the "new" tires thus far. When our Model S was covered by the pre-owned warranty, they also did free rotations when the car was in for service for other issues. Although our service center is far from us, every visit has been a very pleasant experience. That being said, I've never hesitated to use our local shop for tire rotations (for $20 or $25) if/when it's not convenient for us to visit the service center.

 

[brkaus]

Discount Tire sells road hazard warranties because they make money for Discount Tire. It is insurance. Sometimes it works out in your favor, if it always worked out in the consumers favor they wouldn't offer it.

The buyer has to pay the certificate fee on the initial tire. If the tire gets unrepairable damage, the terms of the certificate require purchasing a certificate on the new tire if I recall correctly last time I used it. Right there is roughly 40% of the tire. (The MXM4 tires are approx $250 after various rebates. The certificate costs $50. That's $100). Oops, there is another MXM4 that is cheaper and the certificates are cheaper... but the % still works out the same.

Then, consider the certificates were purchased on the other 3 tires (another $150). If the other three tires are worn, then they talk you into replacing all 4 and they pay the one with the damage. So they made a bigger sale.

If one lives in an area w/ terrible roads or lots of new home construction and pickup nails all the time, it's probably worthwhile.

 

[MissyMcBee]

I was told at delivery I could come in and get the tires rotated for no charge...

 

[Az_Rael]

They charge by the hour, so I guess your dealer might charge $75 an hour. It is what it is.

Yeah, the shop rate at my service center is $125/hour. They also charge around $75 for rotations I believe. I am taking my 3 in for her first 12k mile annual service in a few weeks (I know there isn't one listed on the site yet) so it should be interesting as to what that costs. I am betting I get charged the Model S rate.

 

[ChadS]

We have always gotten our tires rotated for free. Then again, we have always had a service plan and buy our tires from Tesla, so it is included in that. Not with the car.

That said, different service centers may have different policies.

 

[SageBrush]

That said, different service centers may have different policies.

I expect that from franchise dealerships, not from Tesla service centers

 

[bhzmark]

To be more clear -- rotating tires is overrated and generally more trouble and cost than it is worth -- if it has any benefit at all (namely just masking alignment problems)

Better is to have your car properly aligned, and:

1) use winter tire tires and switching between the two will be a natural rotation
2) just don't bother with rotation at all. When your tires are worn enough that any uneven wear is evident your tires should be replaced anyway, and if its really bad your alignment should be fixed
3) if your car is at a Tesla SC for the annual service or something else request if they can rotate for free if it makes you feel better

Don't risk your car being jacked, and tires (over/under) torqued by a nontesla service person. just not worth it.
car lift accidents - Google Search:

 

[SSonnentag]

My tires are wearing perfectly even, so rotating is a waste of time and money in my case.

 

[Graffi]

They're not free from Discount Tire when it's the factory set of tires like basically every Model 3 out there. Costco is free too... if you bought the tires from them.

Then it may only be your local Discount Tire. Here in San Diego (as well as Jacksonville, FL) Tire rotation is free, no matter where you buy your tires, or if they are factory tires on a new vehicle. Of course, they would like to sell you the Road Hazard Warranty, but not required. This has been the case for years since I have been using them, at multiple locations. Including Jacksonville, FL where we stopped on our cross country trip last year because it was at the 6,250 mile mark (or close to it). Between Supercharger stops we had the on-board NAV find us a convenient Discount Tire store where we stopped for about an hour while they did the rotation. No problems, no questions asked, they were happy to provide the service. Actually is is a smart Marketing move so more potential new customers will fall in love with their service and now they have a new customer for life.

 

[insaneoctane]

My experience is front tires wear the edges faster than the rear tires because they do all the steering. On powerful cars, the powered tires wear the general tread faster due to slippage. On FWD cars this can punish the front tires fairly quickly. On RWD it's less noticeable but the fronts still wear the edges faster and the rears the center tread faster. To maximize tire longevity you rotate to balance this. If Tesla will rotate as a courtesy and is convenient that is awesome. If not, the jack points make this either expensive or risky. I personally would not trust just anyone with a lift to jack this car properly. I agree this information and potential cost will factor in when I make my first tire set replacement purchase. As a SoCal guy, winter tires won't be part of the solution.

 

[MCJ_IP]

Just get it done with your next oil change. Simple

 

[mspohr]

Without a lift, I think the very limited jack points make tire rotation quite challenging for a DIYer

I DIY rotate my tires and also switch winter/summer tires.
I have two floor jacks, breaker bar and a torque wrench.
If you're not totally clueless, it's easy. Takes less than an hour.
You also have the security of knowing it was done right (proper jack points used and wheels torqued properly) rather than trusting some random person at a gas station / tire shop.

 

[EnrgyNDpndnce]

To be more clear -- rotating tires is overrated and generally more trouble and cost than it is worth -- if it has any benefit at all (namely just masking alignment problems)

Better is to have your car properly aligned, and:

1) use winter tire tires and switching between the two will be a natural rotation
2) just don't bother with rotation at all. When your tires are worn enough that any uneven wear is evident your tires should be replaced anyway, and if its really bad your alignment should be fixed
3) if your car is at a Tesla SC for the annual service or something else request if they can rotate for free if it makes you feel better

Don't risk your car being jacked, and tires (over/under) torqued by a nontesla service person. just not worth it.
car lift accidents - Google Search:

I don’t know man. I mean, I’m no car expert but like every car I have ever owned has recommended tire rotation every 5k or 10k Miles. Same with every set of tires I have ever purchased. And I have rotated my tires religiously and never experienced any issues, using mostly third party shops. I’m sure there are people who have experienced damage as a result of poorly performed tire rotation, but those would seem to be edge cases.

 

[insaneoctane]

I DIY rotate my tires and also switch winter/summer tires.
I have two floor jacks, breaker bar and a torque wrench.
If you're not totally clueless, it's easy. Takes less than an hour.
You also have the security of knowing it was done right (proper jack points used and wheels torqued properly) rather than trusting some random person at a gas station / tire shop.

How do you move Jack point from jack to stand? Or do you jack only 1 side and limit your rotation to no criss cross? I think the model 3 only has 4 jack points?

 

[Daniel in SD]

How uneven is the tire wear?
No reason to rotate tires unless the wear is uneven. A 50/50 balanced RWD car should have pretty even wear.

 

[DR61]

I don’t know man. I mean, I’m no car expert but like every car I have ever owned has recommended tire rotation every 5k or 10k Miles.

Currently Volvo, BMW and Mini do not recommend tire rotation at any time. I own two of these three. There may be others...

I rotate tires on our 2012 Mini but decided to not do it on the 2017 Volvo. Both have AWD. With 16k miles on the Volvo no problems are apparent.