My first Model 3 tire rotation experience at 28,000 Miles

[Nghia_3M]

You might want to consider having the alignment toe checked if the insides of your tires are worn. Any cupping? The model 3 toes in, normally, but the alignment from the factory has been known to be off. I rotated my tires in the Fall, 7500 miles, found the worn insides, had it checked, way out of spec. Replaced the set.

As far as the pucks are concerned, not all of them are metal. Some are regular rubber hockey pucks repurposed. I drilled ¾” holes, glued in some ¾” PEX, I had leftover. Wrapped hockey tape around the PEX to get the right friction fit, so the pucks hang tight. Now, if I have to take it in to a shop, I just stick the pucks in, and don’t worry about whether the shop has any.

I never knew there were so many tire terms out there. I had to google all of them cause I have very little experience with cars. I did not find any "cupping" on my front tires.

You might want to consider having the alignment toe checked if the insides of your tires are worn. Any cupping? The model 3 toes in, normally, but the alignment from the factory has been known to be off. I rotated my tires in the Fall, 7500 miles, found the worn insides, had it checked, way out of spec. Replaced the set.

As far as the pucks are concerned, not all of them are metal. Some are regular rubber hockey pucks repurposed. I drilled ¾” holes, glued in some ¾” PEX, I had leftover. Wrapped hockey tape around the PEX to get the right friction fit, so the pucks hang tight. Now, if I have to take it in to a shop, I just stick the pucks in, and don’t worry about whether the shop has any.

I never knew there were so many tire terms out there. I had to google all of them cause I have very little experience with cars. I did not find any "cupping" on my front tires. I am bit confused.... If the model 3 normally toes in, shouldn't the outer tread be worn? Some of the other people also reported the inner tread being worn too... So I am wondering if my car is actually "toe out" too much. Once I bring it into a shop (haven't found one yet), I can follow up with better info...

 

[Nghia_3M]

I never knew there were so many tire terms out there. I had to google all of them cause I have very little experience with cars. I did not find any "cupping" on my front tires. I am bit confused.... If the model 3 normally toes in, shouldn't the outer tread be worn? Some of the other people also reported the inner tread being worn too... So I am wondering if my car is actually "toe out" too much. Once I bring it into a shop (haven't found one yet), I can follow up with better info..

 

[KenC]

The Tech that came out to upgrade my Vision Computer (the new Chip), said it would cost about $80 for a tire rotation. After spending the money and effort, it may have been better to let the tech do it. But then I wouldn't find out about the premature wear unless the tech pointed it out. Sometimes it's good to do it yourself so you learn about your car. If it truly was $40, that's a deal considering all the equipment needed.

Most definitely. That's why I like to rotate my tires. You get to visually inspect your tires, up close, also you get to look at your brake pads and rotors, and all the brake lines. And you can look at the suspension, shocks, and the under trays to see if there's anything leaking, ripping or dirt collecting or mice droppings. It's good practice if you ever need to swap out a tire, that is if you carry a spare. And, you can tighten the rear ground strap if your car is whining like it has for some of us.

 

[KenC]

I never knew there were so many tire terms out there. I had to google all of them cause I have very little experience with cars. I did not find any "cupping" on my front tires.

I never knew there were so many tire terms out there. I had to google all of them cause I have very little experience with cars. I did not find any "cupping" on my front tires. I am bit confused.... If the model 3 normally toes in, shouldn't the outer tread be worn? Some of the other people also reported the inner tread being worn too... So I am wondering if my car is actually "toe out" too much. Once I bring it into a shop (haven't found one yet), I can follow up with better info...

The tires "toe" in, AND, are cambered. The combination means that if the toe isn't correct, you can see abnormal wear on the inner tread blocks. When it's bad, you get a cupping effect that you can feel when you run your hand over the inner tread block. The front of each block will wear more than the backs, creating ridges, aka cupping. You should be able to hear cupping as well.

Sure, your tires can be out of spec, toeing IN or OUT too much. They both can lead to abnormal wear on the inner tread blocks. That's because of the camber.

Many tires shops offer free alignment check. Of course, they have an incentive to find the alignment out of spec, even if a tiny bit. Where I live $100 is pretty normal for a 4-wheel alignment. On a Tesla alignment is super easy since they can only adjust toe. Takes no time at all. My local shop had never aligned a "3" before, so I had to explain everything to them, and they wanted me to drive it up on their Hunter Roadforce alignment jig, and center the steering wheel, when the tires were free floating. Then I helped the tech enter the "3"s alignment specs into the computer, and watched as the tech removed the under trays and adjusted the toe. It gave me a chance to take pics of the motors, and look at the suspension bits to make sure everything looked good. It's worth doing just to learn more about your car, and it never hurts to be friendly to the tire shop guys, so when you change to Winter tires or new tires, or fix a flat, you know who can help you. And, of course, they'll remember the guy with the Tesla.

In San Jose, every tire shop should know Teslas, unlike here in Maine, where they still are fairly rare.

 

[Snow Drift]

Why does one wait until 30k to do a rotation? I rotate every time I change from summer to winter shoes.

Ski

This, or 6k miles. Whichever is faster.

 

[Nghia_3M]

The tires "toe" in, AND, are cambered. The combination means that if the toe isn't correct, you can see abnormal wear on the inner tread blocks. When it's bad, you get a cupping effect that you can feel when you run your hand over the inner tread block. The front of each block will wear more than the backs, creating ridges, aka cupping. You should be able to hear cupping as well.

Sure, your tires can be out of spec, toeing IN or OUT too much. They both can lead to abnormal wear on the inner tread blocks. That's because of the camber.

Many tires shops offer free alignment check. Of course, they have an incentive to find the alignment out of spec, even if a tiny bit. Where I live $100 is pretty normal for a 4-wheel alignment. On a Tesla alignment is super easy since they can only adjust toe. Takes no time at all. My local shop had never aligned a "3" before, so I had to explain everything to them, and they wanted me to drive it up on their Hunter Roadforce alignment jig, and center the steering wheel, when the tires were free floating. Then I helped the tech enter the "3"s alignment specs into the computer, and watched as the tech removed the under trays and adjusted the toe. It gave me a chance to take pics of the motors, and look at the suspension bits to make sure everything looked good. It's worth doing just to learn more about your car, and it never hurts to be friendly to the tire shop guys, so when you change to Winter tires or new tires, or fix a flat, you know who can help you. And, of course, they'll remember the guy with the Tesla.

In San Jose, every tire shop should know Teslas, unlike here in Maine, where they still are fairly rare.

Wow. Thanks for all the expertise. I actually understood all of that!

 

[DopeGhoti]

If it truly was $40, that's a deal considering all the equipment needed.

Total a few weeks ago for Mobile Service to roll out and rotate my tires was $31 out of pocket.

 

[KenC]

Wow. Thanks for all the expertise. I actually understood all of that!

The funny thing is, when I owned an ICE, my weekly habit was always to check pressures and look at the tires for uneven wear, while filling the tank with gas. So, my tires got checked weekly. I'm sure it was the same with most people.

With the Tesla, I no longer stop for gas, so I no longer check my tires weekly. I'd stick my hand in the wheel well, and run my hand over the inner tread blocks to check for feathering. Actually wherever I wrote cupping in earlier posts, I actually meant feathering! So, I would have caught my abnormal wear almost immediately with my old ICE. With the Tesla, I caught it too late, and had to buy all new tires, or at least 2 fronts.

 

[sandohno7]

America's Tires recommend tire rotation every 5k miles. Once the customer and/or car is in their system, they should do the tire rotation and flat repair for free.

 

[XLR82XS]

America's Tires recommend tire rotation every 5k miles.

Too general. Every vehicle is different - follow the owners manual schedule.

 

[PDB2655]

Just had my tires rotated at 7000 miles my Tesla rep came to me Tesla charge me 35.00 don't need to buy all those stinking tools which I have. I got my Model 3 so I do not have work on them I just call the service tech make my appointment and zip its done, I will always get my tires rotated at 7000 miles after all these the most expensive cost we have on this car.

 

[Marty3SR+]

If anyone reads this still, I just scheduled a tire rotation for my M3 in the SF Bay Area, and they quoted $50. They plan to do other service in addition, it seems:
Replace Refrigerant P/T Sensors
Install O-Ring at top of trunk power strut bellows
Check and rotate tires with automatic TPMS learn

The car has 11K miles. I totally missed the 6500 mile service. I have 1/16" more wear on the back than the front now.

 

[dvaquerano]

There are a several tire shops that do not charge for a tire rotation. I got mine done at Discount tire FYI.

 

[Willy’sEV]

About 2 months ago at 6K miles I had the Tesla tech come to the house for tire roration.
He took a gauge and measured all 4 tires, he said they were the same all around and did not do a rotation.
I thought this was strange.
He told me to have it done after the winter.
Now have 9K miles and when I do a visual inspection of the tires, they all look the same, nothing uneven. I keep them at 42psi.

 

[rpiotro]

About 2 months ago at 6K miles I had the Tesla tech come to the house for tire roration.
He took a gauge and measured all 4 tires, he said they were the same all around and did not do a rotation.
I thought this was strange.
He told me to have it done after the winter.
Now have 9K miles and when I do a visual inspection of the tires, they all look the same, nothing uneven. I keep them at 42psi.

Nothing strange about it. Get a depth gauge and check them periodically. If they are wearing evenly there is no need to rotate them. I never did on the last two cars I owned. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Marty3SR+]

There are a several tire shops that do not charge for a tire rotation. I got mine done at Discount tire FYI.

So even if they didn't sell the tires they do this?

Unfortunately, I don't trust most tire shops to even check the pressure. I'm sure they aren't all bad, but I've had bad experience at a few in past cars. For example, the Firestone dealer near me might have 10 - 15 lbs difference between tires. I asked the guy how he calibrates his tire gauge, and he said when it seems to be bad, he gets a new one. I was wanting to check a new gauge I bought, which I know was at least within a pound or two of correct but his gauge was about 8 lbs off. Another time, I went to Wheel Works, and next time I needed to remove the tire, I had to stand on the wrench with an extension and bounce on it to loosen some nuts - and I'm not a small guy.

I had Tesla come out to do it because it's never been serviced, and I'd heard there was a warranty fix some model 3s needed. So he did that also. I watched him do the rotation to see how he did it, so next time I can do it. He told me that the one jack point raised both wheels, so it was pretty easy.

 

[CaptainKrunch]

Based on the first week of owning my tesla, I don't think my tires will last until the first scheduled
rotation

 

[DopeGhoti]

Based on the first week of owning my tesla, I don't think my tires will last until the first scheduled
rotation

If this is not an exaggeration, you either seriously need to get your alignment checked, or you need to perhaps stop treating every intersection with a red light like a drag strip