Rotating tires on Model3

[vactor]

the manual says every 6,000 miles but the Tesla rep who came out to the house yesterday to replace battery on our Model X says its not necessary. i have 11,000 miles on my model3, have U rotated your tires?

 

[Daniel in SD]

Are your tires wearing unevenly? If not I wouldn't bother rotating them. Many manufacturers don't recommend rotating tires. No idea why Tesla still recommends it. The amount of money you might save isn't worth the hassle IMHO. Also, rotating the tires might mask alignment problems and of course any time anyone works on your car they could mess it up (especially the level of mechanic that is assigned to rotate tires!).

 

[owensd]

Rotating your tires prolongs the life of your tires to help distribute the wear evenly. It's not necessary, but it's good to do it and will help you get to the actual rated range of your tires.

 

[vactor]

Rotating your tires prolongs the life of your tires to help distribute the wear evenly. It's not necessary, but it's good to do it and will help you get to the actual rated range of your tires.

thanks, much appreciated info

 

[vactor]

Are your tires wearing unevenly? If not I wouldn't bother rotating them. Many manufacturers don't recommend rotating tires. No idea why Tesla still recommends it. The amount of money you might save isn't worth the hassle IMHO. Also, rotating the tires might mask alignment problems and of course any time anyone works on your car they could mess it up (especially the level of mechanic that is assigned to rotate tires!).

thanks, getting a free alignment now at Goodyear tire, getting their opinion, appreciate your reply

 

[MountainPass]

We had to rotate our Aero's because we used them for drifting and they are half worn out already!

 

[woodisgood]

It's more of a question of whether you'd prefer to buy two new tires sooner (say 15k miles) or four later (say, 30k).

 

[Thunder7ga]

I had mine done for the first time this past Monday at the Marietta, GA Service Center (was already there for other reasons). They did say it should be done every 6,250 miles. Mine was at about 8,700. They also said since this was the first time, it was free, but future would be $75. I likely will do it elsewhere for about $15 (and they have the right setup to lift the car properly). For reference, my fronts were at 7/32" and rears at 6/32".

 

[David L]

You should compare the tire wear of your front and back tires with coins. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51 After 6500 miles, my front tires had negligible wear and my back tires were down to 6/32", although I drove my 3 fairly gently, so I rotated them. For perspective, the aero wheel tires come new with 8/32" tread and end of life is 2/32".

 

[John999]

Had my tires rotated the other day at Tesla SC because my rear tires were at 3/32”, with 5000 miles on the car. Tesla rep says tires are different on a Tesla. Ok...but I can’t imagine that I should be having to replace them every 5k miles. Btw, they charged $87 for the rotatation. Going to see if Michelin will replace them.

 

[android04]

Had my tires rotated the other day at Tesla SC because my rear tires were at 3/32”, with 5000 miles on the car. Tesla rep says tires are different on a Tesla. Ok...but I can’t imagine that I should be having to replace them every 5k miles. Btw, they charged $87 for the rotatation. Going to see if Michelin will replace them.

3/32" tread on your rears after 5000 miles!? Either your tires were defective or you were having too much fun with Slip Start...

BTW, I haven't yet tried Slip Start. I plan on testing it out when my original tires are down to the wear bars and need to be replaced

 

[ngogas]

The car is close to 50/50 so you don’t really need to. My bmw is 50/50 and I never had to.

 

[Mich Mod 3]

My rear tires wear quicker than my front tires.

I rotate my own tires.

I live 5 to 6 hours from a SC and don't want to waste of a ranger's time. I use a jack adapter and a winter wheel for a place holder while doing it. I didn't plan on rotating the tires outside of when I change from summer to winter wheels but have been driving the car more than I thought I would.

 

[Sddenizen]

Had my tires rotated the other day at Tesla SC because my rear tires were at 3/32”, with 5000 miles on the car. Tesla rep says tires are different on a Tesla. Ok...but I can’t imagine that I should be having to replace them every 5k miles. Btw, they charged $87 for the rotatation. Going to see if Michelin will replace them.

Discount Tires will rotate tires for free. I'm in CA so don't know if there is a store near you.

 

[P3D_Denver]

does it make a difference if you have anAWD? will they wear evenly so no need to rotate?

 

[halfricanguy]

I had my tires rotated for the first time at my first service center appointment at 12,000 miles. I have to find my service center documentation, but the tires were just past half life, with the front being worn a little more than the back (I have RWD).

 

[cusman]

I think with an AWD, the tires should wear out evenly and therefore not require rotating of tires as often.
The RWD is more likely to benefit from tire rotation every 6000 miles to keep the wear more even.

Even simple things like you making more right turns than left turns over time can have one side more worn than the other. Per my understanding, Tesla cars are electric and control your tires a lot better with the instant torque to prevent skidding and other such things that cause uneven tire wear so tires should last better than they do on ICE cars.

Even so, tire manufacturers require tire rotation in order to replace your tires under warranty. They can tell you haven't been rotating your tires if they aren't evenly worn out. I think it will be more apparent in an RWD than an AWD car.

 

[android04]

By the way, if any of you plan on rotating your tires and will be buying a jack, I highly recommend this 2-ton Xtra Low Profile one from Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OCIBPIM/. It has a safety bar with 2 positions that will hold the weight in case of failure of the hydraulic system, so it's like a jack and jack stand in one. The benefit of this is that you can jack up an entire side of the Model 3 with just 1 jack and still be safe due to the safety bar. Here are a few pictures of me swapping my all-season wheels/tires for my winter wheels/tires with this jack. I circled the safety bar in red so you can see it in position.

 

[Snow Drift]

does it make a difference if you have anAWD? will they wear evenly so no need to rotate?

You still should rotate. The motors do not send equal power to each axle at all times (they are modulated for traction and possibly sleep) and the fronts turn, so that can add to a different wear pattern.

Please remember that tires must be the same on AWD cars or else you can cause the system to over compensate, and that could be bad for the differential. So if you replace one tires (say for a nail) you need to make sure it is within an allowable difference in depth (x/32nds) from the tire on the other end of the axle (or even front/rear sometimes). I usually have Tire Rack shave the new tire to match the others.

 

[P3D_Denver]

You still should rotate. The motors do not send equal power to each axle at all times (they are modulated for traction and possibly sleep) and the fronts turn, so that can add to a different wear pattern.

Please remember that tires must be the same on AWD cars or else you can cause the system to over compensate, and that could be bad for the differential. So if you replace one tires (say for a nail) you need to make sure it is within an allowable difference in depth (x/32nds) from the tire on the other end of the axle (or even front/rear sometimes). I usually have Tire Rack shave the new tire to match the others.

interesting, i had no idea you could have new tires shaved to match your current worn down tires!