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Is a tire rotation every 6 months with 3K miles driven over kill?

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3.6K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  SLS Artemis  
#1 ·
Hi All,

As the title suggests, I've been averaging 6K miles a year for the last 4 years on my 2019 Rav4. I've been doing a tire rotation myself every 6 months. Is this overkill given I'm driving only ~3K miles in a given 6 month interval? Should I start rotating my tires every 12 months if I continue to average 6K miles annually?

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Urmil said:
Should I start rotating my tires every 12 months if I continue to average 6K miles annually?
Click to expand...
Yes--do that. I have driven annually about 5K to 6k miles since about 2005 and only rotated the tires once a year. I have had no problems with unusual wear or anything else tire related. This was on previous Jeep's Toyo A/T2s (Les Swab free rotations) and now on my Falken Trails (Discount tires free rotations.)
 
#7 ·
I appreciate all the feedback. I'll start rotating my tires once a year for the time being.

The one thing I will say about rotating your tires every 6 months is that if you're into detailing your car (as I am), it's great to be able to keep the inner barrel nice and clean. I usually notice at least 1 or 2 spot dots of tar or some other contaminant on the inner barrel which I always make sure to clean off during my tire rotations.
 
#8 ·
Urmil said:
I appreciate all the feedback. I'll start rotating my tires once a year for the time being.

The one thing I will say about rotating your tires every 6 months is that if you're into detailing your car (as I am), it's great to be able to keep the inner barrel nice and clean. I usually notice at least 1 or 2 spot dots of tar or some other contaminant on the inner barrel which I always make sure to clean off during my tire rotations.
Click to expand...
The longer they go, the harder it is to get the grime off the inner part of the rim.
I use one of those stiff brush heads you can put onto a cordless, hot water & dawn. It's a chore for sure.
 
#10 ·
crisps said:
it's overkill yes...
but also sort of ideal if you don't mind the work

annual is all you need
Click to expand...
Rav4-lim said:
The longer they go, the harder it is to get the grime off the inner part of the rim.
I use one of those stiff brush heads you can put onto a cordless, hot water & dawn. It's a chore for sure.
Click to expand...
That's what I'm worried about as well. So far, with 6 month tire rotations, I've been able to remove all contaminates from the inner barrel. Usually I can get away with just PH neutral car soap, and for stubborn areas, I use a little tar remover.

In my situation, I will try to reduce my tire rotations to once per year because my rims (face and inner barrel) are ceramic coated so hopefully that helps.
 
#14 ·
Urmil said:
Hi All,

As the title suggests, I've been averaging 6K miles a year for the last 4 years on my 2019 Rav4. I've been doing a tire rotation myself every 6 months. Is this overkill given I'm driving only ~3K miles in a given 6 month interval? Should I start rotating my tires every 12 months if I continue to average 6K miles annually?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
It's a good idea to rotate frequently, gives the best longevity to the rubber, also a good time to set the tire pressure, I like to run 40lbs, better yet, when the wheel is off grease the brake caliper pins, the pins get gummed up frequently and when they're stuck they stick and wear the pads faster.
Rotating tires and greasing pins 2x a year is regular maintenance, or you can pay someone....
 
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