How Often Should You Rotate Your Tires?
A common guideline is to rotate your tires every 5,000 to 7,500 miles, or with every oil change. Your owner's manual has the exact interval for your vehicle.
Why rotate?
Front and rear tires wear at different rates. Front tires on front-wheel-drive cars handle steering, most braking and power delivery, so they typically wear faster. Rotating evens out wear and extends the life of the whole set.
Common rotation patterns
- Front-wheel drive: front tires go straight back, rear tires cross to the front.
- Rear- or all-wheel drive: rear tires go straight forward, front tires cross to the rear.
- Directional tires: swap front to rear on the same side only.
- Staggered setups (different front and rear sizes): usually cannot be rotated.
If your tires are already wearing unevenly, an alignment check is worth doing before the next set.
Not sure how worn your tires are? Try our free Tread Check — photo + a coin, results in seconds.