Is tire rotation really necessary on Prius?

you know i never thought of it that way....my husband was going to rotate ours when he changed the oil this past weekend but he wasnt sure where to put the jack so we decided to just let someone else do it. my question, in addendum is, the maintenance manual says to change the tires at 5k and the tire manual says to rotate at 6k. i dont think the rotation schedule has anything to do with warranty on the rest of the car, does it?? i cant wait to get a set of sam's club tires on it so rotation is free.

 

Yes. The Prius is especially hard on the front tires. The hybrid power plant makes for a heavy front end, and all of the regenerative braking is done with the front wheels.

Tire rotation is not just an issue of tire life, but also the uniformity of the tires. Some cars will cup the front tires, eventually leading to vibrational loads in the steering. It's just good practice, like going to your dentist once a year. You might be able to get away with less without your teeth falling out, but your breath might not be so good.

Tom

 

Over the past 45 years I rarely rotated tires. The only thing I could tell is that when it came time to buy tires is that I bought 2 at a time instead of 4. Smaller cash outlay at a time. When the next tires wore out I again bought 2 tires instead of 4.

That said, I suppose there is something to be said for having a matched set on all four wheels. But then again does it really matter if the front two tires are a little different than the rear. I do believe that it would be important to match tires side to side.

So, other than a larger cash outlay at the time of purchase I'm not sure what the advantage of rotating is. With radial tires it is simply a matter of front to back making sure to keep them on the original side.

Bob

 

There is a safety reason to rotate tires: the best tires should always be on the rear wheels so that the car will be less likely to fishtail on a slippery surface. See for example:
Tire Tech Information - Where to Install New Pairs of Tires?
Note that this implies rotating tires not according a fixed schedule, but only as-needed.

Some will argue that tires should be rotated so that the tread wear on all of them is kept as even as possible. But if the tread is the same on all tires it means that *on average* you have less tread on the rear tires than you would have had otherwise. This increases the chances that the rear can lose traction before the front. That is dangerous because it is harder to correct for it by steering than if the front loses traction.

Let the front tires wear down, purchase tires in pairs and always put the new ones on the rear.

 

So in other words you do rotate the tires. You just do it every 40,000 instead of every 5,000.

I'm assuming that a 60,000 mile tire will wear faster on the front and slower on the rear, so you probably get about 40,000 on the front and 80,000 on the rear.

After 40,000 you replace the front for half the cost of replacing all. However, the tires moved to the front already have half their useful life gone, so they only last another 20,000 in the front. At this point the tires moved to the front have one fourth of their useful life gone, so you get 30,000 in the front. Next you get 25,000 miles in the front. This brings us to 115,000 miles with the final purchase.

So, without rotation, at 115,000 you've bought 4 pairs of tires.

If you rotate and get a full 60,000 on all 4 tires, then you purchase 2 pair which (with rotation) last another 60,000. This brings us to 120,000 with the final purchase.

At 120,000 you've bought 4 pairs of tires.

This of course assumes that the rate of wear is constant over the life of the tire. If the tire wears faster as progresses through its useful life, then not balancing the wear will increase the frequency with which you need to replace the tires. If the tire wears slower as it progresses through its useful life, then balancing the wear will increase the frequency with which you need to replace the tires.

I think the main reason I rotate my tires is because I like to have the brakes checked out on a regular basis, and as long as the wheels are coming off for that, I figure I might as well rotate them.

 

Do brake rotors warp easily on the Prius (afraid some tire jocky will overtighten the lug nuts) DIY ?

 

Front tires do the grunt work - they turn and experience a lot more torque than the rear tires. With the added weight of the Prius engine, Prius front tires get an additional workout, so it would be wise to rotate the tires and give the fronties a break.

 

Say what? Yes, the front tires get worn faster, but tires are not muscles. They don't heal with a rest and they don't get stronger with exercise.

 

Richard: Thank you for the helpful information. Unfortunately, the link wasn't working. I found the tech piece to which you referred. Here is the working link.

The article ends with a very interesting "Recommendation" for those with front-wheel drive cars. I quote the final two sentences:

"While insufficient tire rotation intervals or out-of-adjustment wheel alignment angles often caused the differences in front-to-rear and side-to-side tire wear rates in the first place, the need to keep deeper treaded tires on the rear axle to resist oversteer conditions caused by wet road hydroplaning is very important. Unfortunately this precludes the future possibility of ever rotating tires on front-wheel drive vehicles. The only way to escape repetitively being forced to run mismatched tires is to install a complete set of new tires."
​

I'm not really certain what to make of that. I suppose it really means that if you don't regularly rotate, you shouldn't rotate at all. Perhaps once or twice get new tires for the rear and then replace all four.

I understand the need to avoid a mismatch and the need to have deeper tread on the rear tires. I just as concerned, though, about maintaining control and traction for my driving and steering wheels, so I will rotate regularly and trade out for new tires before I get to a low tread.

 

Sort of on this subject....
Firestone stores have a current deal on Oil Changes AND tire rotation for only $18.95.
Check your local area to see if it is good for you.... jf

 

I guess you could look at it like that. It's not about saving money, It's about when you spend it. Over time you spend the same. Of course, since prices keep going up you may spend more. <sigh>

For the poor working stiff, like I was, living paycheck to paycheck putting out for a set of 4 tires all at once was a BIG deal. Buying them two at a time just made it a little less painful.

Good point about having the breaks checked. Can't be too safe.

 

Tire rotation appears to be mostly a North American practice. In Europe this practice is not common. There is no impact to your warranty if you don't rotate tires.

The major benefit of tire rotation is that it tends to hide the effects of mildly bad wheel alignment.

For those who want tire rotation but have to pay for it, I suggest rotating at 5K miles; then rotating at 10K miles subsequently. This will give you most of the benefit of rotation while cutting the cost almost in half compared to the maintenance schedule.

Once you buy a replacement set of tires, the tire retailer usually will offer free rotations.

If you don't rotate tires, then when you replace the worn front tires, the existing rear tires should move to the front and the new tires should be mounted at the rear.

 

So when the front tires wear out, replace them. Could put the new ones on back and move back ones to front as has been suggested. Again, the point is, that you only have to put up the cash for two tires at a time, instead of four.

You don't save anything or make anything last longer over the long run.

Bob

 

I like the tread at all 4 positions to be as similar as possible, which requires tire rotations. However, this may be only personal preference.

I think the real risk of 'going Euro' and forsaking rotations is that the tires (and probably brakes steering and suspension) are examined less frequently. It is really a good thing to know that no tire has a cut or bulge on an inner sidewall, and that no part is falling off from those other systems mentioned. I have always viewed tire rotations as an opportunity to remain very familiar with the underside of the car.

The parts of the car that keep you alive are mostly down there on the dirty side.

 

No argument here. In my early years it was purely economics. That is to say, how much money I had in the bank at any given time to put toward tires. 2 cost less than 4.

I never intended to to give the impression that you shouldn't rotate. Foolish? Maybe, but then, I did a lot of foolish things 40 years ago. Not rotating tires was one of the milder and less risky of them.

Bob

 

Good point. At the 15k rotation (I do it myself) I discovered that I had a nail in one of the sidewalls. The tire was not repairable and I'm not that fond of the GY tires, so I bought two Michelins for the back. I'm going to suspend rotation until I wear out the fronts, then I will replace the GY with two more Michelins.


Re: Comment above about whether the brake rotors can get warped

I think that one of my brake rotors may be warped as the result of the dealer tech forgetting to tighten some of the wheel nuts. I discovered it a few days after the service because I found that the valve stem caps were also missing or about to fall off, so I decided to check the wheel nuts before the trip.

I am going to check with a dial indicator at the next opportunity and have the rotors turned if necessary.

 

Thanks!

 

I rotate the tires when I get the oil changed every 5,000k. It only costs about $40.00 total. I prefer it if the tires wear evenly.