Tyre rotation is one of the most overlooked yet extremely essential car maintenance tasks. It simply involves changing the location of the tyres in the four corners. Car tyres are of vital significance to the performance of your car and rotating them once in a while can make a huge difference to this. Besides, it is a great way for the mechanic to identify any other potential tyre problems that would result in costlier repairs later on. Manufacturers will often have different recommendations as to when exactly you need to have your car tyres rotated. However, depending on your driving habits and where you drive, you may need to rotate the wheels before the time suggested in your owner's manual.

Here are a few signs that you need to take your car for a tyre rotation:

Uneven Wear Tyre

This is perhaps the most common sign that your car is a good candidate for a tyre rotation service. This is because the weight of your car is unevenly distributed to all the four corners. For instance, because of vehicle components such as the engine, the front of your car is much heavier. This means if you leave all the four tyres in the same corner for years, the front tyres will tend to wear out at a faster rate than the rear. By rotating the tyres, you will be improving the handling of your car by making it more balanced. Uneven wear can also be accompanied by varying tread depths on front and rear tyres.

Loss of Tyre Pressure

Unless you have a puncture, your car tyres shouldn't lose air pressure at varying rates, especially if you inflated them at the same time and to the recommended amount. Therefore, if a given tyre is losing pressure much faster than the rest, for no apparent reason, you may want to consider rotating them. This is probably because the tyre is under more stress or pressure and rotation could help.

Vibrations

Excessive shaking, especially when driving at relatively high speeds may also be a sign that you need to rotate the tyres. The vibrations are in most cases felt in the steering wheel and are oftentimes caused by the uneven pattern in which the tyres are wearing out.

Tip: It's important to understand that one major reason to rotate your car tyres is to prevent uneven wear pattern and ensure you don't have to replace the entire set of tyres sooner than you should. Rotating the tyres will not solve other mechanical issues such as alignment problems, improper tyre inflation, or faulty suspension parts, all of which can also result in uneven wear patterns. Therefore, have such issues inspected and repaired next time you are rotating the tyres.

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