What Happens if You Don’t Rotate Your Tires?
Tire rotation is a very basic and essential practice to enhance the life of tires and reduce the chances of accidents down the road.
Unfortunately, we don’t prioritize the tire rotation schedule and as a result, we don’t only lose our money but also our safety will be compromised on the road.
In this guide, we are going to list some of the proven things that could happen to anyone who skips the tire rotation schedule.
What Happens if You Don’t Rotate Your Tires?
As per the publication of the NHTSA, 25% of tire-related incidents are caused by insufficient treads of tires. To reduce the % of accidents NISHTA further added a section for regular tire maintenance.
Skipping the tire rotation could wear down the tires unevenly as a result your vehicle will provide poor traction on snow and roads, excessive punctures, heat build, annoying noise, etc.
Below are things that can be waiting for you down the road if you are not rotating the tires of your vehicle timely.
Poor Vehicle Performance:
Due to the uneven treads, you will get poor traction, a lower fuel average, and poor braking ability.
Especially in snow or rainy days, you will feel that the vehicle is out of control and not responding to the brakes. In addition to that if you accelerate a bit more your vehicle starts losing the road grip and can be out of control once you turn the steering.
Noise:
Premature wear down with uneven treads is the leading cause of emitting noise from the tires, since the tires are not contacting evenly with the road, you will hear an annoying sound because of non-uniformity.
Excessive Heat Buildup:
The tire treads are not only designed for gripping and braking but also for passing the air so that the heat caused by the friction of the road and tires can withstand.
Imbalanced and uneven treads will block the flow of air and as a result, the heat caused by the friction reaches unsafe levels, which is a leading cause of excessive punctures, blowouts, and tread separation.
Skidding/Hydroplaning:
Healthy tire treads play a vital role in pushing the water from the way and making a safe channel for driving, as a result, the vehicle can be driven with a perfect grip/traction.
Rubbed uneven treads may skid your vehicle on the water which is pretty dangerous as your vehicle can’t be controlled and compromise the brake, handling, etc.
Frequent Punctures and Blowouts:
If the tire wears down unevenly, its skin and treads become thin and can be penetrated easily by sharp objects like nails, rocks/metal, or glasses.
In addition to that the tire will produce excessive heat due to the small or imbalanced treads as a result you will have more punctures and blowouts down the road.
Recommended Guide: Can I Leave a Flat Tire Overnight?
Shorter Life of Tires:
Because of skipping the tire rotation schedule you may need to replace your 60,000 mileage tires in 45,000 to 50,000 miles, especially front tires need frequent replacement.
Warranty May Be Affected:
Most of the manufacturers refuse the warranty if you are not following their protocol of rotating the tires after the required distance or time.
Recommended Read: Awd Tire Rotation Patterns.
How Do I Know if I Need to Get My Tire Rotations Done?
The best method is to skim the user’s manual from where you can find the actual manufacturer’s recommendation, however, if you don’t have the owner’s manual follow the general thumb rule of rotating the tires right after every 5,000 – 6,000 miles with the oil change.
Also, you can insert a coin (penny) in the groove of each tire’s tread with the head upside down if you are able to see the full head of Lincoln the tread depth is less than 2/32 inch (0.158 cm) and your tire needs immediate replacement.
For more accurate data you can use a tire depth gauge which will hardly cost you $20.
How Long Will Tires Last if Not Rotated?
As per the news of Consumer Report, if you did not rotate the tires of your vehicles within the time frame, you may need to replace the front tires after every 20,000 miles (32186.88 km), however, the rear tires may last around 40,000 – 60,000 miles (80467.2 – 96560.64 km) depending on the weight you are carrying on the back seats.
Also, HowStuffWorks has stated that a tire with a rated mileage of 60,000 miles (96560.64 km) could provide us with 50,000 miles (80467.2 km) if the tires are not rotated periodically.
What Happens if You Wait Too Long to Rotate Tires?
If you skip the tire rotation schedule you may have a lot of costly repairs and horrifying accidents down the road.
Since non-rotated tires may wear down unevenly, your vehicle may provide poor traction, lower fuel average, more puncture, and also blowout in worst cases.
Remember the uneven pattern of the tires can’t be fixed; you have to spend $200 – $300 to get newer ones.
Check out our guide about the benefits of tire rotations.
Can I Rotate the Tires at Home?
Tire rotation is a completely DIY process and can be done at the home as far as you have an uncrowned space and a vehicle with normal weight and working parking brakes.
We have written a guide about how we can safely rotate the tires at home with only one jack, make sure to have a look to know the exact process.
Is It OK to Rotate Tires Once a Year?
Depends on your usage and driving style, if you drive 5000 – 80,00 miles per year and you are a calm driver you can do the tire rotation once a year, however, if you are covering 12,000 – 15,000 miles a year then you need to rotate the tire after every 6 months.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Ok to Rotate Tires Every 10000 Miles?
It depends on the driving style; if you are a calm driver you can stretch the rotating period to 10,000 miles, however for a driver who doesn’t even care about the potholes, etc. needs to rotate the tires between 3,000 – 5,000 miles
Can I rotate my tires every 15000 miles?
Most of the manufacturers and industry owners recommended rotating the tires after every 5,000 – 10,000 miles, 15,000 miles is a bit more no matter whether you are a calm driver or not, you will surely hurt the tires.
Is It Bad to Not Rotate Your Tires?
Yes, it is, without tire rotation, the vehicle can’t perform well which will not only hurt your wallet but also your safety will be questionable.
Can You Rotate Tires After 2 Years?
Well, it depends on the tire brands, car type, driving style, and how much you are driving the vehicle throughout the year.
For an accurate estimate make sure to skim the user manual and contact the tire manufacturers.
Generally, we suggest our audience rotate the tires right after 4,000 – 5,000 miles or once in the 6 months with the oil change.
Again it is pretty subjective since some users drive less and calmly, however, some drive more and rough.
Does Rotating Tires Save Money?
Yes, since you are saving your tires from premature rubbing/wear down, you will get extra mileage, fewer punctures, more fuel average, and most importantly there will be pretty low chances of blowouts.
Does the Tire Warranty Affect the Tire Rotation Schedule?
Lots of tire brands void the warranty in case you don’t have rotated your tires within the required time frame.
For keeping the warranty alive you should have proof that the tires are being rotated within the required interval.
Do I Need to Check the Tire Pressure When Rotating the Tires?
Yes, monitoring the tire’s pressure during the rotation is a healthy habit, if any tire has lower pressure make sure to adjust it.
Also, we encourage checking the brakes of the vehicles as we have easy and clear access to the brakes after removing the tires.