Service Really Neccessary Every 5k Miles?

Changing your oil is a fluke. Just add it when ever it's needed.

 

Thanks, I will do that from now on.

 

Already knew that.

 

It depends on the tire and tire manufacture recommendations. I has been awhile since I had Michelins but they are the only radial manufacture I had that recommended crossing the tires L to R while rotating.

 

if you have a good alignment on current/newer vehicles, no need to ever rotate. Equipment/tires/suspensions are much better today than 15-20 years ago. But if you grew up rotating your tires, it's just a "learned" task to keep doing it because no one told you to stop.

 

Like changing oil every 3k miles. Lol. Took me awhile to get used to the 10k using synthetic.

 

This.

 

This just isn't true. Suspensions might last longer, but they still wear. Suspensions still need adjustment from time to time. This is especially true if you offroad..... or drive in Louisiana. or drive in downtown Houston.

You might can push intervals, but you'd need to test to prove it. Also, you'd need to account for the wear as you put on the miles.

Maintain proper air pressure, maintain alignment, and rotate tires will help ensure you get longer life out of your tires.

 

Hmmmm, that is what I thought. I’m old enough to have been driving bias plys as a young man, and when radials swept the market rotation L to R was not recommended. Sounds like that may has changed. For 30 years I have only rotated radials front to back.

 

IF you have the lifetime Toyota drivetrain dealership warranty you are asked to let them change oil every 10k miles ,if you choose to not do that then you can do what you want and rely on the factory warranty. That's what they told me at the dealership.

 

I was curious, so I went to General Tire's website and they defaulted to the auto manufacturer. In the case of the 3rd Gen Taco, back to front don't swap sides.


Edit: Corrected information on rotation

 

I think the owners manual says to swap front to back with no crossing, gonna have to look next time I am in my truck.

 

You steer with your front tires, therefore they get more wear than the rear tires when you turn your vehicle. Rotating the tires front to back at regular intervals evenly distributes the wear to all 4 tires.

If you never rotate your tires, you would eventually notice that your front tires would be more worn out than your rear.

 

Just looked, you are correct. I am wrong..... going to fix my post.

 

Reminds me of my family’s Ford Granada back in the 80’s. We sold it to one of our friends for $300, actually ran ok, but burned oil.

He just added a quart of oil once a week, surprisingly it ran for a couple years and of course he never “changed” the oil.

 

I had a 1954 VW Baja on a 63 pan with an 1835cc motor when as I was a kid. It went through oil like nothing I have ever seen. I carried around extra plugs wherever I went. It finally threw a rod at around 6000 RPM and destroyed the entire motor. Now jump 30 years later and I am still destroying VW motors. Here is a 2L 8000 RPM 61 Baja. It also burns oil, but I change it when needed. Take care Brother.

 

I have never rotated on my car (54k miles) or on my wifes 2016 Cruze (26k miles). Tires are worn evenly. No, it's not a true study of scientific facts, but it's true on the cars I currently drive, and my '05 Tacoma truck.

 

Rears wear more under acceleration but generally flat even wear. Fronts tend to wear the outside edges as the tires fight the push of the vehicle as you turn. Your alignment just make sure there isn’t uneven wear or excessive wear from well bad alignment.

Now if you do most of your driving on the hwy you might not see much uneven wear. Rotations are another excuse to take things apart and inspect them. This alone might catch something you weren’t specifically looking for.

 

agreed. It all depends on how much you are paying attention to your maintenance and care of the vehicle. Some people climb in and go, and don't look at anything till something 'isn't right'. We all should be hands on when it comes to maintenance and care of the vehicle for the long haul.

 

So now I'm back to my original inquiry......if we are supposed to rotate front to back (and no L to R), then why does a tire last longer if you rotate it on 5,000 mile increments vs. say 10,000 mile increments? After say 20,000 miles, each tire was on the same axle the same amount of time. What am I missing?