Question of the week: Should I rotate the tyres on my car?

David Ross, Editor
Fri, 10 Jan 2025

Dear Honest John,

"Is it recommended to rotate the tyres on a 2012 Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI? And if so, at what intervals?"

- DJ

Dear DJ,

Rotating your tyres helps to maintain even wear across all four corners, as tyre wear is rarely even otherwise depending on the weight distribution of the vehicle and which wheels are driven. As well as ensuring even grip between the front and rear, it also maximises the life of the tyres. 

Tyre manufacturers generally recommend rotating tyres every 5000 to 6000 miles, although this may vary for four-wheel-drive vehicles.

You should always take a look at the handbook first in case the manufacturer advises against tyre rotation, which may be the case with some 4x4s or cars fitted with directional tyres. You should also only rotate tyres if all four are of the same dimensions.

For a front-wheel-drive car such as yours, the recommend pattern is to move the front tyres to the rear on the same side, but to switch sides with the rear tyres when moving them to the front. For rear-wheel-drive cars the reverse approach should be taken - move the rear tyres to the front on the same side, but move the front tyres to the opposite side on the rear.

For four-wheel-drive vehicles, tyres should be rotated diagonally, so the front right should be moved to the rear left and vice versa.

Ask HJ

Do I need to change all four tyres at the same time on a BMW xDrive model?

We have a BMW 18d. The dealer says although it is an X drive, in normal driving 100% of the power is sent to the front and the rear is only used when extra traction is required. The two front tyres are around 2.5 - 3mm but the rear ones are like new. I've learnt that the transfer case doesn't like tolerance differences of more than say 2-3mm - although I cannot find anything written down from BMW. It looks like I need to replace all four tyres in order to keep the transfer case happy. Would you agree? I also understand I can switch from runflats to non-runflats providing I keep the same tyre dimensions. Is this correct?

Unfortunately many four-wheel-drive vehicles are sensitive to tyre wear imbalance, but this is something vehicle manufacturers are somewhat coy about explaining to their customers. Our understanding of the tolerance is that the difference in tread depth should be no more than 2mm across an axle, and 3mm between the front and rear axles to avoid any issues. Regular tyre rotation front to rear should mean you can get more life out of each set of tyres, as we would expect the front tyres to wear more heavily on your X1. Regardless, it is an additional expense that a two-wheel-drive BMW owner would not have to worry about, but it is worth doing so to avoid the even greater cost of a replacement transfer case. You can switch to non-runflats which would help the ride quality as well as bring the cost of new tyres down.

Answered by David Ross

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