The 2017 Owner's Manual devotes a very short & uninformative paragraph on tire rotation, simply saying it "can" be done and to contact your dealer. Of course.

I have the ability to lift each side of the car (without the jack), so am planning to rotate my wheels (stock 17" Pirelli P7 runflats) front-to-back (although they do not appear to be marked directional) myself every 5,000mi or so.

o Does the MINI Maint. Sys. itself ever call for tire rotation?

o Is there any need, or way, for mere mortals to tell the TPMS system that the front and backs are now swapped, or should I just make a note to myself that the car tire pressure display is reversed?

o Out of curiosity, anyone know what the dealer list price for a simple wheel rotation might be? Would they do this gratis as part of one of the "free" oil change? (silly me to even suggest such a thing)

Thanks for any insights re tire rotation!

 

Check with dealer, probably free.

 

I swap a set of winter and summer wheels (both with sensors) on my own and haven't had to reset the TPMS. I just make sure the tire pressure is good after swapping the wheels.

 

if MINI said rotation was required

they would be obligated to provide that service under pre-paid maintenance .... for a long time the manual said don't

I don't know of a single tire "authority" that says rotation is bad under normal circumstances. Here's what tire rack says: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=43

This being said, I would amend the statement to say rotation is a good then when feasible ... many high performance cars come with different size tires on front vs rear and in this case rotation becomes moot.

So far as TPMS, I've never had the system become confused because the tires were rotated. Sometimes you need to re-initialize the system but this is simple and explained in the owner's manual. The same thing needs to sometimes be done if you experience a flat and replace the tire.

I do use some oil change places for my 'not a MINI' cars that include a rotation but MINI dealers have not done this IME.

I'm somewhat curious how you lift one side "without a jack" but I can lift one side at a time easily with my floor jack and typically do a front/rear swap on my MINIs and Mini every 5000 miles or annually which ever comes first. On top of this I watch the wear and try to identify uneven wear early . . . it also affords a time to visually check the brake pads.

 

my dealer says it's not a covered service and charges me $30 for the tire rotation. I even went as far as emailing MiniUSA and voicing my displeasure on why they don't recommend tire rotations, and the fact they have no listed jack stand locations in the owners manual, only lift points. Well you can't lift and use a jack stand at the same location at the same time! I got some BS answer back. So just to save time I have them rotate the tires every 10,000 mile oil change, and I rotate the tire in my garage at home in between oil changes at the 5,000 mile mark. I have not had any issues with the TPMS so I assume they re-learn their current locations.
So far i have 27,000 miles on my OEM run flats with roughly 5-6/32's of tread left on the tires, and these have been rotated every 5,000 miles since new. I hope to make it until the Spring season so I can replace them with a larger non runflat tire.

 

When I changed out the OEM Pirelli run flats last month, my tire man said to bring the car back every 5,000 miles for a FREE rotation and balance check -- with free re-balancing if needed. He said they'd rather do that then deal with premature tire wear issues. I purchased my Vogues from a place that is also a Pirelli dealer, and he said the Pirelli run flats should definitely be rotated at 5,000 mile intervals. He said that, under the best of circumstances, the Pirellis tend to wear more quickly than standard high performance touring tires. Then he smiled and said it may have something to do with the way MINI owners like to drive. You Bet it Does!!

 

Also, my tire man said to reset the TPMS any time the tires are remounted for any reason.
Pretty simple to do. You just have to drive a bit after reset.

 

as mentioned

many tire places offer free rotation once you go beyond the factory tires ....

 

All Discount Tire stores here (Minnesota) will rotate your tires for free

 

Why doesn't Mini rotate the tires with their ridiculous oil changer interval? As part of the maintenance plan? Or is it the same mentality as a closed transmission system? Very disappointed in their business model.

 

One thing to do is to get a service adviser to "recommend" a rotation. I ran into this at a Land Rover dealer. The "free" scheduled maintenance they offered did not include tire rotation and tire rotation was not listed in the handbook service interval schedule. BUT, on the big board at the service entrance of the dealership, there was a list of "recommended" periodic services, including tire rotation. My position, which I had to discuss with the service department manager, was that, since the dealer was recommending the service, it should be included with the free scheduled maintenance. This led to an interesting philosophical discussion regarding the difference between "scheduled" and "recommended". The manager figured out a way to enter some sort of warranty complaint that required removal of the wheels from the car to "inspect" a noise complaint or some such thing. I got the rotation at no cost and the dealer figured out how to be well-paid under warranty.

Once again, I refer to my mantra, which is "No" is just the start of a conversation.

 

Mini Portland has free rotation listed on older series cars. If I was in need I'd argue the point with them that my F series was deserving of the same treatment.

 

Thanks to all who replied to my OP.

My main question seems to have been answered: The TPMS system apparently doesn't care *which* TPMS sensors are at which corners, so long as it detects *a* TPMS sensor at each corner. So DIY tire rotations followed by a TPMS reset should be fine.

To Capt_bj, I misspoke when I said I could lift both sides of the car without a jack. Damn kryptonite... I meant to say I simply use two floor jacks, which speeds the wheel swap process. That's what I'll do for my MINI until I replace its original tires in due course.

And yes, for my other cars (all Hondas/Acuras), of course most tire chains/shops offer free lifetime rotation; which I use if DIY is uncomfortable at that time. I've used Costco which offers free lifetime wheel rotation/balancing/flatrepair. Perhaps another reason never to buy tires at a car dealership.

Getting used to my BMW/MINI. So far, loving it despite its general DIY-service-unfriendly attitude.

---
igoeco2001

 

Stevens Creek Mini will not do a tire rotation without a balance and alignment check. $260 bucks. I took it to another shop and had them rotated for $40. The dealer claims an alignment must be done because of the rear camber set. BS. I'll take my car to wheel works in the future for tires. I've always had good service from them.

 

My Mini dealership will do a rotation for $39. Not covered under maintenance. Maintenance spells out what is covered. Anything not listed is not covered.

 

please bring your car to my house and I will rotate your tires and inspect your brakes for $25 or you buy lunch

USCG RET .... 29 or 33 years depending on how you want to do the math (Academy)

p.s. MINI does not equal Mini .... they are VERY different species .... you have a MINI and your dealership is a MINI dealership .... we military folk are very precise to nomenclature are we not?

 

Because this wears out tires faster and then the dealer gets to sell you hideously overpriced tires.