Is rotating the tires part of the free mini service?

 

Desert MINI said they would do it at my 1st service if I gave them $20. I did it at home in about 15 mins with my cheapie trolley jack. I think it depends on the dealer, but most dealers don't choose to include it.

 

Not part of the warranty...we do it ourselves as we make a habit of rotating them about every 5K miles....

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS

 

my dealer said it was not part of the service. They charge $20 for it.

 

Not at Lauderdale MINI. Also they charge like $75 for a tire rotation which is insane.

Take it to any independent tire shop (Goodyear, Tires 4 Less, Tire Kingdom, etc).

There is a member in our club here in Miami and he happens to own a Tire Shop in Downtown Miami, I don't have his address/phone number, but he could be a good bet as he owns a MCS himself.

 

Well, unfortunately since the Owner's Manual does not suggest tire-rotation, it is NOT done for free. My hubby rotates Wanda's tires every 5000-7500 miles. I recommend doing that if you want to get the most out of your tires.


Clover

 

Rotating the tires not only helps them last longer but if you don't do it, the rears become scalloped due to the different "geometry" of the rear suspension, hence becoming extremely noisy.


Rotating is a good idea, regardless of what the owner's manual says.

 

Absolutely!


Clover

 

My dealer said they would do it for $75


They did check the brake pad thickness though, so I assume they do this without removing the wheels?

 

costco membership gives free tire rotation service

 

So let's see now!

Mini Dealers charging for tire rotation............
Costco membership giving free tire rotation.............
What's wrong with this picture

 

Well I feel like a poop head. I have 16k on my car and the tires are right where they were when the left the factory.

Back left took a nail and was repared aka patched.

Back right took a nail and the nail is still in there...right where the sidewall meets the tread. Yep, that means no repair. It does not leak air so I figure I will leave it right where it is.

The back left tire has started to make some noise on the highway. Its getting more pronounced.

My fronts are starting to look thin.

Damm. I dont want to spend a $1000 on tires. I only just got her 8 months ago.

 

It's a good idea to rotate your tires, and it's easy to do yourself. Remember to use a torque wrench when tightening your bolts. Torque to 88 ft.lbs. and re-check the torque after a drive.

Also, it's a good time to check your tire pressure using a good air pressure gauge. If you have any of the cheap pencil-type gauges like they have for a buck at the check-out counter, throw them away.

Always reset the flat tire monitor when changing, rotating, or adjusting air pressure in tires: Turn key to accessory, press and hold tire monitor button until light stays lit, then turn on ignition (light will go out in a few seconds). The car will begin 'learning' your new setup.

 

For the longest tire wear you must rotate the tires. BMW feels that for optimum handling the tires should not be rotated. The logic behind this is that two tires will be turning in the opposite direction after a proper rotation is done, and until these tires "set" to the new direction, the handling of the tires will be slightly compromised. I doubt that the difference could be measured anywhere but on a race track, but there is a reason behind BMW's reccomendation. For me, I'll take the increased treadwear and lower road noise that is available by simply rotating the tires. If you have someone else rotate your tires, make sure that the wheels are installed to the proper torque. Just slamming the wheels on with an impact wrench is not acceptable and will lead to warped brake rotors. Do not assume that a tire shop will automatically do this. There are alot of shops that are still using methods from the stone age.

 

Except that if you just swap fronts for backs and keep them on the same side then their still spinning in the correct direction...

The tires that come with the MINI actually have a correct direction that they're intended to rotate, and there's actually an arrow on the sidewall of the tire to indicate the correct direction of the rotation for that particular tire.

 

I believe that is only true of the run-flats. The tires my MC have no such restrictions. It is becoming more and more common for cars to have "non-rotatable" tires. Directional tires are more and more common and many cars have different size tires rfront and rear. I heard about a gentleman recently that had a Corvette with directional tires, different sizes front and rear, and the tires were worn out in less than 15,000 non-racing miles. At almost $200 per tire to replace, he was not a very happy camper!

 

Then don't. I went sans Run-Flats, and got a set of Bridgestone S-03's. $169 apiece, then $100 rebate available via manufacturer. Of course, the S-03's weighed even more than my Dunlop Run-Flats (SP9000's) :-)

Cheers,
Matthew Z.