The MA that quoted me $132 told me it was recomended every 8,000 miles and this is what my owners manual says:

"The manufacturer of your MINI recommends that you swap the front wheels with the rear wheels and vice-versa at intervals of 3,000 to 4,000 miles/5,000 to 7,000 km. This will counter the varying rates of tire wear at the front and rear axles, which will have a positive effect on the handling characteristics of your MINI. The direction in which the tires rotate should be kept the same."

 

I think everyone from NAM should call the same dealer tomorrow and ask "How much for a tire rotation" Then when they say $132.00 ask them if they are fn' nutz......then they might get a clue.

 

MINI has flip-flopped on the issue of tire rotation.

Prior to 2007:
In the 2007 Owner's Manual:
In the 2008 and 2009 Owner's Manuals:So I guess if you have a 2007 you should rotate your tires and everybody else shouldn't.

 

Dealer (Brecht, CA) recommended a tire rotation when I brought my '08 MCS in for first service and to do so at 7.5K. intervals. Cost $40 as tires are not covered by warranty. I knew this, but did not expect to find latter that the tires had been over inflated 4-7psi! This was in line with a 1qt over-fill on the oil change that was "no problem". Have had other problems with their service (?) dept. that are the same as complaints I've read from all over the country. Wonder what's going on as nobody seems to be getting truthful/consistent information from BMW. They've seen the last of me the day the warranty is up!
Dwight

 

808-593-8693 We're 3 hours behind PST and 6 hours behind EST

 

I wonder if this has to do with factory supplied tires changing from non-directional to directional?
Are 2008+ OEM tires directional (arrow on the sidewall indicating direction of rotation)? How about 2007?

I no longer have OEM tires, so can't check.

 

i don't bother doing it at all.

 

You can (and should if you want to extend the wear life) rotate your MINI's tires front to rear staying on the same side. It's very easy to do yourself as jacking up the car from the front jack position lifts both wheels on that side of the car off the ground. Invest in a decent hydraulic floor jack and you can do this in your driveway in under 30 minutes. I also take the time to wash/clean the inside of the wheels while I've got them off, can't do that at your local tire store.

 

I guess Mini/BMW just want us to wear out our tires sooner than normal. Kinda like them telling us not to change our oil until the OBC tells us to, usually around 15,000. Yeah, right..........

 

My MCS has a build date of 12-07 and came with directional RF's (Dunlop 205/17's). The switch must have been in '07. Not important, but does anyone know exactly when? Dwight
PS:If you don't see an arrow on the sidewall, you should see "OUTSIDE" there. Same difference.

 

Crevier Mini (Santa Ana, Calif) quoted me $250 about 6 months ago.
I still remember our conversation:
Me: "How much for a tire rotation and balance?"
SA: "Two-fifty"
Me: (Confused) "I don't understand. $2.50 per tire?"
SA: "No. Two hundred and fifty dollars."
Me: "I still don't understand. All I want you to do is swap the front tires with the rear tires. Nothing more."
SA: "Right. That will be two hundred and fifty dollars."
Me: "That's insane!"
SA: "Hey! What can I say? Expensive car equals expensive maintenance."
Me: "It's a $17,000 car! Camry's cost more!"
SA: (shrug)

Needless to say I didn't have them do it. A few thousand miles later I bought new tires anyway -- at America's Tire Center. Thanks to their free fix a flat and free tire balance and rotation policy. I understand Costco has the same policy.

 

closer to $8 a gallon actually. You're lucky to find a half-gallon on sale for less than $5.

 

Comment above: "If you look in your owner's manual you will see that tire rotation is not recommended."

Response: "What are they MINI Cooper tires?! What do the tire manufacturers say? My money says they say 'rotate.'"

Hey rrcanliglia,
You only really need one jack. Rotate tires on the same side of the automobile (only). You'll find raising the automobile from one of the jack points can lift both wheels on the same side of the automobile. Once both wheels are off the ground, slip the jack stands or wooden blocks under additional contact points. Good luck!

 

I just got my car back from Mini of Grand Rapids - I had them do the first annual oil change as well as take care of a couple other minor issues. The SA recommended I get the tires rotated, in spite of what the manual says. I agreed; it cost me $50 to have them do it. I probably could have gone somewhere else and had it done cheaper but the dealer already had the car for the day. (Actually the steering had been feeling a bit off and I thought I might end up needing a full alignment, which would have been $150 at the dealer, but it turned out that was not the case.)

 

mini of sf charges 29.00. had them rotate my tires at 15,000 service no charge! gave sa 20.00 tip

 

WOW! I long to move back to the mainland , lower prices , open highways , real food ....

 

Having a bit of island fever there?

Come on back to air pollution, congestion, cold weather...

 

I forget what my dealer was going to charge for a rotation, but it was high. i told them a local shop usually charges about $20, so they matched it.

 

I was in Okinawa before I came to Hawaii so I do have a touch of island fever. I'm originally from Texas, so I'm use to the wide open highways and miss them dearly .

 

Same with me.
Never ever again. BMW? Nein danke

 

Stopped by Discount Tire on my way out of town last week. Usually have it done for free there. The wait was over two hours (that's what happens if you don't show up when they open). So I went down the road to WalMart. $6.00 later, I was on my way with freshly rotated and inflated tires. Not a big fan of shopping at WalMart, but I know they didn't import the mechanic from China.

 

At 7,000 miles I just did my own tire rotation. Gotta love how you jack up the car to remove one of the front wheels and the rear wheel comes off the ground too. Took all of 30 minutes to rotate the front tires to the rear and it just cost me some sweat. It was sort of fun actually .

 

I did my first oil change and front to back rotation at 6500 miles which was right at 6 months. I'm over 13,000 now and my 1st year anniversary is up at the end of the month. I just did the rotation this evening after it cooled down, and I'll let MINI do the oil change at the end of the month.

As described you can use a floor jack to lift one side which will lift both wheels of the ground. Lifting from the front jack point, I then put an axle stand under the rear jack point and lower the car to be level front to back. I then put a second jack stand next to the actual jack just for added safety. I also block one wheel on the opposite side. Also as pointed out its nice to be able to give the rims a good cleaning inside and out. Its not a bad idea to also inspect the rims and tires for any damage, unusual wear, etc.

 

now aren't you glad the dealer wanted to charge so much? You never would have learned that if they only charged $10.

 

You got a point there .