From the manual:

"Tire Wear
Adequate tread depth is important for proper tire performance. Tires with a tread depth less than 4/32” (3 mm) are more likely to hydroplane in wet conditions and should not be used. Tires with a tread depth less than 5/32” (4 mm) do not perform well in snow and slush and should not be used when driving in winter conditions.
Model 3 is originally fitted with tires that have wear indicators molded into the tread pattern. When the tread has been worn down to 4/32” (3 mm), the indicators start to appear at the surface of the tread pattern, producing the effect of a continuous band of rubber across the width of the tire. For optimal performance and safety, Tesla recommends replacing tires before the wear indicators are visible.
Tire Rotation, Balance, and Wheel Alignment
Tesla recommends rotating the tires every 6,250 miles (10,000 km) or if tread depth difference is 2/32 in (1.5 mm) or greater, whichever comes first.
Unbalanced wheels (sometimes noticeable as vibration through the steering wheel) affect vehicle handling and tire life. Even with regular use, wheels can get out of balance. Therefore, they should be balanced as required.
If tire wear is uneven (on one side of the tire only) or becomes abnormally excessive, check the alignment of wheels.
NOTE: When replacing only two tires, install the new tires on the rear if your vehicle's front and rear tires are the same size."

Comment: As an example of the effect, if you have tyres with little or no tread on the back and ones with lots of tread on the front you can easily spin the car under braking in wet conditions. You want the back to have the grip, hold on and not let go. Hence Tesla's advice above.

2. Anyone can swap the tyres around. Your local tyre shop will do so at a charge.

3. AFAIK the car gets the correct locations as you drive. But I've not rotated the tyres on my Tesla yet.

 

Most manufacturers recommend tyre rotation but I have never done it.

I just replace the pair with tread down to about 3mm, with the deepest tread on the rear.

 

Most manufacturers recommend tyre rotation but I have never done it.

I just replace the pair with tread down to about 3mm, with the deepest tread on the rear.

Agree, just replace whichever tyres wear first, and if needed get the rotation done for free at the time of having new tyres fitted. I have never known any tyre fitter to charge for the 5 mins extra work to swap wheels when fitting 2 new tyres. As you say, get the new tyres put on the back, and stick the less worn ones on the front.

 

My M3 AWD LR is coming up to 20,000 miles and I keep seeing stuff about Tesla tyre rotation.

I have the original 18" Michelin Pilot Sport Tyres fitted and I'm in the UK.

The legal tread limit is 1.6mm across 75% of the tread. I checked mine with a gauge - the fronts still have 5mm, and the rears 3.7mm.

I have a few questions:

1. Do I need to swap the fronts to the rear to even the wear? If so, when?

2. Who actually does the rotation? Do Tesla do it as a chargeable service and how much do they charge? Can you book it in using the app like a normal service issue?

3. Do they reprogramme the tyre pressure sensors to show the correct tyre location in the car after the swap?

I wonder why the fronts have worn less than the rears when you have an AWD Model 3....?

Where did you get your gauge from by the way please, I want to get one I think?

 

I wonder why the fronts have worn less than the rears when you have an AWD Model 3....?

Where did you get your gauge from by the way please, I want to get one I think?

I think maybe the rears are used more for traction in AWD mode and the fronts for steering. I try not to scrub the fronts on the standstill when parking as power steering would wear the tyres.

The gauge came from Amazon:

Tyre Pressure Gauge Digital Tyre Tread Depth Gauge 2-in-1 Car Tyres Pressure Gauge come with Key Ring for Cars SUV Trucks and Most Vehiclesks and Most Vehicles Tyre Pressure Gauge Digital Tyre Tread Depth Gauge 2-in-1 Car Tyres Pressure Gauge come with Key Ring for Cars SUV Trucks and Most Vehiclesks and Most Vehicles : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

 

I'll be checking my treads soon and if I have say 6mm on both fronts and 4mm on both rears I'll swap them around. Some garages may rotate for free, some charge a very small fee.

As for tpms.. if you have the 2021> BLE sensors you don't need to do anything, the car will figure out which sensor is in which corner. When I had a premature sensor failure on a rear wheel I swapped the wheels on that side of the car and the display showed the sensor as being on the front after I swapped it. So it knows which direction each sensor reading is coming from. As for the older 433 sensors, no idea!

 

Mine is a 2020 so it might have older sensors.

 

Just seen this on the Kwik Fit website :

Tyre Rotation
Tyre rotation is the practice of moving your tyres from one position on the vehicle to another so that tyres wear more evenly over the course of their lives.

At Kwik Fit we do not recommend that you rotate your tyres to extend their legal life. The reasons for this are:

• Partly worn tyres are more likely to experience punctures – particularly in wet weather conditions.
• Front tyre deflation will create an under-steer effect which is easier to control than over-steer (the effect produced by a rear tyre deflation) - though improper tyre pressure on any wheels is best avoided.
• In the unlikely event that a tyre deflates suddenly, then it is easier to control the vehicle if this occurs at the front of the vehicle. For improved handling and stability it is now recommended that the ‘best’ tyres should always be fitted at the rear of the vehicle. This is irrespective of whether the car is front or rear wheel drive.

Rotating the car’s tyres in order to get more even wear puts you at risk of having back tyre blowouts or punctures - which are much more difficult to control.

Could it be possible that they just want to sell more tyres - and tyre rotation delays the need to buy new tyres?!

 

Could it be possible that they just want to sell more tyres - and tyre rotation delays the need to buy new tyres?!

Rotation won't result in spending less money on tyres. If you lose 3mm from each back tyre & 2mm from each front tyre per 10k miles, you're still losing 10mm of tread in total over each 10k miles (hypothetical example numbers, don't read into it too much). If you swap the tyres around, you still lose the same total amount of tread over time but will just need to replace all 4 tyres at once instead of 2 at a time.

If you average it out over the life of your car, you will not be buying more or fewer tyres if you do or don't rotate them. Assuming no punctures etc etc. The exception to this is degradation of rubber over an extended period if you do very low mileage. This would usually be picked up at an MOT.

 

Always have more / better tread on the REAR tyres - so by all means swap them now, but don't swap them again, once the tread drops below 3mm rotation is ill advised. Put the best old tyres on the front and the brand new tyres on the rear.

 

Thanks for all the comments. Why, then, do Tesla UK recommend tyre rotation every 6,250 miles?

See extract from UK Tesla website below:

Tire Rotation, Balance and Wheel Alignment
Tesla recommends rotating your tires every 6,250 miles or if tread depth difference is 2/32 in or greater, whichever comes first. Aggressive driving can lead to premature tire wear and may require more frequent tire service. Unbalanced and misaligned wheels affect handling, tire life and steering components. Refer to tire manufacturer's owner manuals and warranty documentation for additional details.

(apologies for US spelling from the website!)

 

Because doing it that often means tread differences shouldn't be huge.

If you did it every 12k you could end up putting the lowest tread on the rear wheels which is dangerous, but VERY dangerous once tread drops below 3mm.

Personally, if rears wear more than fronts I would rotate very often and then once down to about 3mm Replace the lowest tread, then not rotate until I needed to replace the other tyres, then put new or rear and older tyres on front....

I had this with an old Merc, powerful RWD so rears wore quicker than fronts. Rotation wasn't an option as asymmetric so ended up changing rears around the 3mm mark as didn't want a really unstable car.

 

Because doing it that often means tread differences shouldn't be huge.

If you did it every 12k you could end up putting the lowest tread on the rear wheels which is dangerous, but VERY dangerous once tread drops below 3mm.

Personally, if rears wear more than fronts I would rotate very often and then once down to about 3mm Replace the lowest tread, then not rotate until I needed to replace the other tyres, then put new or rear and older tyres on front....

I had this with an old Merc, powerful RWD so rears wore quicker than fronts. Rotation wasn't an option as asymmetric so ended up changing rears around the 3mm mark as didn't want a really unstable car.

My rears are worn more than the fronts so a rotation now would put MORE tread on the rears.

 

I think truth be told, rotation isn't vital, it's just an option to prolong changing all 4 tyres at once instead of just changing the lowest 2. Unless you're switching brands and want 4 matching all around

 

The only other consideration is that you often get offers or extra discount for buying 4 tyres. Sometimes even 4 tyres for the price of 3, say.

Edit: OK, so I got the 4 and 3 interchanged. Humble apologies!

 

The only other consideration is that you often get offers or extra discount for buying 4 tyres. Sometime even 3 tyres for the price of 4, say.

That doesn't sound like a very tempting deal!

 

My experience on my SR+ of not rotating was that the front tyres worn much more on the inside shoulders than the outside shoulders. I thought the wheels were out of alignment but no adjustment was necessary. The solution to more even tyre wear across the tread would have been to rotate the tyres. The SC advised me that the loads on a M3 are such that even with correct wheel alignment it is common to see uneven wear across the tread. I don't know what other owner's experience has been.

 

Response from Tesla service centre :

"Tyre rotation is recommended every 6,250 miles. It can be scheduled via the Tesla app at a local service centre - cost £67.50"