I just recently had my first oil change done at 5,000 miles at the Scion dealership. I just got to thinking last night that I haven't had my tires rotated and balanced. Should I have requested for them to do that when I got the oil changed? Is it a good idea to do it at every oil change? And lastly, does anyone know what the extra charge for getting that done is since the first 3 oil changes are free. Thanks!

 

rotate tires is around 18 bucks at the dealer. or free by yourslef!! And yes do this every oil change.

 

Thanks for the quick reply

 

If you are doing oil changes every 5000 miles, then yes you should at least get them rotated every oil change. Every 5-10k miles is usually a good practice to get into. I only get mine rebalanced when I feel a shake when driving. Otherwise I just jack the car up in my driveway and rotate them myself.

 

No problem!

 

For the price of 2 rotations, you can buy yourself a hydraulic jack and a pair of jackstands. Not the best quality, but it'll work.

 

Yes, but what about balancing? Don't you need special equipment for that?

 

yes well you only need balancing if you are noticing vibrations above 40mph.. (usually when out of balancing shows up.. between 40-70mph).. if not no need to do it..

but rotation yes.. i would say every 3000 to 5000.. low profile tires require more rotations than other tires..

 

From my experience, the only time I need balancing is when I hit plenty of potholes or hitting the curb.

The older the tire gets, the greater the chance of needing balancing, but harsh bumbs will knock it off balance.

I normally don't need balancing until about 70% thru the life of the tires. Also, if you want to go cheap, only balance the fronts.

 

The local America's Tires does it for free+tip, not sure if that's standard nationwide.

 

In your service manual oil change every 5,000 miles and tire rotation (front to back) every 5,000 miles as well.

 

My dealership told me to rotate tires every 7,500. I switch between stock and aftermarket sets of wheels/tires so I jus keep track when and at what mileage I swap them.

 

just makes it easier to keep track by doing it on oil changes.

 

Well I run full synthetic Amsoil oil and do my changes June 1st and December 1st per year. So yeah the chrome rims come off Dec. 1st for Jersey winters but I put them back on usually March or so.