20,000 miles; turning front tires around

At the 20,000 check-up at my dealership (Bloomfield Hills, MI) I was told to go to a tire place and have them turn my 2 front tires around and have them balanced due to normal inside wear of the tires. First tire place blew me off and said that was not the correct procedure and they were actually rude to me. I suggested that they call the dealership which they would not do so I smartly took my business elsewhere. Second tire place did not have the equipment to work on my car, but the guy was very polite and helpful and directed me to my 3rd store: Discount Tire at 18 and Van Dyke in Sterling Heights. They were very professional, aware of the car and I was in and out of there in no time for $32. Anybody else having problems getting tires turned around? :D I acquired Mathilde in mid March 2008.

Tags: balance, tires, wear

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Comment by Becky Kimsey on August 1, 2009 at 8:17am: To Mr. Bad Example... Please reread Suzie's original post. She says the dealer told her to go have the front tires turned, not rotated. Rotated, as you say, would accomplish absolutely nothing -- the wear would still remain on the inside no matter where the tires were put on the car. However, in order to turn the tires, the tire would have to be removed from the wheel, turned over, and be put back on the wheel, thereby moving the worn area to the outside of the wheel. With the service department recommending that she take her car to a tire dealership, he was probably watching out for Suzie. I'm sure the car dealership charges more per hour than a tire dealership.

Comment by Kamren on July 28, 2009 at 11:51am: I also agree with Mr. B his comment on the Smart's tires and agree 100% on his comment of an "idiot for president who uses the constitution for TP".

Comment by SATO on July 28, 2009 at 8:25am: DING DING DING We have a winner! todays genius is Jim Van Winkle! Sorry to step in MrB.. but you got egg on you today. "If you turn the tires around (on the rims) and swap the rims from side to side, they will be running in the same direction as before, with the worn edge on the outside instead of the inside. PROBLEM SOLVED!!" as far as reversing rotational direction, the tire has it stamped clearly on the side wall if they are directional.. if it is not stated, they can roll either way.

Comment by Tom Owens on July 27, 2009 at 9:30am: My dealership actually told me to go to a tire place and have the tires inverted (not rotated) so its not the dealership trying to make money it was recommended that I do it around 15,000 miles. I prob will do it do to it shouldnt cost that much.

Comment by Jim VW on July 26, 2009 at 7:42am: If you turn the tires around (on the rims) and swap the rims from side to side, they will be running in the same direction as before, with the worn edge on the outside instead of the inside. PROBLEM SOLVED!!
But I do believe I read somewhere that reversing the tire direction is no longer as big an issue as it once was. Something about new tire building technology.

Comment by toes on July 26, 2009 at 12:29am: Thank you Bob & Jan ... and hence the "nation of idiots" statement has been "rotated" as well ... amazing how a simple technical question becomes politicized in a forum full of smart owners. And btw: the "toe out" alignment is by design.

But: This is a smart car forum and we all love our smarts. Let's keep religious and political views out as much as possible, because we are an eclectic group, and I would say that's a good thing.

On a different (smart) subject: Has anyone seen a sticker saying: "it's a smart thing, you wouldn't understand ..."? I think i would like one ...

Comment by Carlito on July 26, 2009 at 12:22am: Not a tire salesman but I thought the reverse rotation issue stayed in the 20th century. At least for reputable tire manufacturers. I have done the diagonal rotation on my Jeep and have 60K miles on them with a few left to go.
I do have to say I didn't expect the inside wear to happen on the front. I did expect it on the back tires since the camber is already toe in. Since I only have 1500 miles on Carlito, I guess I will hear from others (maybe Suze) if they have issues with this before it is time for my rotation.
Likely they told her to go to a tire shop knowing she would pay less there?

Let's be careful out there,
Pops & Carlito

Comment by Bob & Jan on July 25, 2009 at 9:23pm: I understand what Suzie had done. The right front tire is now on the left rim, what was on the outside is now on the inside and still rotating in the same direction as before. The opposite is true with the left front tire. This is common on vehicles with directional tires (the smart does not have directional tires) and unique alignment settings on both the front and rear wheels. As long as the tires are rotating the same as they were before there should be no problem with tire carcass failure. The inside tire wear could be caused by incorrect toe and camber settings. The tire alignment on any vehicle should be checked at least once a year.

Comment by Ryan on July 25, 2009 at 8:50pm: mr bad example: i know you were kinda trying to state the obvious.... but look into the not-so-obvious. He's not talking about having the front tires ROTATED. He's talking about having the front tires turned..... i.e. tire pulled off the rim, and put back on the same rim with the side that was once on the outside facing the inside.