# How can you tell if they rotated your tires? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321 "2009-05-22T19:06:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/1 "2009-05-22T19:06:17Z")
I don’t mean over the course of a couple of years, when it can become obvious that your tires have never been rotated. But suppose your take your car in for an oil change, lube, wiper blades, and a tire rotation. Insurance regulations supposedly prohibit you from attending your vehicle while they work on it. At least, that’s what they say. In any case, let’s just say that for whatever reason, you can’t see what they’re doing. It’s pretty easy to check the oil change. It should look nice and golden clear. It’s pretty easy to check the lube (no squeaks) and wiper blades (no finger-nails on blackboard screechy sounds). But what about the tires? Are they marked somehow with individual identifiers? Should you chalk your tires before you go in? (Bit of a hassle if so, 'cause you have to wash them off.) Anyway, how can you be sure they did what they charged you for if you weren’t watching them? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/2 "2009-05-22T19:11:15Z")
Put marks somewhere on the rims of the wheels. Note the positions before and after. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/3 "2009-05-22T19:13:27Z")
My tires rotate whenever I hit the gas. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/4 "2009-05-22T19:29:21Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Anyway, how can you be sure they did what they charged you for if you weren’t watching them? Easiest way is to deal with a reputable shop where there’d be no reason to doubt it. As far as tires, probably the surest method is to mark each one with a tire marking crayon, indicating its location (e.g. LF, RF, etc.). Mark on the inboard sidewall if you don’t want it to be obvious. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/5 "2009-05-22T19:44:34Z")
I number my tires with a silver Sharpie. Since I started doing this, I’ve observed that while shops usually do actually rotate the tires, they often mix the tires up. In other words, instead of doing a straight front-to-back rotation as requested, they do something screwy like take all of the tires off and randomly put them back on the vehicle. This has happened in all manner of shops including tire dealerships, manufacturer service shops, independent repair shops, etc. Sometimes they notice the numbers after removing them from the vehicle, and then come out to ask me which tire goes where. :smack: It’s gotten so that I’m actually impressed when they manage to rotate the tires correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/6 "2009-05-22T20:20:24Z")
I thought the rotation sequence was supposed to be Left Front to Right Rear Right Rear to Left Rear Left Rear to Right Front Right Front to Left Front Is that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/7 "2009-05-22T20:28:40Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I thought the rotation sequence was supposed to be > > Left Front to Right Rear > Right Rear to Left Rear > Left Rear to Right Front > Right Front to Left Front > > Is that wrong? That was the way to do it with the old “bias-ply” tires. Now that radial are in use, you should always rotate within the same side, the idea is that radials should always turn in the same direction once they have been used. For that reason, if you change to winter tires, they must be marked so they are reinstalled on the same side. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/8 "2009-05-22T20:31:08Z")
So, are you saying Switch Left Front and Left Rear Switch Right Front and Right Rear And then next time, same same? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/9 "2009-05-22T20:39:18Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Is that wrong? It depends: [http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43](http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/10 "2009-05-22T20:50:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It depends: [http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43](http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43) _Excellent_ link. Excellent. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/11 "2009-05-22T21:09:03Z")
What are “directional tires”? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/12 "2009-05-22T21:14:04Z")
Ones that are designed to work best when rotated only in one direction. ---
**Author:** ![SilverBridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba8739/32.png) [@SilverBridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilverBridge)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/13 "2009-05-22T22:08:00Z")
The wheels with the brake dust will now be at the rear. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/14 "2009-05-22T23:36:40Z")
Unless your car (or driving style) has a tendency to wear tires on one end significantly faster that those on the other end, rotating tires is pretty much useless. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/15 "2009-05-23T00:01:19Z")
> [@SilverBridge](#): > > The wheels with the brake dust will now be at the rear. Rear brakes also produce dust. Usually not as much, but they do produce dust. > [@Dog80](#): > > Unless your car (or driving style) has a tendency to wear tires on one end significantly faster that those on the other end, rotating tires is pretty much useless. This is not a true statement. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/16 "2009-05-23T00:42:12Z")
I think the easiest and least obvious way would be to remove the valve stem cap on one of your tires. You won’t be able to tell where each tire went, but you can tell if that tire was changed. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/17 "2009-05-23T01:08:39Z")
I think I like the tire chalk idea, but not hidden inside. Printed boldly and bigly on the outside of the tire. When they’re finished, the front should have LR and RR on the front left and front right respectively, and LF and RF on the rear left and rear right respectively. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/18 "2009-05-23T02:19:21Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > _Excellent_ link. Excellent. Thank you. This is a good link. However, the best advice is to check the owner’s manual. (My manual says to do a front-to-back rotation.) FWIW, I have read somewhere (Consumer Reports, maybe?) that while tire rotation can give some benefits, the benefit may not be enough to justify the expense of rotating tires. (That is, unless you have complimentary tire rotation service.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/19 "2009-05-23T02:32:26Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > Unless your car (or driving style) has a tendency to wear tires on one end significantly faster that those on the other end, rotating tires is pretty much useless. All cars do this. It’s impossible to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321/20 "2009-05-23T03:26:04Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > I think the easiest and least obvious way would be to remove the valve stem cap on one of your tires. You won’t be able to tell where each tire went, but you can tell if that tire was changed. Only if you can be quite certain that it will be left that way. A conscientious shop will remove the caps in checking tire pressure, possibly changing which tire ends up capless. Some shops will stick a cap on there as a favor, maybe even a used one that’s indistinguishable from the rest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-they-rotated-your-tires/497321.md?page=2)