BillPaul

My Infiniti dealer did a 12 month service on my 2010 G37S 6MT sedan yesterday. I was surprised to find a $33 charge for tire rotation. The front & rear tires have different sizes, and the owner's manual and the service & maintenance guide both say not to rotate tires on this model:

"If your vehicle is equipped with different sized tires in the front and rear, tires cannot be rotated."
"Tire rotation (Models equipped with different size tires on front and rear):
Tires cannot be rotated on this vehicle, as front tires are a different size from
rear tires and the direction of the wheel rotation is fixed for each tire."

The larger rear tires are still properly on the rear, so if any rotation occurred, it must have been done rear to rear & front to front. The Tire Rack website mentions this type of tire rotation:

"A 'Side-to-Side' (Figure E) pattern may be used for vehicles equipped with different sized non-directional tires and wheels on the front axle compared to the rear axle."

Thoughts, anyone?

spect2k

Did you ask them what they did? Or if they charged you by accident - meaning a lack of coordination between the person writing up the bill and the tech.

BillPaul

I discovered & asked about the rotation when I was paying for the service. The service representative told me that I needed the rotation to prolong the life of my tires, which are expensive.

I decided to research this issue before pursuing it, although I am currently inclined to tell them to remove the charge as Infiniti appears to recommend that tire rotations not be done in the Sport model. Note, however, that TireRack does mention this type of rotation, and perhaps some might argue that driver & passenger side tires wear differently.

Finally, I don't yet know if they knowingly rotate tires on the Sport model, or if the billing was done accidentally without a rotation.

If they actually did the rotation, then I think they should have asked if I wanted it since it is not recommended.

rks

iTrader: (6)

Unless they removed the tires from the wheels and switched them, they ripped you off. The staggered tires are directional so you can't just swap from side to side.

BillPaul

TireRack states my tires are asymmetric but doesn't mention directional:
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A
Front: 225/50 R18 95W
Rear: 245/45 R18 96W

If they are asymmetric, then can they be swapped side to side?

rks

iTrader: (6)

stolen from TireRack:

Asymmetric and Directional Tread Patterns
Asymmetric and directional tread patterns have v-shaped tread grooves that are offset compared to the centerline of the tire. Tires featuring asymmetric and directional tread patterns must be treated as directional tires for tire rotation. However, if different tire sizes are used on the front vs. rear axle, they become location-specific and prohibit any tire rotation possibilities.

BillPaul

Thank you, but I am not sure about what the verdict is on my particular tires.

BillPaul

From what I can tell, here is the situation with my Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires:

TireRack: "On the outside, the Potenza RE050A features a high grip tread compound molded into an asymmetric tread design." No mention of unidirectional.

The sidewalls indicate which side is to go on the outside, but there is no arrow indicating a direction the tires must spin. So, it would appear that side to side rotation is OK. If all this is true, then I don't understand why the owner's manual says do not rotate.

Whether rotating side to side is worthwhile may depend on whether cornering speeds and frequency are different right vs. left. I doubt that is an issue with my driving.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

The RE050's are not directional and are assymetric, meaning you can rotate left-right without dismounting/remounting the tires to the rim.

It will help a little bit, but won't do much if your issue is camber wear, as the inner side will always be inside regardless of which side the tire is on.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

My guess is it's miscommunication between the folks creating the manual, and the purchasers. They must've originally spec'd out directional tires (or perhaps certain markets have directional tires) but eventually used the 050's.

BillPaul

Thanks. That may be the most likely explanation.

G_rev

$33 for rotation ... whether is needed or not. Is still a joke.

weaver

iTrader: (4)

Was about to ask this same question on here, so glad I read this. I have the same tires and the 2010 sport vert wheels for my 2011 vert. I am just going to switch them left to right, not front to back obviously.

Neal@tirerack

iTrader: (2)

The oe B-Stone does not need to come off the wheel to be rotated. They can be switched from left/right with no issues. Being stagg sizes this is best you can do and the price seems in line for the side to side swap.

BillPaul

Good point. The real question should be: is side to side rotation really needed?

I plan to examine my tires before next scheduled rotation, and if the tires are wearing evenly, I will not have the rotation done.

Note also that the more a dealer does with your car, the more that can go wrong. I have been charged for rotations that were not done, and in one case a lug nut fell off 2 weeks after a tire rotation. These incidents happened at my Honda dealer and a Firestone dealer years ago.

The problem is that folks that work in a service department are often rushed, young and inexperienced, poorly paid, etc. I would hope that my Infiniti dealer is above these problems, but I don't know for sure.