Tire Rotation, Maintenance, and Services

Where the rubber meets the road – literally.  Your car’s tires provide the link between you and the highway.  Proper maintenance is crucial to both performance and safety.  Tires should be routinely inspected for proper inflation and wear.  In addition, routine tire rotations, balancing, and alignment will greatly enhance tire life and vehicle ride.

How can I tell if my vehicle needs new tires?

While there are certainly a number of visual cues to determine if your tires are in proper operating condition, as part of a complete maintenance inspection, you should have the below tire safety items checked by a certified technician. Before replacing your tires be sure to consult your owner’s manual and follow the vehicle’s manufacturer recommendations, as vehicle handling may be affected by a change in tire size or type.

In addition, did you know that tire age is an important factor in automotive safety? When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Code (serial number). Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on many other consumer goods (which identify a specific item), the Tire Identification Codes are really batch codes that identify the week and year the tire was produced.

• Tire Codes After 2000: The week and year the tire was manufactured is contained in the last four digits of the series, with two digits used to identify the week a tire was manufactured immediately preceding digits identifying the year. Example: XXXXXXXX 0607 indicates the tire was manufactured during the sixth week of the year 2007.
• Tire Codes Prior to 2000: Tire Codes Prior to 2000: Tire Identification Codes were based on the assumption that no tire would be in service for 10 years. They were required to provide the same information, but the last three digits identified the week followed by the year of the decade. Example: XXXXXXXX 068 indicates the tire was manufactured in the sixth week of the eighth year of the decade.

What can Precision Tune Auto Care do to help keep your tires going?

• Tire Pressure Monitoring: Under or over-inflation can result in irregular wear, lower gas mileage, loss of control and accidents. A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and not appear to be flat! Please have your tire pressure checked with every oil change. Recommended air pressure is posted on the driver’s door or in the glove compartment of every vehicle.
• Tire Alignment:  If your vehicle is pulling to one side or shaking, it may be out of alignment and damaging your tires. Have your vehicle checked for proper alignment periodically, especially if you notice driving irregularities.
• Tire Rotation: Regular rotation of tires promotes more even wear, which in turn prolongs tire life. The general guideline for tire rotation is every other oil change (or every 6,000 to 7,500 miles), unless otherwise directed by your vehicle or tire manufacturer.
• Tire Tread: While the penny test can do the trick if you’re in a pinch (legal tread depth is 2/32 of an inch – the exact distance from the tip of Abe’s head to the rim of a penny), you may feel more comfortable having your certified technician measure this during an inspection. Note that in many states it is illegal to drive on tires that are below safe tread depth.

This service, like all services performed at Precision Tune Auto Care, is advised based on manufacturer’s recommendations, or as needed as determined by our inspection and industry standards. All of the tires we install are guaranteed to meet or exceed manufacturer standards, and if you wish, we’ll return your old tires to you. Read the Precision Tune Auto Care Road Hazard Warranty (PDF) policy for more information about our tire coverage.

Please note that the warranty is only valid if you purchased the Road Hazard Warranty or it was included in your tire purchase.

Not all PTAC centers provide this service. To see what services each center provides and to find the nearest center close to you, please click here.