[Old_Geezer]

A straight forward question on whether to carry out tyre/wheel rotation directly from front to rear after a given mileage.
As most drivers will know, if carried out quite frequently tyre/wheel rotation will even out tyre wear and make the set last longer, thus allowing all 4 tyres to be changed at the same time.

I came from many years of BMW with staggered set up and rear wheel drive only, and also cars with permanent 4 wheel drive (BMW x Drive), so it did not make sense to rotate and was not advocated in the user manuals.

I am now running a 2017 Q5 2.0 TFSI S Line with the latest Quattro Ultra transmission that disengages the rear wheel drive transmission when cruising along, and it could be that there may well be more tread remaining on the rear tyres if they are not rotated directly from front to rear after many miles

I have looked in the latest manual and it gives no help on this subject because the Quattro Ultra 4 wheel drive system is new to the Q5.

This is a question to the latest MK2 Q5 drivers! Have you changed tyres over (directly from front to back) or are you considering changing over in the near future? If so at what mileage.

Note 1. I do realise that the front tyres do wear slightly different due to steering geometry and I can see there is a difference at 5000 miles. This could be the time for the first rotation.

Note 2. If you do respond even saying you are not going to rotate, please add your currently mileage.

 

[missile]

I did try to rotate tyres, but gave up when I found the wheels were stuck to the hubs.

I have decided tyre rotation is really not worth the effort and run the tyres until they need replacement front / back.

 

[Isleaiw]

A straight forward question on whether to carry out tyre/wheel rotation directly from front to rear after a given mileage.
As most drivers will know, if carried out quite frequently tyre/wheel rotation will even out tyre wear and make the set last longer, thus allowing all 4 tyres to be changed at the same time.

I came from many years of BMW with staggered set up and rear wheel drive only, and also cars with permanent 4 wheel drive (BMW x Drive), so it did not make sense to rotate and was not advocated in the user manuals.

I am now running a 2017 Q5 2.0 TFSI S Line with the latest Quattro Ultra transmission that disengages the rear wheel drive transmission when cruising along, and it could be that there may well be more tread remaining on the rear tyres if they are not rotated directly from front to rear after many miles

I have looked in the latest manual and it gives no help on this subject because the Quattro Ultra 4 wheel drive system is new to the Q5.

This is a question to the latest MK2 Q5 drivers! Have you changed tyres over (directly from front to back) or are you considering changing over in the near future? If so at what mileage.

Note 1. I do realise that the front tyres do wear slightly different due to steering geometry and I can see there is a difference at 5000 miles. This could be the time for the first rotation.

Note 2. If you do respond even saying you are not going to rotate, please add your currently mileage.

I was debating it but hadnt reached a decision when at 8k miles I noticed a tear in tyre sidewall (probably from a pothole...)

That meant two new tyres so rotated at that point as it was rear that was damaged, so two new on front and old fronts on rear.

Now on 13k miles and havent checked them recently as been away but last time i looked they all looked good for a while yet. And they are they infamously soft Pirelli P Zero in 21" size...

 

[SteveMcB]

Just keep an eye on them. My SQ5 looks fairly even at 15K, my A4 quattro is the same but my Golf was heavier on the front. If the fronts are wearing visibly more I'd rotate them. Always prefer a set of 4 at renewal.

 

[Old_Geezer]

Just keep an eye on them. My SQ5 looks fairly even at 15K, my A4 quattro is the same but my Golf was heavier on the front. If the fronts are wearing visibly more I'd rotate them. Always prefer a set of 4 at renewal.

Agree with the wear on the Golf. I have had 6, yes six from new over the years and they always wore away the fronts earlier because of the heavier front end. In fact so did the Audi A3 2.0 litre Tdi in 2003. I would hope the G5 might give more even wear because I can see Audi have made an effort to get somewhere like a 50/50 weight distribution with the battery in the boot.

 

[PRT]

I like to swap my tyres round to ensure even wear, I notice when my first service was due ( after a year, 8000 miles) that the front had worn a bit more than the rear, as I would expect as the car is predominantly front wheel drive. I ask my very helpful dealership Five Oaks Audi to swap the around which they did free of charge when the car was serviced. Another reason I do this is if not swapped the fronts will wear out first and when replacing a pair of tyres it is recommended the new tyres go on the rear of the vehicle, something the tyre fitters do not do as a matter of course, or grudgingly if requested.

 

[stitch]

Always have rotated tyres at the 6 monthly/10,000 km mark. Come replacement time I prefer to swap 4 over than 2 and risk off match.
My current vehicle is a Q3 and while getting a value for trade in last week the dealer commented if the tyres were replaced or original, stating they were original and I am anal on rotation and pressure monitoring, they were surprised I was able to get so many kms from them.

 

[TGR]

Hi Old-Geezer,
In answer to your question, I plan to swap my wheels front to back at 10,000 miles, should be in a couple of weeks, car will be 13 months old. I've always followed this regime on my previous 3 A6's and find more even wear and more mileage per tyre with the benefit of getting a better deal on buying 4 tyres at once.

Missile,
I also found the wheels were stuck to the hubs, but that was when I got the car with just delivery mileage. I cleaned up the hub flanges and wheel centres and gave them a light smear of copper slip now they come off and on easier.

PRT,
A bit surprised you had a first service at 8,000 miles, my Q5 Tdi is not due until 18,000+ which will be over 2 years.

 

[Old_Geezer]

TGR. How many miles do you expect from a set of tyres on the Q5? I expected to get 25,000 on BMW's, so expect similar.

Missile. Every car I have ever had has had a problem with stuck hubs. I have usually found that one of my local friends has helped me kick them off from the underside, or I have broken the seal with judicious jacking and slightly loosened bolts. I also use copper slip every time, but still find they can be a sod to get off even after using it.

PRT. I was also surprised at your comment of such a low mileage for first service. Mine is showing 18000 due, and expect anywhere between 2 and 3 years.

 

[PRT]

I am a bit old school and vehicle is set for time and distance servicing (10,000 mile or year whatever come first) but due to illness car not used as much this year so only covered 8000 miles in a year,

 

[TGR]

Hi Old_Geezer, I have no idea what sort of mileage to expect from my tyres. Have Michelin Latitude Sports on 18" rims fitted, they still look like new after 9,000 miles including a few trips towing a 1.6 ton caravan.

Hi PRT, I hope you are on the mend and can get back to enjoying you Q5. I'm sorry but I feel you are being cheated by the dealer, modern lubricants and materials have significantly reduced the need for servicing, reducing costs and environmental impact. I lived in Singapore for several years, despite a lot of city driving in very hot temperatures, my cars never had an oil change. The cars were connected to an oil cleaning and reconditioning unit during the service. The same thing is happening in some industries.

 

[Old_Geezer]

Hi Old_Geezer, I have no idea what sort of mileage to expect from my tyres. Have Michelin Latitude Sports on 18" rims fitted, they still look like new after 9,000 miles including a few trips towing a 1.6 ton caravan.

Hi PRT, I hope you are on the mend and can get back to enjoying you Q5. I'm sorry but I feel you are being cheated by the dealer, modern lubricants and materials have significantly reduced the need for servicing, reducing costs and environmental impact. I lived in Singapore for several years, despite a lot of city driving in very hot temperatures, my cars never had an oil change. The cars were connected to an oil cleaning and reconditioning unit during the service. The same thing is happening in some industries.

Precisely!
I ran the RAF's Spectrometric Oil Analysis laboratory many many years ago and can attest that just about every mechanical and oil lubricated component and engines now uses "On Condition Maintenance". In fact we even did it on Helicopter transmissions and the Queens Flights BAE 146 aircraft.
PRT. I also hope you are on the mend.

Thanks TGR

 

[PRT]

Thanks guys for the servicing advice, as I got a servicing as a package I thought I would take advantage and have the car serviced annually, but will change to long-life when it finishes.

 

[TGR]

Hi Folks,

I've at last got around to swapping my wheels front to back. Out of interest I checked the tread depths in four places across the treads at opposite sides of the wheel, eight measurments per wheel.

Average tread depths are;

FL. 5.42 FR. 5.16

RL. 5.95 RR 6.28

Max single depth 6.58 Min single depth 5.05

Now wish I had checked them when the car was new.

 

[Old_Geezer]

Hi Folks,

I've at last got around to swapping my wheels front to back. Out of interest I checked the tread depths in four places across the treads at opposite sides of the wheel, eight measurments per wheel.

Average tread depths are;

FL. 5.42 FR. 5.16

RL. 5.95 RR 6.28

Max single depth 6.58 Min single depth 5.05

Now wish I had checked them when the car was new.

What was mileage on this changeover / Swap?

 

[TGR]

Sorry Old-Geezer, I intended to put that in my post, it's 10,000 miles.

 

[Old_Geezer]

Sorry Old-Geezer, I intended to put that in my post, it's 10,000 miles.

No problem. So rotating them now is not a bad decision.

 

[SQ-Raphster]

I rotated my tyres so that all four needed to be replaced at the same time. But this time around I won't be doing this, as I would prefer to only have to buy 2 tyres at a time and also you have at minimum 2 tyres that have good amount of tread on them. Which is safer.

 

[Ransman]

Hi Folks,

I've at last got around to swapping my wheels front to back. Out of interest I checked the tread depths in four places across the treads at opposite sides of the wheel, eight measurments per wheel.

Average tread depths are;

FL. 5.42 FR. 5.16

RL. 5.95 RR 6.28

Max single depth 6.58 Min single depth 5.05

Now wish I had checked them when the car was new.

I guess I am pretty sad

Mine at 52 miles measured between 7.73 and 7.91mm using a digital tread depth gauge.

When last checked at 10,425 miles there was no discernible difference between front and back within the errors you would expect from these measurements; average was around 5.8mm, giving just under 32,000 miles to the legal limit.

 

[shabazmo]

"it is recommended the new tyres go on the rear of the vehicle", this statement is outdated and relates to when there was no ABS, ASR and traction control. Its purpose was to stop the rear wheels loosing grip before the fronts and causing the car to spin. The car electronics prevent this from happening so best to have the good tyres on you steering wheels which is also the wheels that most braking takes place.

I don't bother changing the tyres around. I prefer to monitor the wear pattern so I can assess and correct any miss-alignment if needed.