Service writer says "we don't recommend or do 5 tire rotations"

[Pat2Alaska]

This. It's a PITA to remove the spare from under a truck. And in the case of the JT it's not a matching wheel anyway so why would they?

It is a matching wheel on my JT and it is not much more difficult than removing / replacing the spare on a JK or JL.....

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[WXman]

It is a matching wheel on my JT and it is not much more difficult than removing / replacing the spare on a JK or JL.....

It might be a matching wheel on your JT, but it's not a matching wheel on any other JT, hence the dealer policy.

And my dealership won't do 5-tire rotations on JLs either. They also won't do the cross-rotation pattern prescribed in the owners manual, they only do front to back.

This is why I always do my own rotations in the driveway. It adds what, 20 minutes to each oil change? And I know it's done correctly.

 

[saintpauljeff]

For most people it would not be a problem if the 5th is used as a spare only because it would just be enough to get one out of a jam until the normal defect tire it replaced is repaired.

this is me; on my Hummer H3 I never did 5 tire rotations, used the original full size spare maybe a dozen times in 12 years and never had issue. It's temporary usage until the regular tire is fixed.

 

[bgenlvtex]

"We don't recommend doing a five tire rotation"

Noted

Now go do the five tire rotation I asked you to do.

 

[arosen1997]

"We don't recommend doing a five tire rotation"

Noted

Now go do the five tire rotation I asked you to do.

Man they don't wanna even do 5 tire rotations? Shit I do 9 tire rotations all the time at work and the wheels I'm working with weight over 200 pounds a piece

On a more serious note there's literally nothing wrong with a 5 tire rotation and the dealer is just being lazy

 

[Deleted member 24603]

Always did a 5 tire rotation with my 2014 JK, and will continue to do so with my Gladiator as I purchased a matching 5 tire/wheel set anyway (35's). Like the fact that all tires have the same amount of wear on them, and last longer with a 5 tire rotation pattern before needing replacement. It takes all of 30 minutes to do in my garage, or a little longer if a trip to the bathroom and a second beer is needed!

 

[bgenlvtex]

Man they don't wanna even do 5 tire rotations? Shit I do 9 tire rotations all the time at work and the wheels I'm working with weight over 200 pounds a piece

On a more serious note there's literally nothing wrong with a 5 tire rotation and the dealer is just being lazy

In the hierarchy of people I am disinclined to trust at a dealership, a "service writer" ranks right up there towards the top.

 

[Pat2Alaska]

In the hierarchy of people I am disinclined to trust at a dealership, a "service writer" ranks right up there towards the top.

And the TOP of my list of people that I trust is anyone who has both Alaska & Texas in their profile!! Lived in both great states! (well we thought of them as their own countries when I lived there)

 

[double J]

I just replaced my spare wheel, with a matching rubicon wheel. It needed a new tpms sensor. The spare did not have one it it. The good news is that it was self learning and did not have to take it to the dealer. I did get the sensor from them and had them look it up by vin. I did not want to loose the tire fill alert feature.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This. It's a PITA to remove the spare from under a truck. And in the case of the JT it's not a matching wheel anyway so why would they?

It is on MINE - I have 5 matching Overland wheels - including the spare. xx,xxx miles spread over 5 tires means each tire wears a bit less and in a few years you don't have an unworn spare that has to be replaced due to being over x years old.
Further - it's actually RECOMMENDED for 4x4 vehicles to do a 5 tire rotation because they all wear more evenly and there's virtually no real difference in diameter. Wear a set of 4 down to minimal safe use and then toss on a spare. Not a differential killer - but on a limited slip it will over miles build up heat (I've rebuilt a few with blue disks) No, not a big deal and is it likely? No, not really. But why not spread that wear and keep things more even over 5 vs. 4.
Why NOT do it is my argument.
Some say "why" and I say why the heck not?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's likely one of those "theoretical" issues that "may have" lead to warranty claims.... I'd be curious to measure around a fresh spare and the 4 tires with 5k miles on them, and see exactly how much circumference is lost.. surely it's not enough to keep your diff spinamathingin... If you loose 1/8" of tread, that's just over 3/4" of circumference, or 8 degrees of rotation on a 33" tire....
My math says, at 60mph, an 1/8" difference of tread leads to a 0.5 rpm difference in the two axles... that's not much.

Ah, but isn't it WORSE if you put an UNUSED, UNWORN spare on after 40,000 miles?
IF you rotate it in every few thou, then it wears like the rest, no issues, but if you have a flat and put the spare on later - you have uneven (even if minimal in the grand scheme of things) sizes compared to when you rotate it in after only 10,000 miles.
Or less in many cases. My Chevy I did every 7,000 miles. They needed replaced due to AGE, not wear.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Unless you drive a whole lot, tires around here get replaced due to heat and sun exposure, and not from wear. I've never had a matching spare on any of my trucks, and never went to the effort and expense to get one. I didn't see the point, since the spare is for temporary use. Getting a matching spare, and doing 5 tire rotations, doesn't offer enough return, for me, for the extra effort and expense it requires. When I need new tires, I only have to buy 4, which saves me money.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Unless you drive a whole lot, tires around here get replaced due to heat and sun exposure, and not from wear. I've never had a matching spare on any of my trucks, and never went to the effort and expense to get one. I didn't see the point, since the spare is for temporary use. Getting a matching spare, and doing 5 tire rotations, doesn't offer enough return, for me, for the extra effort and expense it requires. When I need new tires, I only have to buy 4, which saves me money.

And when you put that 9 year old spare on and it's split or rotted or won't hold up due to age?
Spare is for whatever use you want it to be. No rule says it's for temporary - that's a personal choice based on the spare you have.

5 tires in a rotation CAN or MAY, save, too - since wear is spread out.
I sometimes run into tires needing replaced due to age - but sometimes it's wear, too - depending on the car. My Eagle, it needs tires now due to wear (but they are also getting close to 7 years.)

One example of having a matching spare saving a lot of money was when Barbara hit a small bolt - it was close to the edge of the tread. Two tires shops refused to fix it. One sort of hesitated and said it was a really close call - I told them if they'd fix it, I'd use it as the spare and we'd put her spare on the Jeep. The repaired tire was her spare for 2 years, we later traded for the GC she has now.
So there we are, partially worn tires, one that maybe wouldn't be fixed - and ending up having to mess with a new tire on one corner.

That's not the only time it's happened to us. With her Camaro a glass bottle went through the edge - we had to buy a new tire and finding one that matched wasn't easy. If she had a matching spare - it would have been more simple. Put on spare, use the new as spare.
There's several times a matching spare has helped us out.
So for us, it's a winner and has saved us money (and time - swap it one time, put the repaired tire in as spare, you are done)

If it's not important for you - then don't do it.
For me - it is a nice time saving thing and has saved our butts when a tire was damaged and we could install - and leave installed - the spare.

If I end up with Rubicon wheels and tires on my JT - I'll be looking for a matching wheel and tire for a spare for those, too.

 

[MarineHawk]

And in the case of the JT it's not a matching wheel anyway so why would they?

I have a JT and five matching wheels.

 

[MarineHawk]

on my Hummer H3 I never did 5 tire rotations

Five-tire rotation is recommended and pictured in the H3 manual. I had a GM dealer give me the same crap, and I showed him in the manual a few months ago.

He told me that 5-tire rotation is never done and doesn't make sense. I told him that I had been doing it since before he was born. He said that it is never done now. I told him that that was a mistake, and showed him it in the manual. They did the 5-tire rotation.

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