Tire Rotation 2003 Awd

[GeneNJ]

I asked the dealer if they rotate the tires as part of the yearly maintence and was surprised that BMW has no recomended schedule. I checked the owners manual and sure enough, no mention of rotation. Is there a problem with doing a normal, same side, front to back swap? I can't imagine why it would be a problem but I don't want to go ahead without more information.

Gene

[WOSBY]

If I remember correctly from an experience with my previous BMW, they do not recommend tire rotation. Has something to do with the different camber settings between front and rear tires, plus if you're using high performance tires which are usually directional, then you simple cant. Also, if you have the sport package, then the tires are staggered, so again you cant.

So I guess the answer to your question is "no". Just check/adjust your tire pressue frequently (at least once a week), and dont floor the accelerator at each green light.

Wosby

[Dirty_Tool]

Its totally acceptable as long as the car does not have staggered wheel/tire setup to rotate the tires from front to rear, just avoid any side to side rotating. To make sure that you dont have a staggered setup just look at the tires sizes and make sure that they are identical front to back. Im pretty confident however that none of the XI's ran a staggered setup. Also its a good idea to balance the wheels at the same time, and maybe consider a 4 wheel alignment. These things can significantly reduce tire wear and cupping. Although BMW seems to have missed it with some of these normal maintenance practices theres no reason that you cant have it done in order to keep your BMW and its shoes riding like new.

DT