Does Discount Tire Rotate Tires For Free?

Tire rotations are an important aspect of getting the most life possible out of them. Does Discount Tire do it for free?

Rotating your tires helps you get the most life out of them and ensures that all four tires wear as evenly as possible. 

Unfortunately, to do it effectively, you have to jack up your entire vehicle simultaneously, making a tire rotation more difficult than many DIYers want to handle on their own. 

So are tire rotations free?

Does Discount Tire Rotate Tires For Free?

Discount Tire offers free lifetime rotation and balancing on tires purchased from its store. So as long as you purchased at least one of your tires there, then you’re good to go. If not, you can expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $50 depending on the type of vehicle you have.

Due to the wide selection of tires and reputable service, Discount Tire is one of the most popular places to buy new tires.

Not only can you get a good price and tires at service here, but you’ll also unlock a few additional perks.

In this article, we’ll talk about what it means to get your tires rotated and balanced, how often you should do it, and how much it costs. 

To ensure you’re getting the most accurate information possible, we combine our knowledge and experience with input from other automotive enthusiasts and experts in the industry. 

We also looked at Discount Tire’s policies to ensure that you get the complete picture about whether or not it really is free to have your tires rotated at Discount Tire. 

What is a tire rotation?

After spending years working in a shop as a technician or mechanic, I’ve come to realize that many people don’t really know what it means in the first place to get your tires rotated. 

The number of times I had customers ask me “don’t they rotate every time I drive?” is astounding. 

So before we start talking about whether or not Discount Tire rotates your tires for free, let’s start with the basics. 

What is a tire rotation?

Tire rotations typically consist of moving your tires from their current position to different positions on your vehicle. 

The most common pattern is to swap the front and rear tires (and wheel assemblies) on your car. 

This helps ensure that all four tires wear evenly, significantly extending their life.

In addition, it helps maintain proper traction and stability while driving and improves fuel economy.

Other than just going straight from the back to the front and vice versa, you might also have shops that rotate the fronts straight back and the rears to the opposite side on the front.

This is called a “cross rotation” and helps the tires wear even more evenly. 

The only exception to this is if you have directional tires. 

This is because directional tires are designed to only spin on one side of the car (i.e. right or left). 

Lastly, vehicles like Jeep with a fifth wheel on the back have a slightly different rotation pattern. 

If you decide to rotate that fifth wheel in, you’ll typically put it on the left rear and move the right rear to the fifth wheel.

This helps to ensure all five tires wear evenly so that if you ever need to put the spare on, it already has similar levels of wear as the other ones.

What does it mean to get your tires balanced?

Often done hand-in-hand with a tire rotation, getting your tires balanced consists of ensuring that the tire and wheel assembly weight is evenly distributed. 

This is important because an unbalanced tire can cause a vibration while driving. 

If you’ve ever driven down the highway and felt your steering wheel or seat start to vibrate, it’s likely because one of your tires was unbalanced.

Tire balancing usually involves putting the tire and wheel on a machine that will spin it and then adding weights to the outside of the assembly until it’s balanced. 

Once it’s balanced, the vibrations inside your car should be significantly less than they were before.

Most shops will include the cost of balancing in the cost of rotating, but some shops will charge extra for it.

Are rotating tires free?

Like a few other major tire distributors out there, Discount Tire does actually offer free tire rotations.

But the catch is that you had to have bought your tires from the company in the first place.

In the purchase price of the tires, they include free tire rotations and balancing for the life of the tires. 

So, if you bought a set of tires from one place (such as Discount Tire) and then had to get them rotated at another shop, you would have to pay for it.

The main advantage to having your tires rotated at Discount Tire is convenience.

If you need to change your oil or brakes, you can just swing by the shop and they’ll take care of it while you wait.

They also have a nationwide network of shops, so no matter where you are in the country, you’re never too far from a Discount Tire location.

How much does it cost to get your tires rotated?

If you didn’t purchase your tires directly from the store or website, a good estimate for the cost of a tire rotation and balance is usually around $30-$50. 

The tire rotation price depends on your vehicle type and how many tires need to be rotated. 

This is worth mentioning because there will typically be higher prices for big vehicles such as trucks that have more than four wheels. 

Advantages of tire rotations

All this talk about taking your car in to have your tires rotated might have you wondering, “Why should I even bother? Is it really that important?”

The answer is: yes, it is.

Tire rotations are vital to your car and your tires because they help ensure that all four tires wear evenly. 

This greatly helps you get the most mileage out of your tires and helps with maintaining proper traction and stability while driving.

It also improves fuel economy.

In addition, rotating and balancing your tires helps to distribute the weight of the tire and wheel assembly evenly.

This prevents vibrations while driving and makes for a more comfortable ride overall.

How often should you get your tires rotated?

So, how often should you get your tires rotated? The general rule of thumb at Discount Tire is every 6,000 to 8,000 miles

In addition, Discount Tire will always balance your tires at the same time. 

So if you bought your tires from there, all you need to do is set up an appointment and you’ll be all set in no time.

One thing worth mentioning about this timeframe is that some tire manufacturers require you to rotate your tires more often in order to keep the warranty.

The most common mileage is every 5,000 miles.

So if you want to be safe, get them rotated every 5,000 miles or so and you’ll be good to go.