Tire rotation and pressure basics

Use the cold pressure on the vehicle door placard, not the maximum printed on the tire, and rotate on the schedule in the owner’s manual.

Updated 2026-10-27

Pressure comes from the vehicle, not the tire’s maximum

The recommended cold pressure is on the placard on the driver door jamb. Some vehicles put it on the fuel door or only in the owner’s manual. Use that number. The PSI or kPa molded on the sidewall is the tire’s maximum, and it is often higher than the placard. Running the maximum “because it is on the tire” over-inflates the tire relative to the vehicle’s design.

Check pressure when the tires are cold: before a drive, or after the car has been parked for a few hours. A hot tire reads higher. Do not bleed a hot tire down to the placard number. It will be low once it cools.

Use a gauge. A TPMS warning tells you a tire has dropped. It is not a substitute for setting the placard pressure. If the vehicle displays a pressure, a separate gauge is still a useful check.

Check the spare if you have one. A flat spare does not help on the day you need it.

Rotation follows the vehicle, the direction arrow, and the sizes

Rotating moves wear around so one position does not scrub a single tire down first. Use the interval and the pattern in the owner’s manual. If the manual does not give a distance, a practical time is the seasonal tire swap or a regular service visit. Do not invent a kilometre rule that overrides the manual.

A directional tire has an arrow on the sidewall. It has to keep rolling in that direction. You can move it front to back on the same side. You do not cross it to the other side unless it is remounted on the wheel.

If the front and rear tires are different sizes, they cannot be swapped front to back. Some cars also specify an inside and outside shoulder. Follow the manual.

After a rotation, set the pressures again. Front and rear placard pressures are often different.