Tire rotation is the practice of moving the wheels and tires of an automobile from one position to another to ensure even tire wear, which extends the useful life of a set of tires. The process involves removing each tire and wheel from the vehicle and moving them to a different position to ensure that all tires wear evenly and last longer. The recommended frequency of tire rotation varies depending on the vehicle manufacturer, but it is generally recommended to rotate tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. The benefits of tire rotation include:

• Even treadwear: Regularly rotating tires helps to spread wear evenly across all four tires, maximizing their tread life.
• Improved performance: Each specific position on a vehicle requires a different give from each tire, and rotating tires helps to ensure that each tire wears evenly.
• Safety: Rotating tires gives drivers a chance to inspect each tire for damage and ensure that each tire is inflated to the proper pressure.

The most common rotation pattern is to move the back wheels to the front and the front to the back, but crossing them when moving to the back. However, if the tires are unidirectional, the rotation can only be rotated front to back on the same side of the vehicle to preserve the rotational direction of the tires, unless they are remounted. More complex rotation patterns are required if the vehicle has a full-size spare tire that is part of the rotation or if there are snow tires.