When you get your tires rotated do they also balance it afterwards?

Question

So I Called the Dodge Dealership near my place. I asked if they balance the tires after they rotate the tires. They so no they don't and that it's an extra cost. They say it cost 60 bucks to balance it. I want to know if i'm being scamed, because i don't know anything. So usually do they balance your tires after it's rotated?

They say it's a separate charge.

So do you mean to tell me each time you rotate your tires you guys also get it balanced? how much does that cost? $60?

My car only has 3,000 miles. I don't know if i need to balance it. I'm just paranoid that FireStone didn't do a good job.

Normally when they rotate the tires is it nesscary to also balance the tires?

See when FireStone took off the tires. Do you think it has to be balanced. Cuz how do they know how to put it back right? It says it wasn't balanced. They declined to balance it. So i don't know if the road is bumpy or i'm being paranoid, but i want to do something. I care about the car.

*update* so i called and they said they didn't take it off the rim. And they said so that means it doesn't need to be balanced again. Is that true?* they said they took it off the car think whatever that means, but not off the rim. Then they dunked it in water. But when you put the tires back on the car, how do you know one isn't higher than the other? you think it's safe?

Answer 1

when you say balanced, do you mean aligned? When you balance the tire, you balance it on the rim, not the car. When you change tires, a lot of people want to re-align the car so that all tires are properly aligned so that they wear evenly. You don't always have to have this done when you have your tires rotated, only when the tires are not properly aligned, which they usually will tell you if they are not.

It does cost anywhere from 40-80 bucks (depending upon where you go) to have the car properly aligned. And it is a seperate charge, they don't just do it.

Answer 2

ok really easy! I work for DODGE! if you are going at HWY speed and you can feel the steering wheel vibrate just driving down the road, or if you can feel the whole car/truck vibrate just driving down the road then you prob. need to get your tires balanced. the reason why we don't balance tires when you get the rotated is because the average driver doesn't drive in harsh conditions like out in fields or off road all the time. also most of the time when a Cust. is getting there tires rotated. Its for a general mantnance. you have to rotate your tires on a regualr basis. like every 8-9,000 miles. It keeps the tires in the front from wearing funny. and it also keeps the best tread in the front of the vehicle. if you were not feeling a vibration while driving down the road. That is Without touch ing the brakes just holding a steady HWY speed 40-75 mph then I would not have your tires balanced. However sometimes the vibration is caused by a tire that is starting to separate. or one that is out of round, another words it is egg shaped. either one of these can and will cause your car to vibrate possably even pull. now if you are going like 5-15 mph and you can let go of the steering wheel and it will turn it self little by little, and you can feel the whole vehicle kinda lope side to side a little. Thats a bad sighn that you have a separated tire and its getting worse Quickly. other than that you DO NOT have to Balance your tires every time you rotate, but I will asure you I won't mind taking your money and balancing your tires when you want me too. Oh one other thing Lug nuts, if you have a newer modle of Dodge truck like a 1500 you know one with like the 20" rims and so on. I have noticed that some of the cust. that get there tires rotated frequintly. The lug nut will swell up a little not much but just enough that you almost have to hamer the socket onto the lug nuts. at that point a lot of the time the outer cover will fall off and you would have to replace the lug nuts at like $5-6.00 each! THAT SUCKS!!!!!

Answer 3

I can't really answer your question, but I wanted to offer my opinion anyway based on my recent experience with Dodge dealerships!!
For many months, I have had a "noise" from the drivers' side front tire...and upon mentioning this to the dealership, spent well over $1,000 "fixing" the problem---yet, the noise still persisted. It was as if I had a stone caught in my tire, and the noise got worse. FINALLY, after the 5th time, they informed me that I needed wheel bearings replaced on that side (They had already replaced those on the passenger side--almost $500!!) You can only imagine how thrilled I am NOT with the Dodge dealership!! Funny thing; during this whole fiasco, my warranty expired....Hmmmm!!
My take on the whole situation??? Is it poor workmanship or lack of trained mechanics?? Bottom line, in MY case--Dodge has people like me over a barrel. The next "step up", if you are buying a van, is a $10,000 jump, at least. American Made used to mean something....but now, it seems in some situations, the Almighty Dollar means more.
Good luck with your tires!!

Answer 4

When you go to get this done ask to see the print out for the Toe In, Camber Adjust, and Alignment. Some shops will refuse this which means they aren't doing all of the work. Take a copy of the specifications for your vehicle from a repair manual and see if they match up.
Balances are very cheap as opposed to alignment and shouldn't run that much at all. All a balance is, is placing your tires on a machine that turns them at a high rate of speed until the numbers match up and if they don't they slap a lead weight on there like all tires have on them now.
Most mechanics pride themselves on the fact that they're dealing with a dummy and can get more money this way.

Answer 5

Well rotated tires are just moving the tires to recommended points and that does NOT require rebalancing--the tires are balanced for any point on the vehicle. If the tire is taken off the rim--they use chalk to line it up and remount it--avoiding the rebalance. if you sense a problem--it might be a bad tire belt inside where you can or cannot see it--maybe a bulge. That will make a tire hop. Tires do go bad every once in a while--potholes are bad--hitting curbs is bad--take a few dollars if it makes you feel better--answer it once and for all. Owning any vehicle is NOT a cheap task--anything can and will go wrong. YOU have to maintain it and get used to it. I see people do bad stuff 100 miles after getting a repair--lousy drivers ruin cars

Answer 6

Providing a weight hasn't been tossed and you notice no steering wheel or seat vibrations regular tire rotation helps tires wear evenly. Balancing really isn't necessary.

There are average balance jobs and there are excellent jobs. If you were to go to Hunter Balancing Machines there's a 20 minute clip on their GSP9700 Force Wheel Balancer. There's a spot on this website where you can eneter your Zip Code and they'll tell you dealers in your area who have this piece of equipment in there shop.
It's in my opinion the very best complete wheel and tire balancer on the market today.

Answer 7

Go somewhere else! Balancing and rotating shouldn't cost more than $40-$50. I thought BMW had free total servicing (including brakes, tires, etc) for the first 4 years, 50K miles on new cars? Did you buy this used? Why wouldn't this be covered?

Answer 8

why go to the highest place in to get work done.... dealers are the last place on the list..... go to a tire store and get it done right.... and to your question is no that is a differant price about anywhere you go but maybe where you get the tire sometimes offer it free..... no you dont have to balance every time even every other time.... when driving you should know when you feel a shake or bounce...at speeds above 45... should be done like once a year maybe more depending on how many miles you run and yes 60 bucks is about right for a dealer price..... the shop i work at charges 15 to 20 a wheel so at a dealer sounds right high and they dont know what they doing half the time... go to a tire shop when you get like 10,000 miles on your tires then as they wear maybe more offen could say two or three times for the life time of the tire should work on most good brand tires

Answer 9

No. Tire rotation and balancing tires are two different things entirely. If your not having a bumpy ride, chances are your tires are fine, especially with the mileage that you have on your vehicle.

Rotating tires is generally not labor intensive. Balancing tires means having a tire balancer and takes more time. You pay for the additional labor that's involved.

Answer 10

balance and rotate are 2 separate things but some places like wal-mart will let you buy a lifetime package that does both when you buy tires from them other then that you have to pay to have them balanced