Picked up a (loaner) T6 AWD XC90 back in June and my sales rep recommended rotation tires every 6k miles.
We are coming up on 6k miles so will be taking it into the shop to have the rotation done but I’ve seen a lot of conflicting information on the internet about how often to rotate AWD Volvo tires. This is the first car we’ve had with “expensive” tires (Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season) so just trying to make sure I do the right thing.
Sorry for the elementary question and maybe I’m just over thinking this but interested to hear feedback from other XC90/AWD owners…
I’m not sure if their SUVs recommend tire rotation but they don’t for sedans. It’s a safety thing in their eyes and they’d rather have you drive straight into something than spin out. With that said, if you want to save lots and lots of money, rotate them at least every 5k. I’m sure you can tell significant wear difference between your front and rear.
The Pirelli Scorpions are not super expensive. I just picked up an XC90 with 20s and checked online and the tires are 130-150 a pop. Really not that bad.
With that said, tires should always be rotated for longer life span.
Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know what I had been looking at pre-purchase but I was thinking they were in the $250 range. Obviously I don’t know $hit about tires…
Just do it. XC90 AWD still drives as a FWD 90% of the time. Volvo does not recommend rotation even on FWD for some reason and it is a bad non-recommendation.
Wife burned through a set of 20" Pirellis on her last 2016 XC90 AWD in about 30k of highway driving. Brakes were shot too. Not sure if it was her driving style but hearing on a lot of 36k mile lease be prepared for tires and/or brakes. Replaced with Michelins for $1000 +/- because she had a 3 yr 45k lease and we still had about a yr left!!!
I agree. I think the strategy is to either put new-new tires on around second service (enjoy that last year on fresh rubber, turn in with enough tread) or the tried-and-true buy used tires closer to disposition.
Just don’t buy fresh shoes at 24 months and use a 6-month pull-ahead.
I was always going to put on brand new tires before the third winter. Due to a flat tire recently, I did that a couple months early. More time on brand new tires for me, road hazard is included, so I am spending money I was going to anyway and getting more benefits out of it.
Long way of saying paying for rotation would have been wasted money but YMMV.
You might have a point here. If you only replaced the fronts as the rears would last the entire lease term, I wonder how long they’d last. Probably go through three front sets which would save you the cost two tires on a 12k/year 3 year term.
When I had FWD cars I owned, I often (about this time of year) put 2 new tires on the front, and rotated the 2 best remaining to the back.
Even though the Volvo AWD is mostly FWD, it’s what you said Max (not too bald) but also not good for any AWD to have a big variance in tread front to back (eg 12/32 front and 4/32 rear).
As I’ve shared more than once, my WRX ate 10 tires in 36 months because it was extremely fussy about tread depth and traction. Thankfully Volvo isn’t nearly that picky.
