Just noticed that on 3 tyres, they seem to be pointing the wrong way . Does this effect the handling or safety ?

I'd say both

Are the tyres original to the car.

You should be able to sort it by swapping the wheels to the other sides of the car.

Doing this will leave you with 1 with the arrow the wrong way. This could be the spare, so check that it has not been swapped in the past.

I would expect the ability of the tread to disperse water to be adversely affected, hence safety will be compromised. But I'm no tyre expert!

Sarge.

'Wrong way' tyres are also excessively louder than 'right way' ones.

meta55b - yes the car is only 6 months old

mannyo - car did not come with a spare just the tyre sealant

Yup- tyres should rotate in the correct direction. May affect the safety and grip. But something is wrong- take it back to the garage that did the PDI and ask politely for things to be sorted-if car has been otherwise unmolested.

The reason for directional arrows is to ensure they are put on the right way round as they work best that way - safer in particular. If this wasn't the case they'd be usual heterosexual type! Seriously, your car is probably less safe with the tyres round the wrong way and knowing how insurance companies can be these days you may not be covered!

It will also fail its MOT in this state and possibly attract 3 points per from her majesty's constabulary if you give them reason to take a close look.

Update ; . First I was wrong about it being 3 tyres , should have been 2

Turns out even though the tread direction on one side of the car looks different to the other , as long as the marking "outside" on the tyre is facing outwards, its ok

Thanks again for everybody's input

Asymmetric tyres instead of directional then

It will affect grip massively in the wet, I once drove an mx5 where the directional tyres were on the wrong way, a little bit of drizzle and a slight left hand bend at about 25mph and I span it 360 degrees. Luckily i managed not to hit anything.

With the tyres on the right way it was totally different.

Hi Chappers ..... Every day , is a school day

Edited 23 May, 201313 yr by Dr Bob

Directional tyres in the wet are made to push the water into the tread pattern and then to the outside of the tyre . I f the direction is wrong it pushes the water into the middle of the tyre so causing masive grip loss.