4X4 tyre rotation question

[indyjukebox]

My first VW 4X4. Is there any need to monitor tyre depths and rotate tyres? I have heard of Xdrives destroying transfer boxes due to significant differences in tyre depths between front and rear. Any similar requirements or advice for the VW 4X4?

[Ootohere]

They are part time AWD's in the Skoda's not permanent 4x4's.

[john999boy]

As the cars are fwd biased it still pays to rotate the wheels.

[sadgit1]

I drive a Mk2 V6 estate, which is 4x4 and I rotate the wheels every 5k miles.

 

I do this for a few reasons: to even out the wear as the fronts tend to wear first; to fully inspect the wheels and tyres for wear and damage plus while the wheels are off I give the inside of the wheels a major clean and wax; finally it means when I change tires I can change all 4 together, very important if you wish to change brands or as I did last time, change to All Season tires.

[2slo7]

My 170 tdi is an AWD, the 2nd I've owned. Both were fitted from new with Continental tyres and, on both cars, all 4 needed replacement by about 16k miles. Currently running Michelin pilot sports which are on 18k and still have several thousand miles left in them with even wear all round. In my case rotation hasn't been needed as my car gets well used (though not abused) and the AWD system works hard on mostly rural roads. The point I'm making is that the need for rotation will depend on how the car is used. If for example you buy AWD as an added safety feature but do most of your mileage in slow city traffic where the AWD rarely activates, then rotation may be worth doing.

[FelisBengalensis]

Mine is the same. All four corners are wearing evenly due to the road types I use when commuting - often covered in mud and 'other' coatings so I suspect the AWD system must be running more often. I also change as complete sets to mitigate transmission wind-up.

Surprisingly this last concern is becoming more apparent if wide tread depth or different brands front/rear get fitted. Modern transmissions should be OK for this, but certainly BMW X-drive systems may be starting to show signs of not liking certain brands and diffs failing if the wrong choices are made.