Operation, care and maintenance -> Tire rotation for your BMW 5 Series 1995-2003

130nTire replacement  
Tire rotation  
Do not use retreaded tires, since  
If different tire sizes are mounted  
on the front and rear axles (refer to  
page 133), the wheels may not be  
rotated from one axle to the other.<  
Between the axles  
driving safety may be impaired.  
This is due to the possible variations in  
casing structures and, in some cases,  
to their extreme age, which can lead to  
a decrease in their durability.<  
The tread wear patterns at the front end  
differ from those at the rear – the actual  
patterns will vary according to individ-  
ual driving conditions. In the interests of  
safety and maintaining optimal handling  
characteristics, interaxle tire rotation is  
not recommended.  
Tire age  
The date on which the tire was manu-  
factured is indicated by the code on the  
sidewall:  
If a proposed interaxle rotation of tires is  
based on economic considerations, one  
should consider whether the costs for  
the rotation are likely to be recaptured  
by any increase in the service life of the  
tires which might be realized. In prin-  
DOT ... 3400 indicates that the tire was  
manufactured during week 34 of the  
year 2000.  
BMW recommends the replacement of ciple, interaxle tire rotation should be  
all tires when the tires are no more than performed at short intervals, with a  
6 years old, even if a tire life of 10 years maximum of 3,000 miles (5,000 km).  
is possible.  
Consult your BMW center for more  
information.  
Should you decide to rotate the tires, it  
is essential that you comply with the  
following:  
Rotate tires on the same side only,  
since braking characteristics and road  
grip could otherwise be adversely  
affected.  
Following rotation, correct the tire infla-  
tion pressure.