Once you purchase tires, you need to factor in other services and extra costs that arise periodically around tire maintenance and car care.
One of these costs involves tire balancing, which needs to be done by a professional mechanic to extend tire life and improve handling performance. But exactly, how much does it cost to balance tires? Here’s all you need to know.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires?
On average, tire balancing costs about $10-$50 per tire and $20-$80 on all four tires. These prices vary depending on the tires, the shop, and the type of vehicle. Most tire shops offer free balancing as part of the tire package if you buy from them. However, balancing costs are usually higher at car dealers than at tire shops.
For more information about balancing tires, how important it is, and how much it costs at different stores, keep on reading!
While some dealers and tire shops provide the service for free if you purchase tires from them, others will charge you a certain fee, either per tire or on all four tires.
Although the cost of tire balancing is minimal and takes a few minutes, a lot of drivers avoid it and think it’s unnecessary, which is pretty risky. When paying for tire balancing, the costs are mostly for labor.
Tire balancing is necessary for the driver’s comfort and safety.
On average, tire balancing costs about $10-$50 per tire and $20-$80 on all four tires. However, keep in mind that these prices might vary depending on the tires, the tire shop you go to, and the type of vehicle.
Some shops will charge you a flat fee for new tire installation, whereas others will break it down into specific tire and fitting charges.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Walmart?
If you are looking for a center to balance your tires, you can use the Walmart Auto Care Center.
Walmart will balance and rotate your tire at $14 per tire. With this lifetime package, you can get your tires balanced every 7,500 miles at no extra cost for the entire tire’s lifespan.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Costco?
According to Costco, they’ll charge you an installation charge of $18.99 per tire.
This price also covers services such as lifetime balancing, mounting, lifetime flat repair, pressure checks, and new rubber valve stems.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Firestone?
Firestone offers services such as tire patching, balancing, and rotation in their more than 1,700 Firestone Complete Auto Care stores.
As one of the popular tire manufacturing companies, they recommend that tires should be balanced every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. On average, the company charges $15–$50 per tire.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Town Fair Tire?
Town Fair Tire provides computerized tire balancing for their customers. According to some past customers, the prices and services at Toen Fair Tire were not favorable and disappointing.
When you have your tires balanced here, you’ll pay about $109 for four tires.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Discount Tire?
According to the company itself, if you buy a tire and wheel package from them, your tires will arrive mounted and balanced at no additional cost.
However, if you are buying tires without a new set of wheels, the installation charges at the local installer are not included with your purchase.
Additionally, they also have a low-price guarantee that offers a low price when you buy tires from them.
How Much Does It Cost To Balance Tires At Canadian Tire?
According to past customers, if you take your tires for balancing at Canadian tires, you’ll be charged $15 per tire. Like other tire companies, they recommend regular balancing to keep the tires safe for driving.
How Often Should You Balance Your Tires?
As part of the tire and car maintenance, there are guidelines on when you should replace your tires with new ones.
While there’s no definite time when you should get the tires balanced, you need to factor in how frequently you drive, the quality of tires, and the type of roads you drive on.
In addition, you should check the vehicle’s manual to find out what the manufacturer recommends.
But, how often should you balance your tires?
After Tire Replacement
Once you install new tires, you need to have them balanced for the vehicle’s safety and comfort.
Manufacturer’s Recommendation
All tire brands come with specific recommendations on when the balancing needs to be done.
For instance, some manufacturers recommend that it should happen every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. Therefore, ensure you check this important fact.
During Car Service
balanced once or twice per year. I usually ask for this to be done when I take the car in for its annual service.
What Are The Signs That You Need A Tire Balancing?
Although there are recommended times, you might need a tire balancing way earlier before you are done covering these miles. Your car will exhibit some symptoms when the tire or wheel is unbalanced. Here are some signs to look out for.
A Vibrating Steering Wheel
When you have a tire imbalance, you’ll feel a vibration in your steering wheel, especially when driving at high speeds.
This vibration happens because the imbalance travels through the wheel assembly to the axle, the steering rack, and up the column to the steering wheel. Once you notice this, you need to go to the nearest tire shop for balancing to avoid further issues.
Uneven Tire Wear
To check for unbalanced tires, you should also check for tread wear. If the tread on one tire is wearing down faster than the one on the opposite side of the axle, it could indicate tire imbalance.
However, this could also indicate that your vehicle needs a wheel alignment. Therefore, you should take your car to a tire professional who can identify the real problem.
Poor Gas Mileage
A drop in fuel economy indicates a problem with the car, especially with the tires. Unbalanced tires affect the gas mileage because the vehicle needs more power to move and function optimally.
Can You Do The Tire Balancing Yourself?
While it takes a few minutes, it needs to be done by professionals who understand what needs to be done.
As we also mentioned, there are special tire balancing machines that are used for this process. Therefore, unless you have access to these machines, it’s much better to leave the job to professionals.
One advantage of using professionals is that they can diagnose any other arising problems, making it easier for you and your car.
What Is Tire Balancing?
Often confused with tire or wheel alignment, these two services are a common topic on most driver forums.
Although they are done during the same service, they shouldn’t be confused about the same thing.
Tire balancing or wheel balancing corrects the uneven distribution of weight on your wheels. When your wheels are imbalanced, your car is more likely to experience excessive tire wear, vibration, suspension damage, and other issues.
When you install a new set of tires for the very first time, they come with three metal attachments strategically positioned to keep them balanced. These attachments are designed to distribute the weight evenly on your tires.
However, over time, they become unbalanced, and this is why you need to go through the tire balancing process.
During the tire balancing service, the technician will mount your tires and wheels on a balancing machine that spins the tire and wheel assembly and measures the imbalance. Afterward, they install the correct tire weights to ensure the wheel and tire are correctly balanced.
Since the process takes a few minutes, about 5 to 10 minutes per tire, it’s included in the process of installing new tires.
To know more about tires, you can also read ou posts on how long do performance tires last, how long will tires with bad alignment, and if you can replace run-flat tires with regular tires.
Conclusion
Balancing tires is a part of tire routine and maintenance. Tire manufacturers include a manual that directs car owners on when precisely the balancing should be done.
On average, most dealers and tire manufacturers charge about $10-$50 per tire and $20-$80 on all four tires. However, this might also vary depending on the type of vehicle, the tire shop, and the tires.
It would be best to have your tires balanced each time you get new tires or when you notice your steering wheel starts vibrating, uneven tread wear, and poor fuel efficiency.