Does Walmart Balance Tires? (Cost + More)

Do you know if Walmart balances tires? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.

Are your car tires unevenly worn, or does your steering wheel vibrate when you are accelerating? If so, it sounds like you need your car tires rebalanced.

Perhaps you are now thinking about a convenient and cost-effective way to get this done and whether Walmart can help?

Walmart offers tire balancing at its Auto Care Centers, and you can get ‘lifetime’ tire balancing there at a pretty competitive rate.

In this article, I explain how you can tell if your car tires are unbalanced, describe the difference between wheel alignment and tire balancing, and explore how you can get tire balancing done at a Walmart Auto Center.

I’ll also tell you the cost you can expect to pay for tire balancing at a Walmart Auto Care Center.

Table of Contents

How Much Does Walmart Charge for Tire Balancing?

According to the Walmart website, lifetime tire balancing/rotation costs $14 per tire. The lifetime refers to the life of the tire, meaning that you can get a tire rebalanced more than once during its lifetime.

Most drivers probably rebalance their car’s tires only once in the lifetime of a tire. Ideally, tires should be rebalanced each time a tire rotation is performed i.e. when the tires are removed and repositioned, such as from front to back, or from side to side. Tire rotations should be performed every 6,000 to 8,000 miles.

Can I Get Auto Tire Balancing Done At A Walmart Store?

Yes, Walmart does offer tire balancing at its Auto Care Centers. However, not all Walmart stores have Auto Care Centers.

So, you’ll need to enquire whether your local Walmart has an Auto Care Center.

You can find your nearest Walmart store from the Walmart website storefinder function.

Store Finder – Walmart.com

Once you’ve found a store on the Walmart website you can click on the ‘Details’ icon to list the services available at that store. If your chosen store has an Auto Care Center it will be shown here. The details listed also provide the store phone number you can call to confirm they have an Auto Care Center and opening times.

If your local store does not have an Auto Center, call your local store and ask if they know the nearest store that does, or use the Walmart website storefinder to explore other stores with Auto Centers in your vicinity.

You can drill down the Walmart website information to find your selected Auto Center opening times and a specific number to call. You can give them a call if you want to double-check that they do tire balancing.

Note that not all Walmart stores have an Auto Care Center. Using the Walmart website, I searched for stores within 25 miles of Chicago and the website returned a total of 34 Walmart Stores.

When I filtered for Auto Care Centers within the same radius of Chicago, the website returned 8 stores, that’s a hit rate of 24% in this example.

Why You Should Balance Tires?

Wheels and tires are one of the most critical safety components of a car, so it makes sense to ensure these are operating properly.

An unbalanced tire occurs when weight is unevenly distributed on the tire causing ‘heavy spots’.

The tire begins to wear unevenly leading to reduce tire life.

What Causes Unbalanced Tires?

Car wheels have weights located on the side of the wheel rim which act as counterbalances. These small weights make sure that the overall weight of the wheel is evenly distributed when the wheel rotates.

Over time, these weights may shift or even fall off the wheel. If you hit a curb or a large pothole these weights can shift upsetting the balance of the tire.

What Are the Tell-Tale Signs That My Auto Needs Its Tires Balanced?

There are two main tell-tale signs that your tires need balancing:

Uneven or rapid tire wear – if one side of your tire is heavier than the other, you’ll eventually notice some extra wear. This can be dangerous if left unchecked as it can lead to a tire blowout.
Vibrating steering wheel when the car is accelerating – unbalanced tires can result in wheel shaking as you ramp up the speed because your tires aren’t rotating evenly.

What Is Wheel Balancing?

Wheel balancing ensures that weight is evenly distributed around the wheel so that the tire rotates evenly. This involves setting the small balancing weights on the rim correctly to provide even counterweights.

It is very important to fix wheels that are unbalanced. This will provide a better ride comfort experience, ensures that the wheels wear evenly, and maximizes the life of the tires and other parts e.g. suspension.

Wheel Alignment Versus Tire Balancing

Understandably, many drivers are unsure of the difference between wheel alignment and tire balancing, so let’s quickly explore the differences between the two.

Tire balancing focuses on the distribution of weight around the wheels, ensuring that weight is distributed evenly across your tires and there are no heavy spots where extra tire wear can occur.

Wheel alignment ensures that all of the auto wheels are positioned correctly and parallel to each other and to the road surface.

In effect, it’s about resetting the wheel positions and making sure that all of the wheels are working perfectly in sync with each other.

Conclusion

Wheels and tires are one of the most critical safety components of an auto, so it makes sense to ensure these are operating properly. Correctly balanced tires will ensure even tire wire and a more comfortable ride.

Walmart provides wheel balancing at its Auto Care Centers. Note that not all Walmart stores have Auto Care Centers, so do some research first before you turn up at your local Walmart store hoping to get a tire rebalancing done.

References

https://www.walmart.com/store/finder