wind noise after tire rotation

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by priusunum, Sep 26, 2013.

  1. priusunum

    priusunum priusunum

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    I have a 2006 Gen II with 30,000 miles (yes, that's not much!). Since having my tires rotated last week, I notice wind (air) noise from outside the vehicle every time I drive. It gets louder as I drive faster and seems to have a pulsating element to the noise. This is the third tire rotation on these tires (4 Michelin Harmony tires purchased in 2006) and I didn't notice the problem after previous rotations. I checked the air pressure on cold tires, which is the same as before, 36psi front and 34psi rear . The work was done at the same place I've been going to for years , not a dealer. In addition to rotating the tires, I had an oil change and a state inspection done, neither of which should create air noises!
    I previously rotated the tires about 7,000 miles ago. Am I right to think the tire rotation is the reason for the noise? Other than that noise, the car drives fine and I have never had any problems with it. The tires have plenty of thread left.
    Is this a problem one should expect after tires wear down some?
     
    #1 priusunum, Sep 26, 2013
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Well, if you want to prove the tire rotation as the cause, then you should rotate the tires back to their original position and see what happens.

    It is certainly possible that one or both tires previously mounted at the rear have irregular tread wear which is causing road noise after the tires are moved to the front.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Sep 26, 2013
  3. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    The last time mine were rotated the tire noise increased dramatically. I was disappointed but decided to stay the course. They're relatively quite again.
     
    #3 SteveLee, Sep 26, 2013
  4. PriusSport

    PriusSport senior member

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    I did that on my '08 Prius and the road noise was just that. I had rotated the tires after 8K miles the first time, and I noticed an increase in noise. I brought the car back and had the tires unrotated--noise went away. You really do have to rotate every 5K miles as Toyota says, or the camber goes off--enough to hear noise on such a quiet car. I just put a new set of tires on replacing the Integrity OEs (with Bridgestone Ecopia 422s), and bought a lifetime balance/rotation for $8 per tire. The dealer charges you $5 per tire each rotation. Tire rotation every 5k miles is important on a Prius II.
     
    #4 PriusSport, Sep 26, 2013
  5. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Wind up the back window. :ROFLMAO:
     
    #5 uart, Sep 27, 2013
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