Michelin Premier--Very Noisy After Rotation?

Thanks again Mendel. I'm glad you understand puzzles. Your suggestion is the most easiest solution. And yes, I will ask them tomorrow exactly what type of rotation they did.

 

Chazzman, thanks very much for your comments. You are right, my Prius is HOWLING right now. That's a good way to describe it! Twice as loud, compared to when they were installed 7,500 miles ago. Is it just Michelin? Or do all tire brands increase in noise after a rotation? My previous car also had Michelin tires, and the same thing happened with that car. HOWLING.

That's a common complaint, the treadlife not being as long as advertised. Some people think Michelin has changed the rubber composition or something? I'd be happy if I just got 40,000 out of these Premiers. But the noise level will drive me insane long before I reach that. I'm on my way to have them rebalanced, and swap the 2 front wheels as Mendel suggested.

 

Where the rubber meets the road...

The sound of silence...

NOT!

Swapping the front wheels side to side failed to reduce the loud tire noise. Maybe just ever so slightly. (The tire shop used rotation C pattern in the picture above.) I don't think I will ever rotate them again. Just drive it till they wear out.

All 4 wheels were also out of balance by 1 ounce on each wheel. That was corrected. How could they come out of balance so soon? I've only driven 1000 miles since the rotation. Right now I am not a big fan of Michelin tires! I almost bought a set of Continentals that were on sale.

Just another Prius oddity.

 

Hi Mendel. It's a tire shop. America's tire. That is where I bought the Michelin premier tires. And they are also the ones who did the first free rotation.

So this morning I asked him, how did you rotate my tires 1000 miles ago? What pattern did you use? And he told me they rotated them just like that picture I showed you (above). It's pattern C, for a front wheel drive vehicle.

I had them swap the front wheels only, left to right, and right to left, just as you suggested. The tire tech agreed, he said it may help with the noise. Unfortunately I do not notice a decrease in the noise level. Like I said, maybe just ever so slightly because the wheels were out of balance. That's odd, how could they come out of balance so soon? (Maybe they just did a sloppy job when installing them.)

 

Thanks all. It's pretty confusing when it shouldn't be.

*Toyota says rotate every 5,000 miles, straight front to back, and straight back to front.
*Michelin just told me in a chat, to rotate my Premiers every 6,000 to 8,000, using the rotarion pattern I posted above in the picture. The one for front-wheel drive vehicles. The front wheels come straight back, and the rear wheels move forward in an X.
*The tire shop told me the same, every 6,000 to 8,000, using the front-wheel drive pattern as Michelin described.

I think I'm just going to leave everything alone now. They never quieted down, 1,000 miles after the rotation. I will have the balance checked twice a year, but not rotate. Now I have to do a Google search and see why they came out of balance so soon!

(Edit: even when those Michelin Premiers were brand new, they were never really "quiet." Somewhat less noisy than the OEM Toyo tires, but still loud - and getting louder. I'll go with them for another year and then look for a different brand. And Toyota sure dropped the ball with a lack of sound insulation in this early model Gen4! The ROAD NOISE comes right up thru the floor, and thru each door. Very irritating.)

 

Reading more owner comments on tire review websites. Lots of complaints about Michelin Premier tires. The treadwear rating says they will last 60,000 miles. But many owners report only getting 25,000 miles. Noise starts increasing after 15,000 miles, and some report the ride gets harsh. A few Prius owners also complained about the high noise level.

After all that re-configuring, and re-balancing, my Prius still doesn't feel right. Or sound right. Or ride right. Maybe they can change my username to GRUMPY OLD MAN, because my Prius is making me really angry. It is no longer pleasant or fun to drive. I'm happy with the gas mileage, but after only about 10 miles you will be deaf and have a headache.

 

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. There was only one type C rotation. And that's what started all the noise.

So yesterday I went and had them swap the two front wheels-- right to left and left to right. That brought everything back to original. Rolling in the direction as when they were first installed.

But I still got a vibration In the floorboard and the seat and slightly in the steering wheel, when I get up to 50 mph. Also the noise is still there. They still feel out of balance. Now I am at a different tire shop, one that I have used in the past, and they are rebalancing the wheels (again!) as we speak. I'm wondering if those Michelin tires are out of round? After this, I give up.

 

Noise problem solved!