Annoying noise after tire rotation

I got something like that fairly bigtime when I rotated my
Hydroedges front-to-back after a bit too long period of neglect.
The reason is that the front vs. rear camber is fairly different,
and the tread blocks wear different ways and then you go and
swap them and change the angle at which they contact the road.
It'll mellow out after a while, and is harmless.
.
_H*

 

If you're going to wait 10k miles to rotate the tires, then forget it - there's no point. By that time, the wear pattern is past changing, and you indeed are going to hear noises, and possibly vibrations, because of the differences in tread wear.

I do just the opposite - I rotate at 2.5k intervals, at home, using cheap floor jacks at all four jacking points. Takes about half an hour, and I know the bolt torque is right. To keep wear patterns from developing, I move the front tires to the opposite sides on the rear, and then move the rear tires forward on the same side - this assures no tire takes a "directional set" in either the tread or the carcass....another potential source of noise and vibration if the tires are left in the same position too long.

I'm ultra-sensitive to tire vibrations and irregularities - nothing makes a bigger difference to the way a car behaves on the road than the tires. I just replaced the Bridgestone Ecopias on our '10 with Michelin Harmonys mounted on Gen 2 alloys from an '05 [the specs for the wheels are the same] - what a difference....everything improved. [No, I didn't bother with the silly TPMS sensors, so the warning light is on all the time....which I just ignore.]

 

I've rotated tires twice now on my Prius--the first at 4K miles, the second at 12k miles. This time, I'm hearing noises, like flatspotting--put-put-put. From the front, mainly.

I called the dealer about this , and they said the 2nd interval (8K miles) was too long, and a wear pattern was set. Fortunately, there is no steering wheel vibration, so the effect is not major. There isn't much you can do except get new tires. The effect might wear off eventually after a thousand miles or so.

This type of tire noise is more of a issue in a car as quiet as the Prius.