Helicopter noise coming from tires??

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My car sounds like a helicopter crusing down the highway.

Have about 16k on the stock Conti's and rotated them for the first time at about 14k. Sort of hard to describe except that the tires sound like a helicopter if you can imagine that.

Ideas on what it could be? Should I push Toyota for some new rubber? I actually plan on getting some GY Comforttreds put on in the next few weeks as I really dislike the ride with the OEM Conti's but free is free
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Bad belt in tire maybe??
 
Can you get the noise to follow the tire? If it stays put it could be a wheel bearing.

The tires could be junk internally: bad belts, soft spots. Toyota doesn't warrant the rubber; continental does. See if the dealer is any help; they might stand to profit a few bucks at conti's expense for mounting/balancing/diagnosis.
 
Bearing already? The car is only 6 months old....could the lug nuts have been torqued on too tight when they rotated my tires? Could this mess with the bearings?
 
As this is a front-wheel drive I don't think you can screw the bearings up by overtorquing the lugs.

In machinery there is a certain "infant mortality" for parts that go out way ahead of the curve. You never know what or when which is why there are warranties.
 
This type of noise can be generated by irregular wear, which is caused by misalignment and aggravated by low inflation pressure and insufficient rotation.

I'm afraid that the alignment issue is not going to be covered by Toyota as it's quite possible to throw the alignment off by driving over potholes and such. Then you have the issue of insufficient rotation - 14K is quite a bit more than the 5 to 8K recommended.

It's possible to wear a different pattern into the tires and the noise will improve over time and if you can tolerate the that's probably your best bet.
 
I have the same situation with Contis on a Taurus. The noise started at about 26,000 miles. It's like the tire has a flat spot in it. Whap, whap, whap! I rotated and balanced the tires and have figured out which one it is. I am looking for a set of tires now but can't decide which brand I want. A real good tire sale could help me decide though!
 
It more than likely is because of not rotating them. I had the car at Toyota last night and the SA pretty much said it sounds like what he called tire chop which can hapen on FWD cars when you don't rotate every 5k miles.

I'm going to put some Goodyear Comforttreds on in about a week so that should solve the issue. Probably should have it aligned also but not sure if Sam's Club offers that or if I want them doing it
 
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