Feel "scraping" after tire rotation & balancing?

[Tom NJ]

I had my tires rotated and high speed balanced at the dealer two weeks ago after 15,000 miles, and on the ride home noticed a new "humming" road noise and felt a slight "scraping". I thought this might be the tires adjusting to a new wear pattern, but it has persisted and my gas mileage has dropped by 10%.

Is this normal after a 15k mile rotation, or did the dealer do something wrong? What could they possibly do wrong in such a simple procedure?

Tom NJ

 

[saberz]

There should be no scraping after a rotation or balancing. Take it back to them and have it looked at. Something else is at play here.

 

[jorton]

Identify which wheel the noise is coming from and check the shield that covers the brake rotor.

 

[ryan2022]

Originally Posted By: jorton
Identify which wheel the noise is coming from and check the shield that covers the brake rotor.



X 2

 

[38sho]

if they used stick on weights maybe they put on a large weight and its hitting the caliper..... I remeber the first time I had that problem, scared me a bit, thought the wheel was going to fall off a customer's car or something!

I highly doubt a tire rotation or balance would account for a 10% fuel economy loss.... I just can't justify something like that occuring from tires, its not like they are different tires or anything.... they were already on the car rolling down the road

 

[Rand]

sounds like winter fuel economy loss to me.

 

[Tom NJ]

The winter fuel economy loss is a good observation. I checked my MPG graph from last year and it did indeed drop 10% in November, so that is likely the cause.

I also checked the rotor shields (they are on back wheels only) and they look good - no dents or distortions. There appears to be good clearance between the wheels and the brake assembly and balance weights. Can't see anything scraping, and I can't see how simply balancing tires and putting them back on can cause a change, but I can feel something and noticed it as soon as I left the dealer's lot. Puzzling!

Tom NJ

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: 38sho
if they used stick on weights maybe they put on a large weight and its hitting the caliper..... I remeber the first time I had that problem, scared me a bit, thought the wheel was going to fall off a customer's car or something!

I highly doubt a tire rotation or balance would account for a 10% fuel economy loss.... I just can't justify something like that occuring from tires, its not like they are different tires or anything.... they were already on the car rolling down the road


I had the same thing in regards to the noise. It was a wheel weight rubbing the caliper.

No way is there 10% fuel economy loss in a simple tire rotation & balance. Now, if the tires were very low & air pressure was restored to correct level, etc. etc. maybe so.

 

[Papa Bear]

So Tom, what did you find with your tire rotation problem ?? ....

 

[Tom NJ]

Hi Papa,

For whatever reason, the scraping that I was feeling seems to have slowly gone away. Since I could not see anything obvious upon visual inspection and I can attribute the MPG loss to winter gas, I stopped worrying and assume it has corrected itself.

Tom

 

[benjamming]

The same thing happens with mine if I wait long enough - the stick-on wheel weights will get worn enough by the caliper. I usually have enough wear that it becomes out of balance & shows up when driving at high enough speeds.

 

[Hokiefyd]

After 15k miles of driving in one direction, I imagine the humming sound and scraping feeling was simply the tread being so set-in in one direction, and now being rotated in the opposite direction. More frequent rotations will correct this.

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
After 15k miles of driving in one direction, I imagine the humming sound and scraping feeling was simply the tread being so set-in in one direction, and now being rotated in the opposite direction. More frequent rotations will correct this.


Yes that was my initial thought, and it would explain the feeling fading slowly. My visual inspection did not show any weights wearing and the clearance looked good.

Tom NJ

 

[benjamming]

Tom,

Good to hear that you did check the weights. Which tires?

 

[Carbon]

In reading your report, I had first thought they damaged the wheel bearings, but that scraping noise would not be expected to go away in that case.

Some, if not most, tire changers use hammers and/or pry bars to get stuck wheels off. That can damage wheel bearings. A few good ones have, and can use, use a wheel puller.

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted By: benjamming
Good to hear that you did check the weights. Which tires?


There are weights in all four wheels, stuck to the inside of the alloy wheels. The weights are wafer thin (1.8") and show no wear. There is plenty of clearance between the weights and the brake housing.

Tom NJ

 

[Tom NJ]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
Some, if not most, tire changers use hammers and/or pry bars to get stuck wheels off. That can damage wheel bearings. A few good ones have, and can use, use a wheel puller.


Never thought of that, or at least didn't want to think professional mechanics would be so careless. I've pulled off countless wheels in my life and never had to rap one to get it loose. Is this more common in modern cars or with alloy wheels? The car only has 18,000 miles and the wheels have never been off.

Tom NJ

 

[Carbon]

Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Is this more common in modern cars or with alloy wheels? The car only has 18,000 miles and the wheels have never been off.Tom NJ


Alloy wheels, time and salt.