Can rotating the tires cause a vibration?

[Suprant]

I'm trying to track down the cause of a vibration sound my car has while driving, it's significantly louder the slower I'm moving. At highway speed it pretty much goes away entirely, but cruising around at 10-40 mph it sounds like I have a bent wheel or something. It doesn't matter if it's in gear, neutral, or braking, it seems to be just based vehicle speed.

I recently had my spare set of wheels on for a long road trip I was on, that's when I first noticed the vibration, I just assumed they were out of balance or damaged tires. When I put my regular wheels on, I also did a tire rotation as I noticed the passenger side wearing faster than the drivers (not a lot of difference, like .020" tread depth). The vibration was still there on that set of wheels.

I went over the car to look for something other than a wheel related issue, wheel bearings seemed tight, nothing visually wrong with the axles, I even ran it in gear with the wheels off to see if anything was shaking around.

I'm getting ready to get my wheels balanced, but it seems unlikely that both sets are equally out of balance. Can the tire rotation cause the AWD system to make that vibration for some reason? or is there something else that could be doing it?

[LowKeyLoki]

Did you inspect all the suspension components (control arms, bushings, ball joints, etc) for damage or wear? If the vibration continues with a different set of tires then it’s unlikely they are the problem. What’s your mileage and have you had any suspension related items replaced?

[Suprant]

It's got 98k on it, I've never changed anything outside of the brakes. I've only have it for 30k of that, so not sure what's original. I did my best to look over everything, nothing stood out as particularly worn. I didn't see any leaks from the shocks, but the bounce test was difficult as it's a heavy car and I'm not that heavy to push on it.

One thing worth mentioning about the wheels is I rotated both sets the same way, best tires on the passenger side. That's why I was thinking maybe it was the issue.

I may have to have a shop look at it, before I start blindly throwing parts at it.

[Nillious]

All tires on these cars need tone within 2/32 of each other. If your alignment is off it will wear the tread unevenly and will give a whaa whaa whaa sound when rolling.

A wheel bearing will usually be a steady growl and can change with steering or weight transfer in corners. Also just because a wheel bearing has no play doesn’t mean it can’t be noisy.

Run your hand over the tread of the tires and see if they feel like a saw tooth one direction and smooth the other. This is heel toe wear and can be very common in the outside or inside edges of the tire depending upon how your alignment is off if it is.

[Suprant]

It sounds like I'm well within spec for tread depth. The tread seems to be relatively evenly worn, not much camber wear, and I don't feel "saw teeth".

It's not a steady growl by any means. I would describe it as an oscillating rubbing sound, that's louder at slower speeds. I'll have to pay closer attention to how it sounds taking turns. It does seem to get quieter under acceleration though.

[LYKUNO]

It sounds like I'm well within spec for tread depth. The tread seems to be relatively evenly worn, not much camber wear, and I don't feel "saw teeth".

It's not a steady growl by any means. I would describe it as an oscillating rubbing sound, that's louder at slower speeds. I'll have to pay closer attention to how it sounds taking turns. It does seem to get quieter under acceleration though.

You haven't mentioned the brand and model for your tires. Are they a high performance summer or all-season type? If so, are they marked with a directional arrow on the sidewall? If directional, they shouldn't be rotated from one side of the vehicle to the other, without dismounting/remounting to retain the directionality. Here's Tire Rack's recommendations for rotation: https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/tire-rotation-instructions

[Suprant]

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You haven't mentioned the brand and model for your tires. Are they a high performance summer or all-season type? If so, are they marked with a directional arrow on the sidewall? If directional, they shouldn't be rotated from one side of the vehicle to the other, without dismounting/remounting to retain the directionality. Here's Tire Rack's recommendations for rotation: https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/tire-rotation-instructions

They're General Gmax, non-directional all season tires. This is not my first rodeo with tire rotations.

Based on some more testing I did today, I believe my issue is likely the front right wheel bearing, not the tires/wheels.