Typically that is the sign of a bad wheel bearing but jack it up and wiggle it. If you have a stethoscope, spin the tire when it is jacked up and listen to it for grinding. Compare prices at your local shops and look at RockAuto.com which has very good prices.

 

I jacked up each side and tried to wiggle each front wheel but I could not detect any play in the bearings. I also jacked up the rear corners and no play detected there either.

I do not have a stethoscope, So I removed the front wheels, started the car and put it in gear hoping to hear the noise. The front axles barely move at idle so when I give a little gas there's a yellow idiot light that comes on the dash looks like anti-lock or anti-sway and there is a feeling in the front like brakes are being applied.

I just remembered that we got a letter from Toyota years ago about a recall.... something that we could bring to the dealer but since the dealer was 2.5 hrs away we never got around to it. It was something that would make a shudder feeling when the car shifted into high gear at low speeds. I remember now because the car didn't do it years ago but is doing it now. Is it possible this is related to my driving noise ?

 

The light illuminated probably because the computer saw the front tires moving and the rear stationary so it was activating traction control.

I don't know about the recall but you probably could look it up here or on nhtsa.gov .

 

I don't know if these sealed assemblies allow the wiggle test for wheel bearings. I haven't experienced one but seems like if the bearings are internal to the hub which is a fixed position, you can't really wobble it. I don't know though.
If I recall, a bearing would need to be really bad to wiggle though? Normally a wiggle from 9:00/3:00 is to check steering linkage and 12:00/6:00 is for checking ball joints. Not so much a bearing check.
You may need to remove the wheel and spin the hub by hand, or have a helper do that for you. You can use a long screwdriver or long socket extension as a stethoscope. Or if you have Harbor Freight nearby you can give away a few bucks to buy one from them

A tell-tale sign of a bad wheel bearing has been increased noise going through a curve.
Generally the right bearing makes noise on a left turn as that corner is now side-loaded with vehicle weight. May need to consider other options if the noise does not changes from left to straight to right.

I assume these cars use CV joints (not a universal).... do CV joints get noisy or only clicky? I suppose if they do use a universal joint that it could be dust by now (doubtful they use a universal joint though).

 

My 2015 AWD just had the left front go. It was fine one day and growling the next, very quickly. I had it replaced at a local shop I trust. It was a NAP unit, cost $630 to do it. The assembly was around $350 I believe. Nice and quiet now. They checked the other three with a scope and all were quiet. 105K miles. I jacked it, wiggled and rotated it but I could not feel or hear it. Since its AWD they placed her on a lift to diagnosis.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I found a large screwdriver and put the blade on the spindle and the plastic handle against my ear but could not detect any growling but the ABS would not let the front wheels speed up enough to imitate the noise which becomes audible around 35-40 mph. So I put the wheels back on and test drove it again this morning. The noise starts around 35 and is easily heard inside the car at 40 mph. The noise increases with speed. To me it more resembles the noise from putting on snow tires vs. street tires. It does not yet resemble the loud, rough-bearing sound that came from my Subaru when the front bearing went bad but perhaps this is still early stages. It also seems to be coming more from the right front but as others mentioned the noise can travel. I think I'm going to buy both front hubs with bearings and replace the right front first.

I'm looking at parts prices at RockAuto.com and there are several price ranges for the front hub with bearing. Prices range from $39 to 60 something. Also one is for 30-spline axles. Is there a way to know how many spline my axles are before taking it apart ?

 

Unless you plan on getting rid of the vehicle, don't go on the cheap and get the "economy" hubs. You mentioned NAPA - from what I can tell the part numbers on some of their $200+ hubs are the same part numbers showing up on rockauto for about 1/2 the cost. So if you feel comfortable with the NAPA ones, get them from R.A.
For what it's worth, I've purchased Timken for my old SUV and didn't have any issues in the years I ran them. Heard bad things about Moog as a whole....

 

I just looked at my invoice, it was $366 for the assembly and 200 for labor. Tax and all it was $608. I would not go Rock Auto for these, Rock is fine some some stuff, but for such a high stress part, there is a reason why the other places are more money. One thing you can do it remove the caliper and rotor and the inner axle and spin the assembly to try and feel it. At that point you are so far into I would just replace it. Be certain it is not tire noise, even try swapping the rears to the front. Noises are hard, sometimes they can fool you. I will add that mine did not change pitch when turning easy, hard or back and forth quickly around bends and on/off ramps. Just a steady growling. I did find this youtube video (whats a car repair without youtube)

which really sounded like mine. Hope this helps!

 

That's a pretty good video. If that guy was local I'd take my car to him.

 

I'll respectfully disagree. I've purchased many items from there: hubs, wipers, brakes (caliper, rotors, drums, pads, shoes), sensors, COPs, fluids and filters, water pumps, timing belt kits, et al... much of it name brand stuff you'll find at Wal-Mart, Napa, Autozone or O'Reilly but at much better prices. The only time(s) I've hesitated on purchasing from RockAuto has been when I need the part right away - choose the cheapest FedEx shipping and it'll take about a week.

 

I have as well, can't beat the prices for sure. I just look at this being a pain job and I'd hate to have to do it again. But, I do admit I replaced my Camry condenser from Rock for like $120 which was super cheap and it worked for years! But as you said above, just don't go cheap. By the way, many people don't know but NAPA gives a 10% discount for AAA members!

 

Update in case someone else runs into this problem on theirs.

I drove the car ( again ), and I thought I had the noise isolated to the right front. I raised the front end (again) and wiggled both wheels holding the sides and also the top and bottom. The right front had zero play but the left front wiggled slightly when holding the top and bottom of the wheel (this removes any possible play in the steering linkages). I also checked the rear wheels (again) . So at that point I assumed my diagnosis was wrong and the noise was traveling. Went to NAPA and they had three choices for the bearing/hub. $100 +, $200+, and 300+. Called Toyota, theirs was $400 +. I ordered the $200+ from NAPA as it has a 3 yr. warranty, the cheaper and the most expensive each had 1 yr. warranty.

The hardest part of the R+R was getting the old hub off of the spindle. We used to live in the midwest and salty roads had this baby stuck. I think it would have helped if the car was up higher on a hoist it would have afforded better angles for striking with a hammer. The hub finally surrendered with lots of penetrating fluid and blows from each side. I removed the brake sensor then cleaned up the corrosion inside the spindle with my cordless drill and a small wire brush. Worked great. The new bearing fit well and assembly was easy. But test drive showed the noise was still there. This time I took it to a local garage with glowing reviews who diagnosed it as......... the right front wheel bearing. Their bill was $600+ and the noise is gone.

Leaves me wondering.... I've worked on my own car since I was 16 ( it was a '64 Impala) and it makes me feel good that I had the problem pegged but because the left side wiggled I replaced that one instead. Maybe it was going out too and wasn't noisy yet. Maybe is was just starting to make noise but the right side was louder. Anyway, I've got new bearings on both front wheels and I can think about other things now. Thank you all for the help.

 

I just went thru chasing down a noise and it's quite frustrating. After replacing both front wheel bearings and both front calipers (due to seized slide pin) I still had the noise. Would have bet everything I have that the noise was coming from the front end. Turned out it was coming from the rear passenger side. It also had a seized slide pin that sheared off when I tried to remove it. Replaced that caliper and sounds is now gone.

 

Always wise to replace wheel bearings, among other things, in pairs.

 

WHY ? I can see changing tires in pairs, the diameter changes as they wear. Different diameters can mess with ABS readings, and makes parts in the differential move. A new bearing with no play, is just as good as a 100K mile bearing with no play.

 

Buy nsk hub bearing assemblies from rock auto. They’re good