"Shimmying" sound from driver side front wheel

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I have a 2005 Scion tC that I purchased brand new. It has about 60k miles. Recently when I have my windows rolled down there is this shimmying sound that comes from the wheel. I guess it is the wheel because the sound coincides with the shimmy. It's very light and seems to go away when I go 40mph+.

I can only hear it when my window is down. I'm due for an oil change in 500 miles, I might take off the wheel and see what's going on. I would love some ideas on what to look for since there are plenty of experts here.
 
Lug nuts tightened evenly? With the car jacked up, can you move the wheel back and forth if you grip it at the top and the bottom? Any play trying to push the wheel up and down vertically? Any rough sound when spinning the wheel by hand?

I'm thinking it could be a ball joint or wheel bearing, possibly. If it's a bearing then it'll probably make a grinding or squealing sound while driving and while spinning the wheel by hand.

Hopefully some more experienced people than myself will respond, though.
 
Thanks guys, due for a tire rotation too. I will do that and see what happens. I think my tires are about shot anyway, I'll take the tire off and see if it is wearing evenly. Will report back!
 
Sorry to bump my old thread... but it's still happening. I changed tires about 5k miles ago, just about at 70k miles now. Will be doing a tire rotation and oil change sometime this week. Is there anything else I can check?

It is definately from my driver side wheel and the sound speeds up and decreases with my speed. Could it be hitting something in the brakes?
 
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CV joint(s). If severe enough, the car can move side to side slightly until the oscillations get fast enough.
 
It's been a year.
Brakes rotors can do this, or wheel bearings. Maybe a bent rim.
C/V joints - maybe. A good C/V check is to drive slowly in a circle [both ways] at full lock and listen for noises - clicking is a bad sign.
Any tears or leaks in a C/V boot will hasten it's death very quickly.
 
Will drive around and hear if I hear clicking. When I turn my steering wheel full lock i don't hear any clicking.

Will check the rotor and/or bearings.

Would the best thing be to just replace them if that is the case?
 
Wheel bearings need a press. Rotors can be changed easily.
You can take the hub off yourself and get the bearing pressed in by a shop, and save $ on the total job.
Good time to really check the C/Vs. A rebuilt axle is surprisingly cheap, and is a great option if a joint is bad. You get both C/Vs and new boots. Just plug it in!
 
Yea, darn I'd do the bearings myself. Except this is my daily driver. I might actually bring it to a shop and have them do it... What's the labor hours for a wheel bearing usually?
 
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I thought a CV going bad would only make noise in a turn, would generally click, and would get worse, ie louder, rather quickly. since the tires have been eliminated, I am guessing the wheel bearing. Next road trip of any length, try putting your hand on each front wheel to compare how hot each is. The wheel with the bad bearing should be the hotter of the two. Yes, I know that the braking will cause heat to build up. But that should be equal in both wheels.
 
My mom's Camry made the same sound and the wheel bearing were recently replaced. There's still slightly that sound and I'm hoping it's just the tires now. I'm going to put on the spare to see if the sound goes away.
 
check to see if your hub caps are on tight and/or parts of the retaining ring are broken then theres also bearings, balancing i wouldnt necessraily think because if improperly balanced would occur backwards with the problem happenening at higher speeds.
 
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I thought a CV going bad would only make noise in a turn, would generally click, and would get worse, ie louder, rather quickly.


That's usually the case. It's not always so.

If the tire wears funny, then you've got a hub bearing issue.
 
Have you noticed any pulsing from the front brakes when coming to a stop? When your front disc's are warped- a common problem these days- it causes a pulsing in the brakes. If so, I could see the warped disc/rotor could be touching the brake pads causing a shimmying noise. You may be able to reproduce this by jacking up the front and spinning the front tire by hand. Be sure to use jack stands-- as slways.
 
I took the car to the mechanic to do some diagnostic. CV joints and the bearings were fine. HE said it could be rust on the rotor? He noticed that there is a build up of some rust on the rotor and I could be hearing ths rust go round and round.

This is not rust that wears off when you brake a few times he says. I have also noticed that when I brake the noise goes away. Maybe it's something in the brake system? Caliber/Pad/Disc?
 
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