Just looking to get some thoughts on what this might be so I can mentally prepare myself for the repair bill.....

Symptoms are a pulsing, scraping sound ONLY when turning left. Coming from the right front wheel. It occurs whenever I even SLIGHTLY turn the wheel to the left, as in even when making the constant small steering adjustments to stay on a straight path. Pulsing becomes faster as the speed of the tire rotation increases. It goes away completely if driving straight without any road pull to the right that causes me to make those small left adjustments, or while making any degree of a right turn.

Has been going on for a couple weeks now, but actually doesn't seem to be getting progressively worse.

 

Have the same issue, but with my left wheel and turning right. I'm curious as to what it could be.

And applying the brakes doesn't change the sound or stop it.

 

CV joints? Take a look at your CV boots to see if they are torn or leaking. Any other symptoms like wobbly steering, tracking in one direction, etc?

 

Or just brake shield rubbing a little? Just take off the tire and check the simple stuff before you bring it somewhere.

 

Are you lowered or running aftermarket rims/tires? You have to make sure they're not rubbing. I know a buddy who had this problem on his winter tires when he would make hard turns because the offset was wrong and this was on stock ride height.

 

Same here.

Thanks, I'll check on that later today. I've been having issues with tire pressure from a rim that corroded a bit on the inside, so I've had intermittent issues with pulling in one direction and slight wobble in the steering wheel from fluctuating tire air pressure.

I'm not familiar with repair costs for a CV joint...any ballpark ideas?

 

I agree with 2damax, my Maxima had the same problem, It turned out to be the heat-shield that is essentially "behind" the brake rotor, just get under there when the car is cold so you dont burn your fingers off, find the heat shield and you can easily bend it move it away from the rotor.

 

I had a similar problem which wound being the dust shield bent and hitting the rotor. Mine happened on right and left turns though.

 

Sometimes bad wheel bearings will present themselves this way.

 

Mine started shortly after a brake job. Funny thing is, it didn't do it when I left the shop. It started a few days later. Just took a pry bar (You can use a large scredriver or similar tool) in between the rotor and dust shield (turn the wheel to access from behind the back of the tire), bent it slightly and problem solved.

 

yup! or a loose axle nut. don't ask me how I know...

 

agreed my 4th gen has had this same exact issue...twice

 

I had the dust shield issue -- but also check this -- I had this one too:

There are those little shims glued to the back of the brake pad -- presumably to stop squealing or something. I had one work itself loose and it was grinding against the rotor over time, and when I would make a right turn, I'd get "scree scree scree scree"

 

Just to update this, problem solved. It was the plate/shield on the back of the brake pad. Unfortunately I ended up taking it to a SECOND place (dealership this time) since I couldn't really see anything that looked like it was rubbing. Cost me $150 the first time, then when it came back a week later, dealership fixed it for free.

Anybody have a labelled diagram or pic of the area in case the problem pops up again?

 

Yes I do -- Looky here!

Here is a picture of the shim while attached to the caliper. As you can see, it slid down and is just barely touching the rotor. When I would take a left turn at speed (curvy road, exit ramp) the wheel would tilt that 1/100th of a millimeter which is all it needed to make a very subtle noise.



Here is the shim removed from the car. I wonder how long it was grinding away...

 

Son of a b...such a simple issue. So what is involved in the process of fixing this?

 

Remove the caliper as if you're going to replace the pads. The shim should fall out right away onto the ground.

Pick up the shim with your index finger and thumb. In a smooth motion, fling the shim onto the neighbor's roof.

 

...so basically resort to the default operation for unwanted items.