sound from front left with each rotation of tire

For the past week or so I've been hearing a rubbing/scruffing sound from front left wheel area that repeats with each rotation of the wheel. I'm not sure what this is or what's causing it. I have checked multiple times for objects stuck in the treads but have found nothing (the sound repeats in the same way as that). I had a front brake job a few months ago so could be related to that. Any suggestions on what to check for?

 

I took that front left tire off and inspected it closely and did not find any problems with sidewalls or treads.

 

OK, thanks. I took wheel off. No problem with tread separation or loose lug nuts. I cannot say whether there is problem with brake pad drag because I did not take slider pins out. Superficial visual check of rotors and pads did not reveal any obvious problems. I recorded an audio file of the repeating rubbing sound made (but unfortunately this forum won't let me upload audio files).

 

That was my intention when I took the wheel off - to rotate the hub and listen for the sound. But when I tried to do that the hub would not rotate. Evidently the brake was engaged. So I considered getting in the car and turning on the engine and putting it in neutral. But I did not do that because I did not trust the jack stands I had in place.

 

Yes, the CV joint boot have failed on both left and right. But that happened some time ago and the grease seem to have dissipated.

 

I have not had the repair done yet. The auto repair shop said that they didn't want just to replace the boot. They said they wanted to replace the entire shaft assembly and more on both sides and quoted about $3000 for the job.

 

An update on the left front end noise problem. First of all, I mistakenly said the torn boot was on the CV joint. It is not, the torn boot is on the strut (both sides). I believe the CV joint is ok and that the problem is with the wheel bearing.

Here's what I did - with the front end up on jack stands, and the back tires blocked and the car in neutral I spun the left front wheel in the forward direction and did hear the intermittent noise. I did not hear that same noise on the right front wheel. I also checked for play on the wheel but did not notice that.

So, I'm going under the assumption that the left front wheel bearing is going bad and needs to be replaced. Do you agree?

 

After I first started hearing that sound I brought the Prius to the tire shop where I had brake work done to see if the brakes were the problem. They said that it was not a brake issue although they did not say exactly what they checked for. And they did not say what the exact cause is. But they did say it would cost $160 to find out from them.

When I had the Prius up on jackstands checking for the problem about all that I could tell was that there was a scuffing/rubbing sound with each rotation. But I could not determine the source of the sound, it was not obvious to me. I didn't take the wheel off so I didn't have easy access to the brakes. And I didn't know exactly how to check for brake pad dragging