2012 Prius plug in and sudden clicking noise

Today on the highway my 2012 Prius Plug In with only 47K miles started making this clicking noise. The noise stops completely at speeds 22 mph or less, and there is no noise when I turn the car. What could this be? Anybody else ever experience this? The car has always been serviced, by the way. The noise seems to be coming from the right front wheel area. I Googled this and the sound is similar to the clicking sound of a bad CV joint, but the symptoms aren't the same.

I bought the car last summer (first owner was TVA, a govt agency) and this is the first trouble I've had. I don't have a regular mechanic -haven't found one in Huntsville AL- but I really dislike the local Toyoya dealership, as I feel they cheated us on my daughter's Prius repairs.

If there's anyone knowledgeable out there who has any ideas of some things I can check on my own, I'd love to hear them. My son looked at the CV joint and it didn't look damaged to the inexperienced eye. We didn't see anything loose hanging down. At first I was convinced I'd somehow run over a little branch or something and would simply need to pull it out from under the car, but no such luck.

 

I ran out to check and there IS a small nail in the tire! It's stuck all the way in and all you can see is the head, which is flush with the tire. Could that cause a noise?

Incidentally, I turned my tire hard to be able to see the inside edge of the tire, and it looks completely different on the inside - just awful! I'm sure I will have to replace it. Maybe when I have it replaced, the mechanic will be able to tell me if anything else is wrong.

 

Not only was there a nail, but also a tiny pebble in the tread.

 

I'll find out more tomorrow when I get that tire replaced. I hope the noise is from the bad tire. If it is, I suspect the tire sustained some more damage today, maybe from wear and tear that just got to be too much, because the sound started very suddenly. Maybe there is something wrong with the alignment. I'll post what I find out. Thank you everyone! That tire is a safety hazard and I might not have known if this didn't happen today, AND if I hadn't gotten these post responses.

 

If tomorrow's new tire replacement doesn't fix this, I'll have to take your advice. Thank you.

 

If tomorrow's new tire replacement doesn't fix this, I'll have to take your advice. Thank you.

 

Yep, the tire had suddenly burst on the inner edge and when it did, the innards started making that clicking sound. It was a very noticeable and sudden development, though I bet it was a long time coming. I'm glad I was less than a mile from home when it happened. Had to drive to the nearest tire repair place (since there is no spare) which was Walmart. They advised what we already suspected - get an alignment. I'm actually really kind of impressed with that tire. It had a nail, and was misaligned to the point of shredding, and still did not go flat. Clicking is all gone.

 

Sorry I didn't take a pic. You could WIRES coming out of the tire facing the inner side of the car!

 

Yes, I definitely know I was blessed by that warning and also because it happened so close to home! I could be dead. I think the shredded tire was somehow creating that noise.