Whirling motor

Good evening,

Can you attach a picture and a video of the noise for me to hear?

The only thing with gears in that area is an actuator for the AC/Heat system.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

Roy

That is the aspirator for the climate control system part # 15040301. It has a tiny fan inside it with a temperature sensor. Usually when you can hear them it is because they are full of dust. I have used the canned air sold in stores to blow then out with reasonable success. To access it you recline the seat back, then remove the upper trim panel and pull it out enough to release the sensor. Then use the air to blow it clean. Yours is one of the early ones so you should be able to clean it out and then see if it's still noisy, Then it's up to you if you want to replace it or not.

You're welcome. I've had to deal with that on my 2002 a couple times. Be careful of the retainer clips on the plastic, they can be brittle. It's sometime possible to use air through the grille, but they are supposed to have a thin foam in front of them that may or may not be there as the stuff they used tends to fall apart.

Air works better as it moves the dust and fur better. The only part that you can really hurt is the fan but as it's starting to bind up it could already be too late. I usually try blowing them out first, then see if they stay quiet when you turn on the key. Usually only ones that have been plugged up really bad fail that test, but it depends on what is in the fan. One of the biggest things is usually pet hair, then road dust. The filter is supposed to prevent that but they fall apart.