Screeching/chirping Noise In The Passenger Side Under Glove Box

osetleo · August 14, 2013

Dear Forum members,

On my wife's RX-300 she noticed kind of sreeching/chriping noise coming from somewhere behind the glove box. Initially I thought it comes from the cassette player, but I removed the cassette block and the noise was the same. Then I realized that It comes most likely from the blower or may be servo-motors, but the strange thing the noise is there as soon as the engine running and is probably the same where fan works or not.

I drove her car for couple of days and it is very annoying.

Have you experienced similar issue and if you did, how easy it is to get to the blower bearings (if it is the issue).

Really appreciate your input.

Thank you.

ricco750 · August 24, 2013

Dear Forum members,

On my wife's RX-300 she noticed kind of sreeching/chriping noise coming from somewhere behind the glove box. Initially I thought it comes from the cassette player, but I removed the cassette block and the noise was the same. Then I realized that It comes most likely from the blower or may be servo-motors, but the strange thing the noise is there as soon as the engine running and is probably the same where fan works or not.

I drove her car for couple of days and it is very annoying.

Have you experienced similar issue and if you did, how easy it is to get to the blower bearings (if it is the issue).

Really appreciate your input.

Thank you.

First, you need to isolate the problem. If it is the blower, that can be determined by going through all the fan speeds while the car is idling. If the noise changes, the problem is most likely the blower...and you cannot "get to the bearings", as they are sealed, and a blower replacement would be necessary. It also could be some debris in the fan cage itself.

But if the blower and fan cage are not the problem, then it's most likely the servos that operate the blend doors for the climate control system. They are not cheap to replace, but are relatively easy to remove and rebuild, and there are threads on the forum to help with this. I had this problem with my "99 RX...the noise was a clicking and clacking that sounded like the CD changer was searching for a disc, but it turned out to be the servos.

An inexpensive mechanic's stethescope will help with the diagnosis.