Ticking noise behind dash in 4th gen

[zuhl]

My wife's 06 4runner has developed a ticking or clicking noise behind the dash in her 06. It is not extremely loud, but loud enough.

I originally thought it was the AC fan, but it happens even when the AC is off. It happens whenever the key is in accessorize mode or running. Since it happens even when the motor is off, I assume it is not a vibration thing. It is pretty constant, but every now and then it will go silent for a few seconds when I hit a bump or turn.

It sounds like it is coming form behind the AC control knobs or maybe even down around the cubby holder thing below.

Any ideas on the cause of this would be very helpful. If this has been discussed before, I apologize. I could not find it in a search.

Thanks!

 

[Brian_254]

I have been having the same issue with my '07 SR5 V6. I too have done some 'troubleshooting' and like you don't hear the noise when the engine is off, the blower fan is off, etc. It's been driving me a little nuts lately and the only way to fix it so far has been to apply the 'universal noise tool' - also known as turning the radio volume up! hwell:

Just this morning I *MAY* have made a breakthrough... Just on a whim, with the ignition switch in the 'ACC' position (engine off), I inserted a CD into the player (btw - I have the 'base' CD/MP3 radio - not the JBL system). Lo and behold the ticking stopped!! I removed the CD and the noise didn't return! I turned the switch to 'OFF' and back to 'ACC' - the ticking started again. I re-inserted the CD and it stopped again. I had to stop there for now (that whole 'job' thing) so that's all I've done so far. Going to try it again when it's time to leave for the day - and if leaving the CD in the player all the time stops the ticking, I'll be fine with that fix.

Not sure what is actually causing the ticking - your post is the first hit of my internet search for others experiencing the noise. You might perform a similar test and see if you get similar results.

 

[JP1]

Do not know if it related but had to replace an actuator for the blend door r/t the hvac. It may be going out? My heater was not blowing warm out of the vents yet everything else was fine, that I could diagnose, with respect to the heater. Granted I heard no clicking it just didn't work, the heater that is.

I know it is a stretch but you never know.

The dealership wanted $1150 to just diagnose. Took it to a body shop and they diagnosed, repaired and replaced for a total of $280. Best of luck.

 

[piccrazy30]

I had the same problem a while back mine also made a bubbling sound and this is what I was told to do.

Turn your air on to the highest temp and lower it to the lowest temp, do that a few times and it should stop. I haven't had a problem since.

 

[wrestler157]

I have the same problem. If I turn my defrost on and rear defrost then back to air it stops. Kinda weird because it even does it when the air is off

 

[Caleb H]

Different clicking Noise 4th gen

Hello.
I have read all of the posts above, and I have a different noise behind my dash. It is coming from behind the glove box. It doesn't have anything to do with the CD player, or RPMs of the car. And it is very finicky. It might show up for a week and then be gone for a month. Or it may show up for one ride and be gone with the next. There is nothing I can do to stop it, except wait.

It is somehow related to the HVAC system. If the noise is happening, I can pause it by selecting a different target zone for the air (i.e. Defrost, or head, or feet). But if I change it back, you will hear it again. And I can then turn off my car and still hear it for a minute. It's like there is some type of air pressure built up and it is releasing.

My car is a 2006 SR5. And this is the only issue with it so far. Hugely satisfied as a whole though.

Thank you

 

[fdbyrne]

Mine was clicking like that a while back. It was definitely behind the glove box.

I did some research on this forum and found that more often than not it's the blend door actuator that was mentioned above. I found a lot of information on how to replace it but stumbled across one guy who swore that he made his noise go away by pulling the glove box to gain access to the actuator, slightly loosening the three accessible bolts that hold it in place, and then retightening them. I gave that a shot before replacing the actuator and it actually worked for me.

I'm not sure if the location of the actuator changed by model year or trim type but mine was at the top left behind the glove box. It's a little black box that you can see moving once you gain visual access and start switching the blower type from vent, defrost, floor, etc.

Give it a shot. No harm in trying it.

 

[V8Man]

Don't think I putting you on but you should also do one more check at this time of year. More than once 4th gen guys have found Mickey & Minny playing house on top of the cabin air filter.

 

[txclimber]

I had the same problem a while back mine also made a bubbling sound and this is what I was told to do.

Turn your air on to the highest temp and lower it to the lowest temp, do that a few times and it should stop. I haven't had a problem since.

This worked for me. Incidentally, I never had this problem until a dead battery issue. After replacing the battery (several days later), I immediately noticed the ticking sound.

I wonder if the servo motor control "forgot" it's position when there wasn't a battery and by cycling through the temperature settings it "re-learned" the limits, thus preventing it from trying to push the gears too far, causing the clicking sound. Just speculations, but I'm stoked the fix was so easy.

Thanks [MENTION=95076]piccrazy30[/MENTION] for posting.

 

[2003-4x4runner]

I had the same problem a while back mine also made a bubbling sound and this is what I was told to do.

Turn your air on to the highest temp and lower it to the lowest temp, do that a few times and it should stop. I haven't had a problem since.

My Runner started making same sound a few months back but now it's gotten really loud. I did notice the sound would stop when I turned on the defroster.
Will try the High/Low temp thing today to see if that works.

 

[darkwolfe]

Tis only the still beating heart of a bug you squished with your 4runner.

You must have found and smacked an insect that had an evil vulture-like eye and the guilt is consuming you. :lookout:

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Tis only the still beating heart of a bug you squished with your 4runner.

You must have found and smacked an insect that had an evil vulture-like eye and the guilt is consuming you. :lookout:

It was just not one bug, but Billions of bugs I've squished. Or it could have been the countless squirrels that I ran over or it could have been that snake that was sun bathing in the right lane when I ran it over. :roadkill:

 

[2003-4x4runner]

My Runner started making same sound a few months back but now it's gotten really loud. I did notice the sound would stop when I turned on the defroster.
Will try the High/Low temp thing today to see if that works.

Tried the High/Low temp changing several times and it seemed to have worked. Until this morning and the ticking sound came back. So I tried the High/Low Temp thing again this morning and it seem to work again. This doesn't seem to be a permanent fix, but at least the ticking has stopped.

 

[ThirdDeviation]

Tried the High/Low temp changing several times and it seemed to have worked. Until this morning and the ticking sound came back. So I tried the High/Low Temp thing again this morning and it seem to work again. This doesn't seem to be a permanent fix, but at least the ticking has stopped.

I don't know if this relevant to your issue, but I just pulled out my blower assembly to replace the upper of the two vent control servos. Out of curiosity, and perhaps a desire to make the failed servo pay for it's insubordination, I took it apart to diagnose the cause of failure.



The full motor and gear assembly pictured above didn't have any obvious signs of trouble.



I pulled out the final gear and saw the prongs underneath. There's a circular circuit board-type insert on the bottom of the gear that has three tracks. Each of the tracks align with one of the prongs in the picture above.



The grease on the final gear shows that it rotates a total of roughly 150 degrees. On the outermost track, about 40 degrees from the farthest left rotation, it looks like the track was damaged.



The final picture is a closeup of the damaged area. Here's where guessing completely takes over: I'm thinking that the motor would turn the final gear, the contact on the outer track would hit the damaged area and then the buzzing would start. The problem got worse over time, so perhaps the damaged area grew in size.

Good news is that replacing the servo fixed the problem and everything works again. Bad news is that I can't get the blower assembly back in place.

 

[CookieRoe]

Good news is that replacing the servo fixed the problem and everything works again. Bad news is that I can't get the blower assembly back in place.

So a little menace of a problem has transformed into a major one, LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, though, I do notice a slight ticking behind what I think is coming from the driver's side dash. At first I thought it was my EZPass rattling around in its holder, but noticed my light sensor was loose. I believe the light sensor had something to do with this. Anyway, this information is certainly helpful, thanks for sharing!!!

Hope you get the assembly back into place.

 

[2003-4x4runner]

I don't know if this relevant to your issue, but I just pulled out my blower assembly to replace the upper of the two vent control servos. Out of curiosity, and perhaps a desire to make the failed servo pay for it's insubordination, I took it apart to diagnose the cause of failure.

View attachment 206091

The full motor and gear assembly pictured above didn't have any obvious signs of trouble.

View attachment 206092

I pulled out the final gear and saw the prongs underneath. There's a circular circuit board-type insert on the bottom of the gear that has three tracks. Each of the tracks align with one of the prongs in the picture above.

View attachment 206093

The grease on the final gear shows that it rotates a total of roughly 150 degrees. On the outermost track, about 40 degrees from the farthest left rotation, it looks like the track was damaged.

View attachment 206094

The final picture is a closeup of the damaged area. Here's where guessing completely takes over: I'm thinking that the motor would turn the final gear, the contact on the outer track would hit the damaged area and then the buzzing would start. The problem got worse over time, so perhaps the damaged area grew in size.

Good news is that replacing the servo fixed the problem and everything works again. Bad news is that I can't get the blower assembly back in place.

Thanks [MENTION=108082]ThirdDeviation[/MENTION] ! Do you have photos of the location of the vent control servos? From what I can tell is the sound is coming from the right of the blower fan/motor.

 

[Nostromo]

This is a write-up from a smart fella on this issue and how to fix it.

Grinding/clicking under dash - air mix servo - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Did some web surfing and found this! For me the sound is coming from the passenger side, by the door and behind the blower motor. According to the diagram, it looks like I may have a bad Air Inlet Control Servo Motor. This would make sense since the sound would stop when I turn on the defroster and recirculation Hope this diagram helps everyone.

 

[ThirdDeviation]

Thanks [MENTION=108082]ThirdDeviation[/MENTION] ! Do you have photos of the location of the vent control servos? From what I can tell is the sound is coming from the right of the blower fan/motor.

Sorry for the long delay. I do have pics of the locations.

This is the servo location relative to the rest of the dash. They're essentially just inboard of the glovebox, but up in the area where the "hidden compartment" is, rather than the main box.



The upper black box is the servo I replaced, and acts as part of the vent control system. The servo below works in tandem with the upper servo, moving when settings with defrost are selected.



As for the link from Nostromo, the proposed solution may not have done much good in my case, given the type damage to the tracks. Of course, once you have the servo out, you can check before attempting. It occurs to me that, perhaps, if the buzzing had been addressed earlier, the tracks may not have been damaged to such a degree. Unfortunately, I bought the car in this condition, and I don't know how long the servo had been buzzing prior to the purchase date.

 

[CCDave]

I had the same problem a while back mine also made a bubbling sound and this is what I was told to do.

Turn your air on to the highest temp and lower it to the lowest temp, do that a few times and it should stop. I haven't had a problem since.

Just picked up an '08 with 100K for my first T4R and it too had this noise. Adjusting the temp from Lo to Hi as suggested took care of it. Thx