Vibration/rattling from blower motor under glove compartment

[engineeer]

Anyone else ever have vibration/rattling from the blower motor or area below the glove compartment area?

At ~4,000 miles I started noticing it while stopped at lights. It's definitely linked to the engine RPM because I can get it to stop by putting it into neutral when the noise starts. I have 8,5xx miles and it's still doing it.

I pulled the panel in the passenger footwell to expose it and found that when the vibrating starts, if I grab the blower motor plastic housing and pull it towards the passenger seat, the rattling stops. If I then push it towards the engine bay and let it go, it will start up again.

I've demonstrated this to the tech at the dealership 3 times now and they've claimed to fix it (re-torquing + damping material, damping material between blower and glove compartment) each time, but it continues to do it. What's more maddening is that it's starting to happen sometimes while driving at lower RPMs.

Has anyone else had this issue? Can anyone share instructions on how to disassemble that area so I can try to fix it myself?

 

[engineeer]

I pulled the cover panel off and pulled the carpet back a bit and found the following:

The black surface just above the tip of my flashlight is a rubber-like material. The white shroud for the blower motor assembly (all of the white plastic you can see) presses up against the black rubber just behind the screw I'm pointing to with the red arrow.

If I tighten the screw that I'm pointing to with the red arrow as tight as I can it gets a little better. If I loosen it, there's not much difference.

If it's making the noise and I grab under that screw and pull towards me the noise stops. If I push that plastic towards the rubber it starts up again.

The strange thing is if I press the black rubber through the hole in the plastic where the little red dot is the noise gets much worse.

 

[jstack2]

Hey brother, check for debris in cowl area and cabin filter area...maybe debris worst case rodent. Blower motors are harmonically balanced, after working in service for Audi for 13 years that was my experience when I heard this complaint. op2:

I pulled the cover panel off and pulled the carpet back a bit and found the following:

The black surface just above the tip of my flashlight is a rubber-like material. The white shroud for the blower motor assembly (all of the white plastic you can see) presses up against the black rubber just behind the screw I'm pointing to with the red arrow.

If I tighten the screw that I'm pointing to with the red arrow as tight as I can it gets a little better. If I loosen it, there's not much difference.

If it's making the noise and I grab under that screw and pull towards me the noise stops. If I push that plastic towards the rubber it starts up again.

The strange thing is if I press the black rubber through the hole in the plastic where the little red dot is the noise gets much worse.

 

[EJs16]

Pull the blower or pull your cabin filter and see if there's something in there, a leaf or two can throw the blower off balance like jstack said..

Worst case fold up a business card and tuck it between the housing and the hvac case and re tighten the nuts see if it doesnt take care of it

 

[engineeer]

I'll give those things a try, thanks.

 

[TEujunga]

I posted this already a while ago but maybe it's worth posting again.

This is what I found when I pulled my rattling/vibrating blower motor:

 

[nb rob]

I've actually seen pictures of a mouse on more than one occasion while searching how to remove the blower motor!

unfortunately photbucket has made older forum posts completely useless. I can't seem to find any good photos of the removal

Is it just 3 screws and remove the power connector?

 

[CS223]

The air inlet is open to the cowl & this is why you get mice & leaves in the vehicle.


When in recirculate mode, the door is closed. (You can see the nest.)

When you select something other than recirculate, the door opens and there is direct access to the duct work. I've had mice build a nest on top of the filter as well as chew thru it and this is how you get mice in the vehicle. Not only that, when you or a dealer checks the cabin filter, and leaves or debris on top of it will fall into the fan. It only takes one leaf to create a racket.

I fashioned a quick & dirty hardware cloth screen for the interim to keep trash & critters out. Toyota should have done something like this to begin with. I plan to fab something a little nicer since i have to mod the new 4R as well.

 

[cmilviper]

Anyone else ever have vibration/rattling from the blower motor or area below the glove compartment area?

At ~4,000 miles I started noticing it while stopped at lights. It's definitely linked to the engine RPM because I can get it to stop by putting it into neutral when the noise starts. I have 8,5xx miles and it's still doing it.

I pulled the panel in the passenger footwell to expose it and found that when the vibrating starts, if I grab the blower motor plastic housing and pull it towards the passenger seat, the rattling stops. If I then push it towards the engine bay and let it go, it will start up again.

I've demonstrated this to the tech at the dealership 3 times now and they've claimed to fix it (re-torquing + damping material, damping material between blower and glove compartment) each time, but it continues to do it. What's more maddening is that it's starting to happen sometimes while driving at lower RPMs.

Has anyone else had this issue? Can anyone share instructions on how to disassemble that area so I can try to fix it myself?

I posted on this a few days ago, and got no responses, but I think I solved it.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...g-rattle-sound-passenger-floorboard-area.html

There is a little white "circle-clip" holding a wrapped group of wiring. Simply undo the white circle-clip, and let it hang . See if that solves it.

Oh & here is a thread with pictures of what I just described above. I believe this worked for me.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/90166-under-glove-box-noise-2.html


Here was my decription just a few days ago....sounds like the same noise/rattle that you have.

Quote:
Originally Posted by brian0128 View Post
I have a 2015 TEP with 15k miles on it. I have a rattle/vibration noise in the passenger floorboard area that is driving me nuts and I can't locate it. Anyone else had this issue?

It happens when the truck gets to a certain RPM. I've located it around 800rpm(truck in drive, foot on brake) and around 1800rpm(driving in 5th gear smooth flat road). It sounds like plastic on plastic so I started by removing my Weathertech floormats and removing everything from the glove compartment. That didn't make a difference. Turning the AC/heat blower motor up to a higher speed sometimes makes the sound stop. It does it with the fan on or off. I've had passengers try putting their hands around door panels, glove compartment door and even the underside but nobody can find it. I took a video but it's hard to hear. I'll see if I can get a better one today. It sounds like it's coming from under the dash itself but it's hard to determine. It is coming from inside the vehicle and sounds like 2 pieces of plastic tapping against each other."


Did anyone ever solve this rattle, and what to do exactly to fix it? What was stated above describes the noise to a T.

If I press on the compressor type assembly right above the rear part of the floor mat area, the noise stops. I've tried to wedge pieces of weather stripping ect. in different areas, but the noise continues....

The quote below from another member above, also describes the rattle/vibration noise very well:


"I have this issue as well. It's definitely coming from under the glove box near the compressor/fan thing you can feel when you reach underneath the dash. It started out every once in a while, but has progressed to rattling when truck is idling at stop lights.

I would expect this from a Ford, but a Toyota!??

I've decided to get some foam padding and cut into small wedges, and then place them in between anything I can feel under the dash that could be tapping/making contact while engine is running."

 

[engineeer]

^ I will try that too, thanks!

 

[engineeer]

I unhooked that guy and the sound went away for a while, then came back although a bit quieter.

 

[cmilviper]

I unhooked that guy and the sound went away for a while, then came back although a bit quieter.

Dang, So far the noise has not returned after 2-3 days for me, so we will see.

I also tried to lube up the white thing that bolts to the blower motor (far upper left of your first picture at the top of the thread). I wasn't able to tighten anything or find a place to stuff some foam, but it sure made noise when I moved it back and forth....That could have been part of it as well.

 

[JAMIET]

Yes. My 22 Limited does the exact same thing. Only at idle with foot on the brake. If I put into park, the noise goes away. Can put pressure on the squirrel cage and noise goes away! I do not have a fix at this point. Would love to hear the solution!

 

[Lexington]

I posted this already a while ago but maybe it's worth posting again.

This is what I found when I pulled my rattling/vibrating blower motor:

Great post. Thanks! Several months ago my blower started to make a whining noise but only when the fan was on. The higher the fan speed the louder it was. Would you be able to post instructions on how you removed the top cover and the blower.

Thanks again

 

[Muskrat14]

Great post. Thanks! Several months ago my blower started to make a whining noise but only when the fan was on. The higher the fan speed the louder it was. Would you be able to post instructions on how you removed the top cover and the blower.

Thanks again

Same with me after almost a year, couldn’t take it any more. Tire out the old blower n installed a new aftermarket.

Nice and quiet again. Very simple procedure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[17KT4R]

Thx for the tip I was wondering how that much debris could accumulate on top of the cabin air filter so quickly never mind mice finding their way in.

Fabricated my own redneck fix with some patio door screening to guard that gaping hole. Will see when I pull out the new filter replacement in Spring.

 

[Jon S]

The air inlet is open to the cowl & this is why you get mice & leaves in the vehicle.


When in recirculate mode, the door is closed. (You can see the nest.)

I fashioned a quick & dirty hardware cloth screen for the interim to keep trash & critters out. Toyota should have done something like this to begin with. I plan to fab something a little nicer since i have to mod the new 4R as well.

How did you attach the hardware cloth or is it just resting/folded over the edge? I'm going to do the same, thanks!