Mad Clicking Noise From Under Dashboard

Martin57 · July 29, 2013

I have an '04 RX 300. In the 5 years I have had it I occationaly notice a slight clicking noise from under the driver side dashboard as if some relay was trying to do something. Yesterday whilst driving it went mad, very loud and would not stop during the 90 mile journey. Everything appeared to be okay, no warning lights or anything, just the insesant noise. Any ideas what it might be?

ColinBarber · July 29, 2013

try turning off the climate control, not just the AC, or manually selecting the air positions as it could be a motor controlling the air diverter valve.

Otherwise I'm not sure without knowing exactly where the noise is coming from. If it is a relay you should be able to feel which one is operating, presumably it does it when you stop so you can investigate?

The-Acre · July 29, 2013

I may be way off but I have a Vauxhall that used to do the same thing (apparently it's very common) There's a motor that moves the ventilation flap to recirculate the air in the cabin. The motor is inside a small plastic housing which contains 4 plastic cogs. One tooth had broken causing the annoying clicking sound. Not wanting to be beaten, I took it apart and replaced the cog with a piece of plastic from a tooth brush stuck with Araldite. 3 years later still fine!

Phil

jonthebarber · July 29, 2013

Mmmm , had the same problem with my ol vw touareg , motors were only about £50 each (3 of them I recall) but on the vw it was a full dash out and then the new motors had to be programmed via vagcom . My old lexus is200 did the same trick , was a easy job on that car

Jon

Martin57 · July 29, 2013

Thanks for that guys but I now have a little more information which came about after your thoughts above.

The car has been standing all day and I have just driven it about 1 mile max. The blasted clicking was going from the off. It's like a small machine gun but it changes tempo, short quick bursts, silence, rapid fire etc.

There is a small plastic cover piece just beside the foot brake which I removed. I imagine what is there is something to do with the air con, There are 2 silver pipes (flow and return?) into a silver box while the noise was happening I could feel the box vibrate but when I touched the pipes they were almost too hot to keep your finges on and after such a short distance. Any ideas?

The-Acre · July 30, 2013

Thanks for that guys but I now have a little more information which came about after your thoughts above.

The car has been standing all day and I have just driven it about 1 mile max. The blasted clicking was going from the off. It's like a small machine gun but it changes tempo, short quick bursts, silence, rapid fire etc.

There is a small plastic cover piece just beside the foot brake which I removed. I imagine what is there is something to do with the air con, There are 2 silver pipes (flow and return?) into a silver box while the noise was happening I could feel the box vibrate but when I touched the pipes they were almost too hot to keep your finges on and after such a short distance. Any ideas?

Unless someone comes up with another suggestion it's best really to get Lexus to look, it may be something they're familiar with and will be able to tell you straight away what the problem is. Keep us updated though.

Phil

The-Acre · July 30, 2013

You may also find this interesting as it seems you're not alone!

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-second-generation/529305-clicking-sound-in-the-center-stack-coming-from-a-vent-motor-need-tech-advice.html

fulmar · August 4, 2013

I used to have an odd clicking noise in my old GS3000. It was not very frequent and seemed to come and go. I never tracked down the cause and would be very interested to hear how you sort out your event.

Martin57 · August 4, 2013

Guys, thanks for all the assistance.

I am asumming it's a servo for the air con. As one of the suggestions in a link was to turn it on full blast at it's highest (hottest) setting which I did last Tuesday (a colder day if you remember). Wednesdaay no noise. Thursday was very hot (34c) and so I took the car for a run, and still no noise. Fingers crossed that it is cured but I do have a long drive tomorrow and so will keep you posted.

ronnaybarkay · August 4, 2013

Lexus sheffield picked up on the ventilation servo noise in my car about a year ago and quoted £299 to fix. It is the vent next to drivers door window. The garage where I bought it from said they could do it for about £100. But I have never noticed the noise anymore so never had to follow it through. They told me this one can be done without the dash out. The others cant, so I would imagine the cost would go up cosiderably if the dash had to come out.

If that was the case, it could be best to let the experts at Lexus do the job..... Having said all that. It could be something else?