Q: We hear some sort of sound coming from vents. Sometimes air comes out and other times no air will come out at all.

asked by on October 27, 2016

This is a brand new vehicle. The second week we had it we were driving for about two hours in warm weather when all of a sudden there was no air whatsoever coming out of any of the vents. We had to turn down the windows to cool off. When we stopped and re-started the vehicle everything was fine and air blew out of the vents like nothing happened. Things were ok until a couple weeks later the same thing happened except it was very cool outside and pouring rain. We couldn't get any air out at all so the windows fogged up and our feet got cold. Again it was on a longer trip so we were about two hours from home. When this happens we hear a low grating noise in the vents but no air. Last time we turned the climate control up to the maximum heat and after a couple minutes we could smell hot plastic so we just turned it all off. Took it to dealer yesterday and they said they can't find anything wrong! Aargh.

My car has 5000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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It sounds to me like there may be an issue with the blower fan behind the dash cover. This is the fan that creates the airflow inside the vehicle. Many times the dealer will only fix the problem if it is happening at the time you drop the vehicle off. If the problem starts to become common across many vehicles, a technical service bulletin will usually come up and sometimes a recall after that. Next time it happens, try to record what’s going on.

If the fan is set to max and does not turn on and the technician can see voltage going to the fan, usually the fan is at fault. Consider hiring an experienced technician for a second opinion on the noise, but since the car is so new the dealer is the best place to go for warranty work.

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