Hey all,

Just got a 2004 ES330 (fostering, not a keeper) and its got ONE quirk: there is a sound like an animal under/behind the dash that almost sounds under the center council or pass. seat. also in front of driver knees. It will do it with the car running or the ignition on, not when the car is off or when the car is in ACC mode. It happens with the climate control off, and changing climate settings doesn't seem to affect it (i can hear a separate, normal mechanical noise when engaging recirculate)

That said, once this is fixed and the rear sway bar bushings are done, its a perfect 4es with only small cosmetic flaws. Couldnt pass it up. Want to make it right

Please help!

Thanks guys!

PS: Mine is at 160,000 or so and I'd take it on a 6,000 mile road trip without question! doing well.

 

Hello,

It will be quite challenging to diagnose the noise without actually hearing it, especially with such a wide variety of suspects.. The cause can range from a loose wire to an actual animal under your dashboard, or some other possessed creature.. Can you submit a video of what exactly do you mean?

You can also try to take off the knee panel and peek around in there with the stethoscope or a long screwdriver, that will help narrow the suspect list.
I also had a weird noise issue, which was described here. In the end result, it turned out to be one of the shift solenoids. That is just to tell you that not all the noises are that easy to locate just by sitting in the car.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

True! I’ll see if I can get it in film. Or mpeg I should say. I know it’s not an animal as it’s instantly stopped by shutting the key to off or ACC. also, a tranny issue wouldn’t make noise without the car actually running right? Does it with ignition on.

I’ll poke around a bit as well as see if I can get a video. Was hoping it was a common thing, though I’ve put about 100,000 on other 4ES including my silver 02 and never heard this. Was wondering if it’s like the RX servo issues

 

In my case, the whine is there for all the key positions.

With all that, it can still be be a variation of the common issue for those cars.. Does the noise ever stop without you taking the key out, or it just continues on? Is there any sound once the car is started? I just can't think of anything that would make a constant racket in the interior, if it would have been a motor, servo, etc., it would stop after some while.

You can also try pulling fuses out one-by-one until the noise would stop, that may also help isolate the problem area, though it may be deceiving (just like what happened to me in that post I linked).

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

I thought about fuses. That’s in the list of things to try for sure. It’s somewhat cyclical but barely. Has nothing to do with the engine or trans, and is seemingly constant regardless of the climate control if the ignition is on or the car is running.

very Strange

 

Definitely sounds like an HVAC servo! Pull open the bottom part of the glovebox and take a look inside to see which servo (there are several of them).

 

Thanks I will! Hopefully I can rebuild it if I find it because I’m the 6 years I’ve had 4ESes ive only seen 2 in the junkyard. Always wondered why

 

Acarapella you described the sound around the dash perfectly because I have it my 2004 ES330 that I bought last week. The sound happens when you turn the ignition key to ON or start the engine and run the car. If you put your ear by any of the four dash vents you hear mechanical sound that is fairly consistent, and also down by the floor vents. Perhaps the servo?
Did you have any luck fixing it?

 

Hello! I don’t remember I am sorry sold the car right after. I think I didn’t and explained to the person who bought it

 

Hello,

Can you record a video of the sound in question?

The whole climate control system is powered by 10A ECU–B fuse, here is a fuse diagram. Try pulling it out and see if the noise would stop, that would verify the area to look into. After that, you can take a knee panel and a glove box out if necessary and put your hand on each of the servomotors to see exactly which one of them causes the noise in question, here is a Parts Diagram for your car that shows the location of all the servos in the climate control, there should be about four of them.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Thank you for the response and links, I checked out some Youtube videos that helped me diagnose and explained how to replace. Actually I'll be fixing my 2004 IS300 first with the same issue and then move on to the ES. If I'm able to get a good sound recording I'll update the post.

 

I have the same noise going on. Curious to see what this ends up being.