Dashboard Squirrel Sound?

My first thought was a dodgy vent damper, which at motor operated to direct the air to windshield/forward/footwell. If there's a loose linkage or the motor is twitching for some reason then it could make a noise. The fan running is also entirely possible, but I don't think the fan is anywhere near where the noise is described.

One way to check is to turn the fan on at various speeds and see if that affects anything. Might be hard to tell if the issue is intermittent though. You can also get a cheap borescope and peek through the vents in the console to investigate, assuming you think the noise is coming from the ductwork.

 

Does the car have a heads up display? There is a motor that opens/closes the hatch and moves the display up/down.

 

Video tape it with your phone if possible.

 

I read it illuminates because it’s letting u know that the motor battery is charging your battery under the hood.

 

I once had this noise in my Subaru, only to find out that a dead dried up tree leave somehow inserted itself close to the ventilation system, and was rattling on and off, depending on the wing, car ventilation, etc.. I found the leave partially inserted behind the dashboard's vent

 

Suggestion:
Next time you hear it, set the infotainment system to display your power usage and check if Battery Care is active. If so, it could still be the HVAC system.

 

I hear a similar sound on my 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV from time to time. When I first got it, not knowing what the sound was nearly drove me crazy, but now I hardly notice it. I'm pretty sure it's the car's telematics unit, sending data small chunk by small chunk. Hope this helps!

 

Hi. Did you ever get this issue resolved? Does it sound anything like this recording I made?


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