Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has had an issue similar to this.

I have a 2008 Cooper with standard A/C Ventilation. When the air selector is set to dashboard I hear a low tapping or rattling sound. If I switch to any other mode (defrost, floor or bi-level) it almost immediately does away. I also hear a relay noise when switching modes but I assume that is normal.

The noise is not particularly obtrusive put you can really hear it at idle. Turning the fan to a high speed will drown it out and it will stop if you turn off the fan.

My SA says he never heard of this issue before and wants me to show him when I drop the car off next week.

Anyone else have thsi or am I the only one .

Other than some smeary wiper blades and this issue the car has been absolutely perfect and a joy to drive and own.

Thanks
Art

 

Sound like the air diverter door is loose in one position.

 

In another car I had a few years ago a leaf had worked its way into one of the ducts and when I had the ventilation in a certain mode it made a tapping/rattling noise. Took forever to find it. Leaf eventually broke apart when it dried out and I got a blast of leaf shards when it blew through. Noise immediately stopped. Just a thought.

 

I was thinking something along those lines as well. The pitch does not changed with the fan speed so I am just not sure.

Thanks
Art

 

Thanks. I will mention that to the SA when I bring it in.

 

They had it all day today and it is not resolved yet. They asked me to stay in the loaner while they figure it out.

 

The dealer says it is the AC motor housing that is rattling. They spent over 3 hours taking apart the dash to find this out .

Part is on order but it they do not know when it will be in (coming from Germany). Meanwhile I am in a decent loaner so I cannot complain too much.

I am a bit concerned that after taking the dash apart that it will not be the same after they are done with it. Does anyone have any experience with this type of repair?

Thanks
Art

 

Picked the car up yesterday afternoon and all appears to be in order now. The dealer replaced the "Heater Box". The technician noted that it had something loose inside it which was the cause of the rattle.

Glad to have the car back after 8 days in a loaner. The loaner had an automatic. The automatic while interesting to play with is not match for the 6 speed manual.

I think my issue was a fairly unusual one.

 

yeah we don't hear much from the heater boxes/blower motors. those are ussually lifetime parts that rarely ever get replaced... glad they took care of it for it!!!