Periodic Clicking Noise Emanating from Behind Passenger Side Dash

It probably is one of the three servo motors associated with the heating/ventilation/air conditioning system. Fresh/recirculate, dash/floor, and cold/hot mix are the three air paths that need motor control.

 

When you turn off the HVAC system, you are pressing an icon on the multifunction display or pressing a button on the steering wheel. Either action is only making a request to the air conditioning amplifier to power down. The power is not actually cut. Hence, the AC amplifier is trying to set the servo motors to the positions deemed resting when the AC system is off.

If a motor does not reach the desired position or if the associated position sensor is not working right, the AC amplifier is going to keep trying and the result is the clicking noise.

More importantly, what are you going to do about it? Depending upon which motor is having trouble, it can be extremely difficult to reach without totally taking the dashboard apart.

I recommend you turn the stereo up a little louder and ignore the clicking noise. It might go away eventually, or the motor might fail at which time you can be motivated to spend the $$$ to have it fixed.

 

Get under the dashboard when the noise is occurring and try to determine where it is coming from. It is highly likely that the noise is coming from a servo motor; those motors, the cabin ventilation fan, and the wiper motor (located in the engine compartment) are the only moving mechanical parts in that general vicinity.

 

Curious if this ever got resolved