Strange fan/ticking noise during morning power-up

[NJ-Taycan]

Noticed this a few times now. First time was after overnight charging at home on my level 2 JuiceBox. And again this morning when not charging, battery was around 55% and the weather was around 72 degrees (not too hot or cold outside).

I hear the noise as soon as I sit in the car and it automatically powers on. I tried turning off the climate fan and that was not the issue. Seems to be coming from under the center of the dash. Also tried shutting down the car and restarting but the sound persists. Almost sounds like a wire making a slight contact with a spinning fan. The good news is that it goes away after 3-5 minutes of driving as the car warms up.

Video attached.

 

[BMonte13]

Yours seems much louder but I’ve had this too about 1-2/month and it just goes away after driving as you said.

 

[submatrix]

It is likely the fan behind the console screen. If you put your hand behind the screen I believe you can feel a vent and a little airflow. It is probably hitting a wire or something.

 

[FlyingPoint]

I too have experienced the same anomaly. In the year and half of driving the car, it has occurred twice. Both times, it disappeared shortly after driving away. I have no idea what caused it.

 

[Roberto]

Noticed this a few times now. First time was after overnight charging at home on my level 2 JuiceBox. And again this morning when not charging, battery was around 55% and the weather was around 72 degrees (not too hot or cold outside).

I hear the noise as soon as I sit in the car and it automatically powers on. I tried turning off the climate fan and that was not the issue. Seems to be coming from under the center of the dash. Also tried shutting down the car and restarting but the sound persists. Almost sounds like a wire making a slight contact with a spinning fan. The good news is that it goes away after 3-5 minutes of driving as the car warms up.

Video attached.

I have the same issue!
Attached also my video
Only early in the morning when I switch on the car, it goes away as well after 5 min
My dealer still didn’t find any solution!

 

[ciaranob]

Well I can join this club as of this AM! Heard the very same noise on startup after an overnight charge. I drove around a couple of blocks but still audible when I got back - turned car off and finish the wax job and after about 30-40 mins turned car on and no sound - weird that this is occurring in this many cars - anyone get any further update on this - I'll be sure to capture it next time if it recurs and share with my SA.

 

[NJ-Taycan]

I think I have isolated the problem. Behind the climate control screen in that little storage area there is a vent grill. There seems to be a small fan in there and perhaps a wire is touching. When I put my hand over that vent I can feel air moving and the sound gets louder and softer. I also heard it this morning when I first powered on the car and as the fan started to spin I heard the ticking getting faster and faster.

 

[ciaranob]

I think I have isolated the problem. Behind the climate control screen in that little storage area there is a vent grill. There seems to be a small fan in there and perhaps a wire is touching. When I put my hand over that vent I can feel air moving and the sound gets louder and softer. I also heard it this morning when I first powered on the car and as the fan started to spin I heard the ticking getting faster and faster.

Interesting - need to look at that - have you looked there maybe with a mirror as obviously hard to access and is there a way to pop off the vet grill to examine further? Not by my car right now but will also look later - thx for sharing.

 

[TXAG]

Not sure this is relevant but here goes ... I started hearing a growling sound behind the dash soon after taking delivery in June 2022 (my RWD was built in April 2022). The sound from my Taycan is different than yours, however.

The sound didn't stop when I turned off the seat ventilation, but it did stop when I turned off the A/C. The dealership looked at it and said it's an expansion valve failure. They ordered a new part (# 9A7-816-682-00) for replacement.

Good luck!

 

[Mr Bill]

I have this issue as well since a few months, and posted about it in this thread: Whirring noise in PCM - any ideas on how to solve this? | TaycanForum -- Porsche Taycan Owners, News, Discussions, Forums

I also see under 'similar threads' another one on this issue. I have not yet made a dealer appointment due to some issues that took priority.

Over the last week the noise - which started in late summer - has become much louder, with audible varying fan speeds. It is now heard over music playing reasonably loud, which is quite annoying even though the noise becomes less after half an hour or so.

Let's share any solutions here - from the other threads, I noted comments that dealers 'did not have a clue' on how to address this issue, but maybe a standard fix is now available..

 

[ciaranob]

I think I have isolated the problem. Behind the climate control screen in that little storage area there is a vent grill. There seems to be a small fan in there and perhaps a wire is touching. When I put my hand over that vent I can feel air moving and the sound gets louder and softer. I also heard it this morning when I first powered on the car and as the fan started to spin I heard the ticking getting faster and faster.

I will be asking my dealership to look at this on my next scheduled visit whenever the parts for the next recall come in but I actually gave the vent cover here a good hard tap when this noise started up again and it immediately went quiet!!

BUT .. unfortunately ... the 3rd time I heard it this trick was not quite as successful! However I think you are 100% correct in respect where the issue is which should make it a ton easier for the dealership techs to hopefully rectify.

 

[NJ-Taycan]

I am headed into my dealership this Wednesday to have a trim piece replaced and plan to have them investigate this issue. I think they will need to keep the car overnight as the problem seems to happen in the morning and when the vehicle is cold inside. I was looking inside of the vent and they are several wires in there. I wonder if a small hook (used to adjust the wire locations) might help? Will report back here after this week's visit.

 

[NJ-Taycan]

So got the car back from my dealer. They immediately heard the fan ticking noise and attempted a low budget repair using compressed air to clean the fan assembly which is inside of the climate control console (behind that vent register). The good news is the cleaning immediately stopped the noise. The bad news is the noise is already back. As suspected it’s coming from the fan, which per my technician is part of the climate control panel assembly. A new panel has been ordered and we will replace soon. My Taycan technician, Bernie says he’s had the trim pieces off before and getting access to that panel is not as hard as it looks. Fingers crossed that we get the problem and hoping the car goes back together the same way. Normally I would rather live with small things vs. risking damage from repair but this is just too much of a nuance. So, we’re going in soon!!!!

 

[ciaranob]

So got the car back from my dealer. They immediately heard the fan ticking noise and attempted a low budget repair using compressed air to clean the fan assembly which is inside of the climate control console (behind that vent register). The good news is the cleaning immediately stopped the noise. The bad news is the noise is already back. As suspected it’s coming from the fan, which per my technician is part of the climate control panel assembly. A new panel has been ordered and we will replace soon. My Taycan technician, Bernie says he’s had the trim pieces off before and getting access to that panel is not as hard as it looks. Fingers crossed that we get the problem and hoping the car goes back together the same way. Normally I would rather live with small things vs. risking damage from repair but this is just too much of a nuance. So, we’re going in soon!!!!

So did they by chance elaborate on the attempted cleaning procedure i.e. if they install a new fan unit will the problem recur if whatever dirt that may have caused the original part to tick just gets back in there? OR, is it an actual fan part failure and nothing to do with the attempted cleaning?

Either way great share as I will def share this result with my SA - thx!

 

[NJ-Taycan]

So the cleaning attempt was minor at best. My understanding it was a can of compressed air and that was about it. It’s silence the problem so it identify the fan is the source but was not a permanent solution. I suspect there is a wire or a piece of plastic tag somehow finding its way into the blades.

Sponsored