Cleaning Out HVAC Blower

My hvac fan is making some noise. got 12,000 miles on the truck now. can only here it parked with the music off with the air on low but it sounds like some debris in the fan or something.

had a bunch of debris in the intake vents this spring before i bought a shop vac to suck it all out but imagine some stuff got through.

Anyone know how to clean it out? do i just remove the cabin air filter and clean it out or is it more involved?

 

Some on TW have had cracked blower fans. Since you should be under warranty, take it back to the dealer.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/busted-ac-blower-fan.505647/

 

i'll check it out when i get in there. but it just sounds like some tree crap got in there. very faint noise.

 

If you pull the cabin air filter out you could vacuum out any crud that got past the filter.

 

Once the filter cover door and filter are removed, I have used my phone to take pics from above the fan since it’s difficult to see in there. It’ll help you know if/when you’ve removed all the debris. Good luck.

 

X2 on the warranty or tsb recall rather. Mine stripped out and "walked" off the the bolt that held it in place when the truck was about 5 months old. Toyota paid the dealer to replace the part with a new one and again when an updated part was made.

Best part of it all was that it crapped out during the middle of summer in AZ 110+ and I had to call several dealers just to find one that had the part available. I was about to demand a loaner vehicle and payment assistance for a new truck I couldn't use or trade it in, but it all worked out.

 

If it is tree crap, that's probably not a warranty item.

 

It's easy to drop the fan and take a look. Three small screws/bolts.

 

12k Miles? Warranty issue. Make the dealer deal with it.

 

i'm not too worried. you can get brand new blowers for $60-75

 

cleaned it out and changed the filter today. there were a bunch of leaves in there. the whirring noise seems to be coming from the blower itself. are these supposed to be silent? i can hear it whirring on low. kind of hard to hear unless music is off and you are really listening for it. i just don't want it to fail.

 

guess my next step is removing the blower motor and see if there anything stuck on the bottom end. the plastic cage looked clean from the top but could be hidden stuff stuck on the bottom.

 

Not silent. My 2020 makes noise, like all fans when operating, especially at higher speeds. If you hear clanking or rattling, that’s different. I bet your whirring noise is just the fan doing its job.

 

just sounds like an old electric motor on it's way out. probably some junk stuck in there somewhere

 

Maybe compare with a friend’s or swing by the dealer and compare with another Tacoma or have the service advisor listen to it. Your 2021 is under warranty. Good luck. On an unrelated note, as a history teacher, Manassas is on my bucket list.