i have a 98 gs 400 and everytime i turn my car on i hear like a crackling type of noise coming outta the air vents ? what the heck is that/?

Mine sounds like a bubbling sound coming from behind the gauge cluster i needa post a vid of it. But cracking could also kinda describe it for me too..

Mine does it too...I did a search and there are several posts on this...but I have yet to find a clear explanation...maybe you could clean out your vents (?) or replace your AC filter...you could have something living in there

yeah i guess u could say its a bubbling noise too, but its coming from my vents, its kinda irratating =(

no one really knows what this is?

Mine too but my noise is coming from the center vent above the clock,my 6 year old asked me today what the heck it was .

my guess, and it's just a guess it could be the gears inside the servo motors that operate the direction of the air flow...I had the same sound, replaced the servo and it disappeared, part runs about 150...the plastic parts inside the motor get out of line and make a grinding sound. Are any of you experiencing air flow, or A/C Heat issues? Do you hear the sound only on startup or also when you switch airflow?

Clicking o bubbling noise in the dash is one of two things that I have seen. It can be your ac servo motors or your coolant is low. The servo motors will click intermittently any time the key is on. The air in the heater core will bubble when the car is started or reved.

hey guys i might head to the dealer today to ask what the heck that sound is. If i get a solid answer ill repost that here.

its bothering me!

hmmm to me it might be the servo motor...how much is it to replace that ? *labor?

once u find out , let me know on this post ...thanks guys..

i think i have the same noise. i only notice it when i put it in drive and take off. it seems it does not do it while it is in neutral while reving. anyone talking about the same thing? it almost sounds like something wrapped around the drive shaft like a string to me.

Im told its the servo motor by a mechanic at the local lexus dealership here

he says its a normal problem and it doesnt do any harm its just annoying

if ur hearing a bubbling noise coming from behind the dash is that u have air in ur coolant system and that the car is low on coolant. u will need to bleed ur coolant system..if u heard clicking coming from behind ur dash that will be 1 of 3 of the servos that the car carrys 2 on the passsenger side and 1 on the drivers..if u start to hear the clicking u will most like hear it better if u stick ur head under the dash where u put ur feet..

at lexus it would be about a hour labor and it depends on which servo is making noise..there priced differently

good call ima check it out

ok thanks for all the posts guys, ill be sure to get that fixed, it really annoys me HAHAA.......