I heard an unusual buzzing noise on the rear passenger side of 2010. My first thought was that it might be related to the battery that is located around that part of the vehicle. The buzzing continued for 3 hours until... I decided to start the car and turn it off in hopes of stopping the noise. It turns out the buzzing noise stopped. Has anyone else experienced this same issue and is that noise normal?
Was the buzzing happening when the car was in 'Ready' mode or was it switched off? Was it a hot day or had you been driving the car in hard conditions? It sounds like the battery fan to me which comes on if the battery gets hot. Was someone sitting in the back blocking the battery vent?
Yeah, sometimes a small piece of crud gets sucked into the battery fan and can make noises when it runs. I'd open up the ducting and inspect it (not hard), if it sounds like a noise other than just a fan. (it should sound similar to the A/C fan at various speeds, only an "air rushing" kind of noise)
My girlfriend was sitting where the air duct is located on the way home yesterday approx 30 mile trip and 58 degrees outside. I asked her if she blocked that air duct but she did not remember. I suppose she was blocking it because assuming it was the fan it was running for 3 hours. I have inspected the air duct with no objects obstructing the flow. Thank you for the reply. very helpful.
If the duct was blocked it might have triggered the fan to run faster trying in vain to get more air. If it was just the normal fan noise it shoudn't "buzz" regardless of speed. If it was a rushing/whoosing noise, that's probably fine. Keep an "ear" on it, if it does ever buzz, I'd recommend taking it apart to look for some foreign object trapped in the fan housing.
