Any idea what this could be? it is very intermittent, but is loud almost like a cell phone on vibrate mode is lodged in there behind the air bag or something.
its got something to do with the fans.
it goes away when i shut off the AC/climate control
Its a 2002 SE w/44k miles

yeah that noise is normal I've been told. I think it has to do with the belts?

Mine does the same thing once in a while. There was once that was real loud but it went away. I would only be annoyed by it if it stayed with that loud noise.

Let it ride...

Bearings in the fan motor are going out. I went through the same thing. Bear it out until it gets warmer and it'll go away. Mine got so bad, however, that I changed the fan. If you buy new, you're looking at around 250-300 bucks. I got mine "used" at a junk yard for 65 bones.

you have specifics, as to which fan to get if I go to the junkyard? whats it look like, where i ca access it? You think putting some oil on the fan itself might help? Is this the fan that contols the airflow on that side of the car? did you install it yourself?
sry for hte questions, I kinda hate having a problem after only a few hours with the car.

The 2k2 and 2k3's have the same fan, but the plugs are positioned differently (same plug), so you may have to do a little wiggle work to get it to fit. The fan is behind the glove box. You basically remove the glove box by taking out the screws holding the stationary latch, the two directly to the right and left of the latch, and the two down at the bottom corners (access while the box is closed). Once you have it out, behind you will see a fan motor with a triangular shaped mounting plate that has 3 screws. You first need to remove the wiring harness, then the bearing vent tube (you'll see what it is, trust me), then the three screws. The fall falls out at that point. While you're at it, get a filter for the cabin air and change it at the same time (it's right there too, just to the left of the fan). The whole deal should take no more than 20 minutes if you know how to use a phillips head screwdriver.

thanks gbauer,

for the time being until i get the part, is there anything i can do to keep it from happening? just leave the top fans off?