Maybe pull out the filter for a while and see if it's a vibration related to the filter itself.

 

Thanks. I did do that. I even put the old filter back in and the hum is still there.
It's not a buzz but a hum just like if you hum "Hummmmmmmm" and varies with fan speed. It is rather annoying.
J

 

try take out the motor and chk if anything go in there.... I once have that kind of sound in a Ford focus (no filter) and found a dried mice there...:wtf:

 

The JTeam changed the oil on a customer's car when she was out of town, and showed her how dirty her CAF was. She declined the repair, and ever since then the blower makes noise. I pulled the CAF out (it was dirty) and found a bunch of acorns in the blower squirrel cage. If there is a significant accumulation of debris on the top of the CAF, then when the filter is removed, this debris will fall down into the blower motor squirrel cage.

You will either need to reach in and vacuum out the squirrel cage, or remove the blower motor and clean it that way. Continued operation will destroy the bearings in the blower motor by the imbalance and the dirty air caused by the debris getting into the bearings.

 

Thanks bu that is probably beyond my mechanical ability.

 

What can happen is if there's even a small leaf laying on top of the dirty filter is when you pull out the dirty filter you knock the leaf off the top of the filter and it then falls down into the blower motor squirrel cage. Even a 1.25" long leaf 3/4" wide will make a sound (I had one last year). You may be able to add about a 18" piece of 1/2" tubing to a vacuum cleaner/shopvac and stick it down in the filter opening and get it that way, or disconnect the blower motor wiring connector and remove the 3 screws that hold the blower motor & wheel.

 

This has happened to me in my wife's Highlander. A leaf which was laying on top of the filter fell into the fan rotor when I was changing the cabin filter. I didn't realize it until after putting a new filter in, when the noise and vibration were evident. It was easy to remove the leaf though the filter opening. Just remove the new filter, stick your finger through the opening, rotate the fan by hand until you find the offending object and pull it out. Make sure that the key is out of ignition to prevent the fan from starting. If your hand / fingers are too big, ask somebody with a smaller hand (wife, kid) to help you.

 

THANK YOU.
This is EXACTLY what happened and I was able to get my fingers in and found the two leafs that had fallen off the old filter.
I removed the leafs and no humming.
J

 

I think I will borrow one of these to see what is in the squirrel cage.
http://amzn.to/1q5vEWJ
I will report back.
Thanks all.
J

 

Blower fan noise - roaring sound

Cabin filter was inspected which resulted in blower fan making a roaring noise. The higher the fan speed, the roaring noise increased.
The cause of the roaring noise was due to a leaf that fell into the grills of the fan.
This is a common issue due to no protection screen in between the filter and the hole of where the blower sits.
I had to remove the blower fan to remove the leaf. Removal of the blower fan was not difficult (3 bolts, 10 mm). Tooke me 20 minutes to do.

 

I may need to check this out too because I have had this noise for awhile as well. It was louder at a time and was going to take it in since I still have an extended warranty but then the noise decreased so I thought they will either say they can't hear it or nothing is wrong and charge me. I have replaced the filter but we didn't notice the noise until winter for some reason when the heat was using the floor setting.

 

Debris on the filter which can fall into the fan is a common issue and has been discussed before. Check out this post for my solution.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...om/forum/152-venza-forum/359615-rodent-patrol-against-damage-3.html#post5052178