jbeditor

My 2001 CLK 55 has an issue when I have the fan on, with or without the AC. It makes a whistling sound for a few seconds while driving at speeds around 40-45 mph, sometimes even at higher speeds. My mechanic says he used a stethoscope to isolate it and he believes it's near the drivers side beneath the dash. Any suggestions as to what this might be?

efivefiveamg

haha my car has been at the dealership all week for this same damn thing! they can't replicate it, surprise, surprise. i don't check this forum ever so if they find something I'll PM and I'd appreciate it if you do the same! gluck.

jbeditor

My noise occurs EVERY time I drive the car, so replication isn't a problem. BTW, my mechanic thinks he found the problem: He said it's the "vacuum element" and it somehow monitors the flow of air, diverting cold air for the AC or hot air for the heater depending on where you have your temperature controls set. There is one for either side of your car (the DS and PS) and they are about $73 each. Labor would be approx. $102. Supposedly they need to be changed every so often. My car is a 2001 and I haven't had this issue until now (125K miles), so I guess I just need to suck it up and pay to get rid of this awful noise. I probably will be suffering with this awhile longer before I have the extra $ to do this, but will post with results either way. Pass along this info to your dealer and let me know what they say also.

Rashman

Hey guys,

You may have some debris in the vent system.
Like a small leaf or something.

My brothers' car had that, so I would whack the vents up high, and then shut them off, then up high again etc...

This seemed to dislodge whatever was causing it.
Or at least moved it into a new position.

Noise stopped.

Not saying that this is what is causing your problems, but maybe give it a go and see what happens.

jbeditor

It was the vacuum element on the left hand side. Had it replaced and no more whistling noise!