Lexus SC430 :: 2003 - Air / Blower Running More Frequently Than Usual
Mar 10, 2016
2003 with about 140k miles, radiator was replaced a couple years back, recently replaced timing belt (#2) and some valve cover gaskets in advance of a road trip.
On the road trip, used no cooling air, occasionally used heat at night with the roof down. At one point, I thought I heard my engine louder than normal, but decided it was actually machinery nearby.
The next morning, after only about 1 hour of leisurely driving through a civil war park for about an hour, I confirmed that in fact it was my vehicle making the noise.
It was fairly frequent, and basically sounds and feels (hand on air filter) like the blower kicking on, as if to cool the car off.
But the air temp was cool, the car temp was solid and cool, so there wasn't a good reason for this to be happening.
Because I had just had the timing belt & such done, I stopped at a dealer. The engine light came on as I pulled in.
They indicated that they saw a MAF sensor failure, and that while it needed to be replaced, it wasn't a problem to finish my road trip. They indicated the check engine light was related and also ok to drive with. They then lost a lot of credibility when they tried to ask me if perhaps the AM radio was the noise I was hearing...
Despite that, I continued on (had to be somewhere and they said it was ok to drive). The engine light actually went off the next time I filled up, so I decided perhaps that was actually a gas cap pressure issue (saw that once before in my ~6 years of driving the car).
Back at my home Toyota shop, they confirmed the MAF replacement need, and have also suggested spark plugs (fair enough).
But re: the air, they don't believe it sounds 'wrong'. I agree with that- it sounds 'right', as in when the blower kicks on, and I vaguely recall that it was something I heard back when my radiator actually rusted out / failed.
My issue is that it seems to be happening MUCH more frequently than normal.
So while I don't recall hearing it at all over the past couple years or only on very rare occasions under load, or when the radiator failed, it seems to be almost routine now, where at a given stop light (even in just a few miles of driving in town at low speeds), I'll hear the extra noise.
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