2022 Kia Soul blower noise

[PWMDMD]

My 2022 Kia Soul spends most of its time with my oldest at school. I changed the oil today (50k miles) and replaced the cabin filter. The cabin filter has 4 or 5 acorns on it and one fell down into the blower. I can feel that there are two fans inside the blower and they both seem to move freely. I do not hear anything rattling around in there. When I turned the car on the blower motor has a rumble/buzz that gets significant worse when you turn the blower speed up. I still do not hear anything rattling around in there. I went on the inter web and it said things falling into the blower can cause that noise I'm hearing or it could be the bearing. I asked the kid who drives it most if he noticed any weird sounds and he said no.

I can find a bunch videos online about removing the previous generation blower but I can't find any for the current generation which I think is significantly easier because the blower is just behind the glovebox. Does anyone know if this is an easy thing to get to? I just want to get the blower out and visually inspect it.

 

[mk378]

Yes just unplug the plug, remove screws (probably 3) and drop it out.

You could also try reaching in through the CAF slot with a vacuum cleaner hose to get that acorn out.

 

[Rand]

its pretty easy except for standing on your head.

the standard 1 wiring plug that you pinch a tab to release and 3 screws
I used a small vice grips on mine carefully as it was very stuck

IIRC a 2022 should be under the glove-box, not above the brake pedal like older models.

The vacuum idea I dont think any of mine would fit through the slot where the cabin air filter is.
but maybe if you have an attachment it might be possible to try.

I just had to do this on the 2020 elantra for a leaf that fell off the cabin air filter when I was checking it for mice after it was parked
for a few weeks.. in a known mice area.

 

[The Critic]

$20 to alldatadiy will get you the factory service information for 30 days.

 

[GSCJR]

Yes just unplug the plug, remove screws (probably 3) and drop it out.

+1

 

[pbm]

A few years ago I drove to Florida in December and parked our Ford Escape and used our Corolla (condo car which had sat for months) for a few days. When I started the Escape after it had sat for about 4 or 5 days the blower was making noise which got louder with every increase in fan speed. It was difficult to access the blower but when I did it was full of the insulation which had been removed from the wheel wells. Palm rats* had made a nest in the blower using my Escape's own insulation which caused the noise. I'm not saying that's what caused your noise but it's a possibility that something is in your blower.

*Palm rats are rats that live in palm trees and look for heat when cooler weather hits....they aren't nearly as big as the NYC subway rats that I've often seen but they are still rats. I was lucky that my Escape's 'damage' was fixable by me....not everyone was so lucky. A neighbor had to have their BMW flat bedded to the dealer for electrical issues caused by palm rats eating through her wiring. Others had similar damage. I started leaving peppermint infused material under the hood of my Corolla and had no further issues.

IDK about BMW but manufacturers who used 'soy' in their wiring mustn't have thought that it would attract rodents.

 

[PWMDMD]

Thanks everyone.

 

[PWMDMD]

Kudos to Kia for making this process as easy as possible - just remove the glovebox , 3 screws, an electrical connector and it drops right down. Think I found the problem! Thanks for everyone's help!