[Comeakei]

A loud noise just started in our Ascent after 1000 miles when the drivers side seat ventilation is turned on. It starts the moment you turn on the seat ventilation and lasts up to 5 minutes before it subsides. After 5 mins the noise can be heard but not as pronounced. The noise comes from fan located in the back of the drivers seat.

Anyone else have this issue?
Is there a solution to this problem?

 

[Rgashton]

A loud noise just started in our Ascent after 1000 miles when the drivers side seat ventilation is turned on. It starts the moment you turn on the seat ventilation and lasts up to 5 minutes before it subsides. After 5 mins the noise can be heard but not as pronounced. The noise comes from fan located in the back of the drivers seat.

Anyone else have this issue?
Is there a solution to this problem?

The solution may be that you have to take it to the dealer for a replacement. Plus SoA wants to hear about all these things that are cropping up.

I would imagine those fans are simply pc fans (the type you find in desktop/laptop computers) and it sounds like maybe a bearing or something is messed up. Or dirt got in the perfect place to cause it to make noise. Maybe just needs some grease?

But unfortunately the way everything is built these days (we're in a "disposable" society) that they'll probably just replace rather than repair...

 

[Sparkland]

Or it could be, the fan measures the heat off the seat of your pants and raises the fan speed for more effective cooling. (haha)

 

[Trey T]

If the ventilation design has an objective to delivering a specific mass of air per time (lb/hr), then the sound will be loud when you cover the perforated holes w/ your butt and back. It will be loud be cause the intake velocity will become greater to compensate for the loss intake area. Do some test if anyone know what I'm talking about

so yeah - air delivery is a complicated subject, not something that can be understood over a forum like this.

 

[higherground]

Wife complains they are a little loud. Doesn’t really bother me. We both agree they don’t work that well (compared to other manufacturers) so we rarely use them. I’m guessing as the months, years go by we will forget about them all together.

 

[Kurlanai]

I'm experiencing the exact same problem. 2 month old Ascent (2000 miles). Driver-side ventilation system has an obnoxious 'buzz' that starts immediately after I turn the unit on and subsides after a few minutes. I'm well aware that the ventilators make some normal sound (they're a fan after all), but this sounds more like a bad bearing in the fan motor that's causing the separate buzzing noise and vibrations in the seat-back. The passenger-side unit is fine - it's quiet apart from the expected sound of a fan running.

I'm curious what Subaru did to address your problem? Did they fix/replace it? I took my Ascent to the local dealership, and even though the service adviser sat in the car with me and confirmed he heard the abnormal noise, by the time the technician looked it over the buzzing had stopped. In the end I was told that since the tech couldn't reproduce it, there was nothing they could do. WTF kind of resolution is that. I have a dialogue open with SOA to figure out next steps.

 

[DonSwin]

I had the same problem and took it to the dealer.



The regional tech came and had the rear fan and some parts under the driver seat replaced. There have been others with this issue, but Subaru will fix it.

 

[marktoby]

Anyone has fan layout for size and where ?

 

[MKuch]

I have the exact same problem - only on the drivers side. Since November of 2019, the dealer has replaced the ventilation motor 3 times including this past week and now it is worse than ever. I am waiting for a call back from the dealer but how do I ask for a regional tech to come out?

 

[Percy Garris]

I'll be going in for my third time for the seat fans, they replaced them about 2 months ago, worked great for about a month, and now they're louder than the original ones, and this time it's every time you use them, not just on occasion. Yes, it's a first world problem, but it is very annoying.

 

[packout]

I'll be going in for my third time for the seat fans, they replaced them about 2 months ago, worked great for about a month, and now they're louder than the original ones, and this time it's every time you use them, not just on occasion. Yes, it's a first world problem, but it is very annoying.

just out of curiosity, how is the dealership evaluating the noise level to determine it is too loud? Is there a threshold sone level? Have they stated that this is just the way they all are?
"Cheap fans usually have very fast motors with very small turbines. That means they move a lot of air, but they’re loud. "
If the seat fan is not loose then it probably is an issue of the design as described above. Can they fit a larger fan operating at a slower speed? If not, the dealer may be replacing the fan for as long as the warranty can cover it and then you get cut off.

I also wonder if the noise is due to the channeling of the air as compared to the fan itself. in other words, the more directional changes the louder the air movement, particularly if the channeling includes severe angles. I do not know where the fan is located since I do not have this feature in my Limited.

Is the noise of the air movment type or would you describe it as a card in spokes? Two very different issues.

This three stage option may work if all else fails. Generally multi stage fans are quieter than single stage.

 

[MKuch]

Honestly they have never bothered to listen to the fan when I have brought the car in. It doesn’t always start until after driving for a distance so they just keep replacing the motor. Now they are going to look into the problem a bit deeper and supply me with a loaner car in the meantime.

 

[packout]

Honestly they have never bothered to listen to the fan when I have brought the car in. It doesn’t always start until after driving for a distance so they just keep replacing the motor. Now they are going to look into the problem a bit deeper and supply me with a loaner car in the meantime.

just replacing the motor is a contributing factor in the ever increasing cost of vehicles. lazy mechanic and poor oversight. It was the path of least resistance instead of determining what the problem was. Now ultimately it will cost Subaru more to repair which is recovered in the price of the vehicles. In addition it creates havoc in the feedback loop that Subaru relies upon in its quality control and design processes.

As I noted in the previous post, the noise may have been a loose shaft or fan base. If that were the case, replacing the motor would have solved nothing and only wasted your time and Subaru's money.

 

[MKuch]

just replacing the motor is a contributing factor in the ever increasing cost of vehicles. lazy mechanic and poor oversight. It was the path of least resistance instead of determining what the problem was. Now ultimately it will cost Subaru more to repair which is recovered in the price of the vehicles. In addition it creates havoc in the feedback loop that Subaru relies upon in its quality control and design processes.

As I noted in the previous post, the noise may have been a loose shaft or fan base. If that were the case, replacing the motor would have solved nothing and only wasted your time and Subaru's money.

They have said the seat fans are new to the 2019 so they haven’t dealt with them before so they are learning as they go. They are going to keep my car now and research the issue, finally.

 

[Percy Garris]

just out of curiosity, how is the dealership evaluating the noise level to determine it is too loud? Is there a threshold sone level? Have they stated that this is just the way they all are?
"Cheap fans usually have very fast motors with very small turbines. That means they move a lot of air, but they’re loud. "
If the seat fan is not loose then it probably is an issue of the design as described above. Can they fit a larger fan operating at a slower speed? If not, the dealer may be replacing the fan for as long as the warranty can cover it and then you get cut off.

I also wonder if the noise is due to the channeling of the air as compared to the fan itself. in other words, the more directional changes the louder the air movement, particularly if the channeling includes severe angles. I do not know where the fan is located since I do not have this feature in my Limited.

Is the noise of the air movment type or would you describe it as a card in spokes? Two very different issues.

This three stage option may work if all else fails. Generally multi stage fans are quieter than single stage.
[/QUOTE]
The dealership took two new Touring models and compared the noise side by side, which is a fair assessment (provided those vehicles do not exhibit the same issue). The sound is now more of a struggling fan sound, whereas in the past it was a combination of card in the spoke and a struggling fan ( whirring) sound.
The sound surprised me, as the ventilated seats work better now than with the old fans, so it doesn't seem like they're having any issue moving air.

I've had ventilated seats in every car I've owned in the past 15 years (Save for the Corvette), and none have been intrusive in terms of noise. The vented seats in the Ascent on low, are far louder than any of my other cars on high, even when the fans were not making the excessive noise they make now.

It's a nice car, but I'm constantly having issues ( fortunately none so serious to have rendered the car inoperable) with it and the dealership. I'm just glad that I'm in the minority.

Anyone who's been on the forum for the past year, knows I went through my dislike stage for a while when I was having a ton of issues with the car, then I came around toward the beginning of this year, but now I'm falling off the wagon again.
Hopefully the Hyundai dealership next door will have a Palisade that I can try, since I missed the opportunity last time. The Hyundai salesperson did casually mention selling at MSRP and offering over book on the trade, so I may consider that if I really like it, and I'll bring my anti-garlic spray for the test drive!! ...a few weeks ago someone here asked me to report back when I do drive it, and I will post it if I get the chance to drive one.

 

[packout]

[/QUOTE]
The dealership took two new Touring models and compared the noise side by side, which is a fair assessment (provided those vehicles do not exhibit the same issue). The sound is now more of a struggling fan sound, whereas in the past it was a combination of card in the spoke and a struggling fan ( whirring) sound.
The sound surprised me, as the ventilated seats work better now than with the old fans, so it doesn't seem like they're having any issue moving air.

I've had ventilated seats in every car I've owned in the past 15 years (Save for the Corvette), and none have been intrusive in terms of noise. The vented seats in the Ascent on low, are far louder than any of my other cars on high, even when the fans were not making the excessive noise they make now.

It's a nice car, but I'm constantly having issues ( fortunately none so serious to have rendered the car inoperable) with it and the dealership. I'm just glad that I'm in the minority.

Anyone who's been on the forum for the past year, knows I went through my dislike stage for a while when I was having a ton of issues with the car, then I came around toward the beginning of this year, but now I'm falling off the wagon again.
Hopefully the Hyundai dealership next door will have a Palisade that I can try, since I missed the opportunity last time. The Hyundai salesperson did casually mention selling at MSRP and offering over book on the trade, so I may consider that if I really like it, and I'll bring my anti-garlic spray for the test drive!! ...a few weeks ago someone here asked me to report back when I do drive it, and I will post it if I get the chance to drive one.
[/QUOTE]

1. it might be a fan shaft issue. unbalanced blades Unbalanced too much would result in the card affect.
2. Too much friction could also be the result of not having sufficient clearance around the fan blades to the housing.
3. Could be not turning freely due to bad bearings.
4. It could also be that the shaft is loose from its connection to the motor. That would result in the shaft spin not corresponding directly to the motor spin (struggling / slipping?).

 

[Sparkland]

Just drive the KIA Telluride, no garlic smell. On a side note, it seems many car companies are renaming their "Black Edition" to "Night Shadow" for obvious reasons.

 

[Percy Garris]

Is there a way to upload a small video ( 4.5 mb) file. The forum doesn't like MP4 and I wanted to put a video up of how loud the vented seats are, just to make sure I'm not being unreasonable about the noise the seats are making.. I did look at the forum instructions and it appears that you can only link to a website for a video If I read it correctly.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

With most forum sites, you have to park the video on YouTube or a small list of other hosts in order to display the video in a forum post directly. With YouTube, you can mark it so that it will only play on a provided link...it doesn't have to show visibly on your account to strangers. Forums are like this largely because of the typical file sizes that are the nature of videos more than just a few seconds.

 

[Percy Garris]

Thank you, when I'm not on this forum, I like to stick to either mining, or other outdoor activities, not surfing YouTube ( I don't even have an account) so I'll skip the video.

Thank you for letting me know!!

Car goes in this Tuesday for vented seats noise, and drivers window not rolling up properly.