Does anyone ever notice a sort of rattling/gurgling sound when at idle? I think it has something to do with the air conditioner but I'm not sure.

 

Only during the early stages of cold start.

 

Ditto the cold start. It was disconcerting at first.

 

Hi Laura,
There should not be any rattling type sounds at all once the car is warmed up (i.e. after the first two minutes of starting).

 

Could it be described as sort of a knocking sound coming from the passenger side dash? Hit the recirculation button & see if it goes away. Mine has this. I took it to the dealer, but when the mechanic tried to fix it, it stopped doing it. Of course one day after I picked it up, it started again. I think it has something to do with the valve that regulates the flow of fresh air into the cabin.

 

Now that is another sound that I sometimes have as well. Happens only when the car is first started and it sounds like a gentle knocking in the dash at about1 sec intervals....then it goes away. I believe there was a post about some sort of servo causing this...I figure it doesn't seem to cause any problems so I don't worry about it!

Not to get too OT here, but in temps below 30 or 40F, does anyone get a sort of crunching sound associated with turning the steering wheel that resolves once the car is warmed up? It only happens when the car has been sitting out in the cold (like after work in the winter). I'm guessing that there is some steering fluid whose viscosity gets very thick in the cold and then loosens up with warming. Anybody? Anybody? Beuller? Beuller?

 

It's my DD, but I've never driven my car in temperatures that cold.

 

lots of cold start "sounds" are related to the emissions systems struggling to modulate engine parameters to get the cats up to temperature as quickly as possible. cold engine emissions from modern cars are very dirty, hot engine emissions are cleaner then the ambient air in many cities.

 

Hmm, lots of cold start sounds here but mine happen when the car is hot. I hope my Porsche is ok. Now I'm worried. The sound comes on lightly, gets louder and then goes away. The whole event lasts about 10 seconds. I hear it probably thee times per hour of driving.