I have a 2003 STS and have noticed on the past few mornings since is has turned cold that when I start the car I can hear what sounds like a small motor or gears turning or grindingin my dash towards the left hand corner. You cannot hear it from the exterior of the vehicle. It is not consistant as is seems to turn the gears slower, then faster, stopping, whinds down and up. It will quit after a minute or two. The radio and HVAC is off. Anyone have any idea what it may be and how to fix. THANKS!

 

In the general tech area a few of us have the same problem, it seems its the inside air temp sensor. Or so i have been told. I am going to attemp to get to mine this weekend. it sounds like its way up in dash so its not going ot be fun to get too. Look for the "buzzing in dash" thread.

 

Thanks for your reply, let me know what you find.

 

Put your ear next to the little bittie grille below and left of the steering wheel. I bet the noise is coming from there and yes, it's the interior temperature sensor. It has a tiny motor driving a fanvery similar to cooling fans used in computer equipment. If you're patient, you can replace yourself but be forwarned that it can be very frustrating as access is a PITA. Shortly, the fan will stop working altogether and the climate control will not maintain temperature properlyin mine it would undershoot freezing my feet in slightly cold weather then roasting them when I turned it up, then shortly return to freezing them.

 

IF you go to the general tech section here there is a thread on Buzzing dash, I just replaced it this weekend. Its not as bad as I expected, but I guess it depends on how you value your time (oh, and how big your hands are). took me about 30 minutes, start to finish, i just oiled mine. I described how I did it in that thread (there are also other threads here and on other fourms that are much more detailed). I figure for 30 minutes it was worth it .. i would suspect dealer would be $60-100 (or more)and the price of part.. small change to some, but not to me.

 

Thanks for the info. My STS is still under warranty, so I think I will let my dealer take care of it and drive a new STS for a day.

 

ah, yes I would let dealer do it to then as for driving a new one, If i did that I would just want one, not sure it would be a good idea (at least fo me). not that I dont like mine, but the new ones sure do look nice.

 

I drove a new 08 STS on my last service, and I loved the heated and cooled seats, rear drive handling, and of course that new Cadillac smell. But I prefer my 03 body style inside and out. the 08 looks too much like a CTS, seems smaller,cheap guages, and has way too much cheap plastic parts in the interior (really hated the interior look and feel). I just need to find away to put the cooled seats and rear driving dynamics in my 03 and it would be nearly perfect.

 

Rather doubt you could add cooled seats without extraordinary expense-if at all, but here's a simple suggestion. Try good tailored sheepskin seat covers. They're very cool in the summer (I live in SE Missouri with wicked summer heat and humidity) don't get terribly cold feeling in the winter and don't slow response from the heated seats too terribly. If interested, try Rocky Mountain Sheepskin. Their covers fit perfectly (including the seat controls), don't affect operation of the side air bags and install/remove fairly easily despite the complexity of the seat. For somewhat less than a thousand, you can cover both front seats, get tailored headrest covers and a tailored console cover. The console cover they first sent me didn't fit properly so I sent them an extra console cover and they made one that's perfect and will now have the proper pattern. Know it's a matter of personal preference, but I can't stand leather or vinyl in the summertime (or non-heated in the winter) and have covered everyvehicle I've owned with such seats with sheepskin.