Dash and air vent noises? (One like a "cd loading") - '08 Rio

aka347

Some noises I noticed recently...

1. When the heat is on and the air blowing out of the vents... the noise of the air flow will suddenly stop. I can still feel the hot air blowing out, it's just the actual sound that seems to stop
It only lasts a few seconds and then continues like normal. This happens regularly but very sporadically, sometimes it could be 10 minutes of driving and nothing, or happen twice in a row.

2. More importantly!
I tried listening for any noise when hot air is not blowing. Now I sporadically hear (at about the same rate) this "er er er" sound that literally sounds like when you put a cd/dvd into your laptop and it is reading the information to load it. Only a few seconds, then normal.
It does not seem to matter if I am idling, accelerating, etc.

I said dash noises for title because the second one sounds more like it's coming from the dash than the engine (probably).
Not sure if it could be a motor somewhere. I also just noticed recently (so many noises!) that when my wiper blades are on they make a pretty loud motor noise going back and forth. I think that's new-ish.

Heeeelp!

Mr_Shiftright

Just a guess but it sounds like the Intake Actuator, which controls air between outside and recirculation modes. If it is that, in fact, and it is operating irregularly, one might suspect that it is getting erratic signals from the HVAC control module, or maybe the defect is in the actuator itself. One test might be to disconnect the connector from the actuator and then apply 12V to terminal 1 and ground number 2---then do the reverse. The actuator should switch from fresh air to recirc.