[Pgerb4486]

Hi, just bought my first subaru and love it! Just a quick question, is it known to have a loud fan for the ac/heat? It just sounds significantly louder than any other car I've ever owned or been in.

 

[Kean]

I noticed recirc / max was relatively loud in my wife's '20 on the higher settings but it works well. .....but yeah, I noticed. The good thing is that its effective so I don't need to keep it on high for very long those times I need it.

 

[RidingWV]

Our '19 is not necessarily loud, but there is a "rustle" that sounds like a small trickling waterfall that is annoying. At first, I thought it might be a piece of plastic film or dry leaves in the ductwork, but I checked when I replaced the pollen filter and it all seemed clean.

 

[WackyDriver]

When it's full blast, yes it's loud. I don't think it's much loader than max setting on other vehicles though.

 

[JohnCNA]

It's loud when it's on the highest fan setting and Recirculate turned on. With Recirculate off it's much quieter. Seems to me about the same as our other cars.

 

[Dogs]

Have you inspected your cabin air filter? Check for any debris, as this may indicate that something (e.g. a leaf), has fallen down into the blower. This can sometimes make the fan sound louder.

 

[FozzieBalou]

When you have the fan on max and recirc, that's the loudest is will be - that's when the fan is working harder to move the air. Turn down one notch and drop recirc and it's much quieter...

The level or perception of noise will really be more dependent on the type of car you came from before buying your Forester. A lot of that will be about the "where" in the car the blower is located (high up behind the dash panel or down low by the floor?) and what type of other "stuff" is there - like insulation or padding or ....? that can also muffle the noise.

 

[Kean]

Have you inspected your cabin air filter? Check for any debris, as this may indicate that something (e.g. a leaf), has fallen down into the blower. This can sometimes make the fan sound louder.

Good point as the OP never revealed how old their Forester is, etc. .....but coming from a new owner of a 2020, the fan is really loud on recirc at the highest settings. More than my wife's old '08 that this replaced and certainly more than my own car and those before it. I was a little surprised to be honest but the good news is that it is also effective so any time spent at those settings is fleeting until the cabin cools.

....and since we garage our vehicles, it means the instances we have to turn it up that high are even less frequent.

 

[neolynne]

I don't care if mine turns out to be loud. I'll just be happy to have heat on my feet and better AC.

 

[FozzieBalou]

Good point as the OP never revealed how old their Forester is, etc. .....but coming from a new owner of a 2020, the fan is really loud on recirc at the highest settings. More than my wife's old '08 that this replaced and certainly more than my own car and those before it. I was a little surprised to be honest but the good news is that it is also effective so any time spent at those settings is fleeting until the cabin cools.

....and since we garage our vehicles, it means the instances we have to turn it up that high are even less frequent.

this made me think just a bit too... given that the 2020 models (and 2019) also have rear seat vents in the console back side, and not just the under-seat vents for heat, this could cause the blower motor to need to be a higher volume fan to get air flow out of those extra vents. And if you use the bi-lev (dash and floor), that's even more air to force out through those - what - 10 vents?

 

[Kean]

I don't care if mine turns out to be loud. I'll just be happy to have heat on my feet and better AC.

It's really just the highest setting(s) on recirculation / max that I've experienced this. It's not what I would consider absolutely horrible and like I said, the A/C is certainly adequate. Even on the hot days we've had here, you don't have to keep it that high unless you're evacuating hot air from the car IMO/IME.