I noticed a very loud noise coming from in the dash and could hear what sounded like little pieces of plastic/metal bouncing around and falling inside the dash. The noise is definitely from the vent (a/c & heat) fan. The noise stops when I turn off the climate control system. There is also an odor that smells like something odd burning when the fan is on. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what happened?

 

sounds like something crawled into your a.c. system. small creatures tend to crawl into the blower fan and live there. once you turn it on it shreds them up. that could be the sound your hearing and smelling. most of the times its a mouse stuck in there. take it into there dealer. the smell is either the mouse ripped into shreds or mildew and bacteria in your evaporator system located inside your dash. if its still under warranty, i would take it into the dealer because its a pain to work on the evaporator. let me know how it goes!

 

Had the same problem about six months ago. Fan stopped completely then began running with a ticking sound. When it was quiet it wasn't running and a burning insulation smell would come out. I suspected mice because we have had a lot of them this season. Takes a year for the skunks,owls fox, etc. to catch up with them.
Anyway I took it to the dealer last week and it was a bad blower unit. Replaced under warranty, no problem.

 

It was a friggin mouse. Cost me $190 to have the dealer clean it out! A bit of advice: always keep your AC on recirculate when you park.