Odd sound under the hood of M45

[MOWellsinVA]

I noticed an odd, intermittent rattling sound under the hood, seems to be coming from the plastic box on the passenger side front next to the windshield washer tank. I have no idea what this part does, but I have never heard it make this odd noise before. Any idea what this means?

http://youtu.be/2GUweY0GgxY

Hope this video link works . . .

[cji4130]

my M does this as well, i believe that sound is from the motor in the headlight, i dunno if it means anything but mine both work perfectly.

[Lazlow115]

It sounds to me like the motor inside your headlight. I had a similar noise and found it more prevalent in cold weather. I noticed in the video that you headlights were on, which is when the which is when the headlight AFS engages. With the headlights on, turn the AFS dash switch off and see if the noise goes away. If the noise goes away, very likely the motor in the headlights.
Dealer explained to me that the gears in the headlight motor are plastic and wear faster than a metal gear.

[MOWellsinVA]

Good point. I'll check it with the auto-aiming off.

[Partysan7]

Yup headlight I have the same issue on my drivers side headlight and also mine makes this noise when headlights off or afs off its like the motor tries to adjust itself but cant. Any fix for this besides replacing the whole assembly ?

[MOWellsinVA]

Since my M45 is still under the Elite extended warranty, I'm going to talk with my Infiniti dealer about replacing the AFS unit, which, I understand from some of the other threads, means a whole new headlight assembly. If it is getting that noisy now, I would expect it to fail in the near future.