Air conditioning noise

[EricC]

Has anyone else noticed a very loud hum when using your air conditioner? I am assuming it is the compressor running but it can easily be heard a good 5-10 feet from the car. It is coming from the far left side of the engine compartment when facing the car and even causes a slight but noticeable vibration in the car. It will start almost as soon as you turn on the A/C and then gets louder until it is just down right irritating. After 10-15 minutes of running then it will shut off, but starts right up again if you turn off the system.

This is my first prius and I am not sure if this is normal or not. I took it in and a couple techs listened to it, but of course it was much better behaved around them. They set up an appointment for one of the prius techs to look it over but admitted they had yet to work on any 2010s. I'm just worried that they will come back and say it is nothing and then down the road I'll end up with a bigger problem.

Thanks!

[patsparks]

Is it fan noise?

[EricC]

It could be, but when you open the hood I can't see anything that looks like a fan running in that section of the engine compartment. I did notice that it will start off high pitched and then after a few minutes will drop down a bit, but it seems to go up and down while running.

[HTMLSpinnr]

That would be your electric AC compressor. It is variable speed depending on AC load.

I consider it (and the radiator fans) my "noise maker" in the hotter season in AZ.

[Husker4theSpurs]

It's the ionizer or something like that ... coming from the driver's side vent, correct?

[EricC]

Originally Posted by HTMLSpinnr

That would be your electric AC compressor. It is variable speed depending on AC load.

I consider it (and the radiator fans) my "noise maker" in the hotter season in AZ.

I know it's hard to say without hearing it, but is your compressor loud enough to be heard over the gas engine and 10 feet from the car? My salesman, who sells tons of prius, listened to it and said he had never heard one make that loud a noise. I just want to make sure I'm not making a big deal over something that is normal.

Thanks!

[HTMLSpinnr]

The Gen III compressor (when not in eco mode) spins faster than the Gen II. I can hear it over the engine, but it's not extraordinarily louder. See if you can start another car @ the dealer to compare the two.

[DCRC]

Ours is real noisy as well. You can turn the A/C off and it goes away. Has kind of a metallic air plane sound.

[12parsecs]

Its definitely the compressor, mine makes the loud metallic buzzing noise too when the AC is on. Didn't realize how loud it was from the outside when its on full blast until earlier today.

The fan makes more of a "whooshing" sound.

[EricC]

Just thought I would give an update. They looked it over and did confirm that the A/C compressor is bad. He said that it would probably have worked fine, but just been louder than normal. They had to order a new one and it should be all fixed by the middle of next week.