Odd A/C Noises

ingyaningya · Aug 23, 2018

Hello all,

My '07 Prius just loves giving me little quirks to deal with haha. There is this very odd noise that sounds like it is originating from the air conditioner vents / dashboard area, and the best way I can describe the noise is a mixture of gurgling and the click a typewriter key makes when it strikes the page. I recently took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the coolant and replaced the thermostat, stating that error codes appeared, but no codes relating to this odd noise apparently (this noise was being made both before and after my trip to the dealers).

This noise drives me crazy, anyone got a clue what this is? xD
My main fear is always that this is something bad, but if it's just a harmless quirk, then I suppose I can live with it, as I don't wish to pay anymore money (just had to fork over $4,000+ to replace my hybrid battery and brake actuator )

dolj · Aug 23, 2018

ingyaningya said: ↑

(just had to fork over $4,000+ to replace my hybrid battery and brake actuator )
Click to expand...

Ouch, sorry to hear that, I feel your pain.

ingyaningya said: ↑

I can describe the noise is a mixture of gurgling and the click a typewriter key makes when it strikes the page. I recently took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the coolant and replaced the thermostat, stating that error codes appeared, but no codes relating to this odd noise apparently
Click to expand...

So to clarify, as I'm not sure if I understand you correctly, are you saying there was this noise and you took the car to the dealer and they read the codes which led them to replace the coolant and thermostat?

Or you had codes read by the dealer and this led them replace the coolant and thermostat and now there is this noise?

Can you also clarify, are these two distinct noises, a clicking and a gurgling? Eminating from the same or different locations? Or is the sound a single clicking/gurgling sound?

Sorry for all the questions, but want to give you my best opinion without a longwinded multi if-then post.

ingyaningya · Aug 23, 2018

dolj said: ↑

Ouch, sorry to hear that, I feel your pain.

So to clarify, as I'm not sure if I understand you correctly, are you saying there was this noise and you took the car to the dealer and they read the codes which led them to replace the coolant and thermostat?

Or you had codes read by the dealer and this led them replace the coolant and thermostat and now there is this noise?

Can you also clarify, are these two distinct noises, a clicking and a gurgling? Eminating from the same or different locations? Or is the sound a single clicking/gurgling sound?

Sorry for all the questions, but want to give you my best opinion without a longwinded multi if-then post.
Click to expand...

Hello, thanks for getting back to me! Let me clarify: it is one distinct sound. It sounds like liquid gurgling, and I referred to it as 'clicking' because the gurgling sound is intermittent and constantly happening while the a/c is on, and sometimes while the a/c is off as well. This noise had been going on ignored for a little while, and I'll retrace my steps at the dealer for you:

1) I went to the dealer because my hybrid battery died
2) They ran codes, and along with the battery and actuator, a/c codes came up as well
3) As per the codes, they replaced the coolant and thermostat

Since error codes came up for the a/c, I thought their repairs would fix this annoying noise as well, but yet it persists.

dolj · Aug 23, 2018

Ok, that is what I was thinking, but just wasn't clear.

You have air in the cooling system.

This can be verified by opening the radiator cap (you will need to remove the black plastic cover as the filler cap is under this), when the car has been off for several hours and is cool. The coolant level, which should be pink in color, should be right to the top of the filler neck. If it isn't then it needs topping up.

You have two options, depending on your inclination for one over the other.

1) Take it back to the dealer and tell them you have signs that you have air in the cooling system and ask then as a follow up to the job to top it off and bleed out the air. This should be complementary as the job has not been done correctly, although not necessarily the shop's fault. It is quite difficult to bleed the coolant loop. Get them to give you maybe 1/2 qt of SLLC coolant to take home.

2) Buy a 1 qt container of Toyota SLLC coolant and finish 'burping' the coolant loop yourself. Not necessarily something you want to do, if you are not comfortable working on cars.

In either case, you need to check the radiator filler neck daily and top up as required until such time as the neck remains full right to the top for 2 or 3 successive days. When the radiator is at this stage, check the overflow reservoir, which is the white container behind and towards the center of the radiator. This should be filled to no more than the line marked full or F

I'd add another couple of ozs to what is shown in this picture. This view is from the RH fender looking across to the left. Notice the white overflow reservoir and (black) cap beyond the radiator filler neck. The silver cap, towards the front, is the radiator cap.

Hope that helps.

ingyaningya · Aug 23, 2018

dolj said: ↑

Ok, that is what I was thinking, but just wasn't clear.

You have air in the cooling system.

This can be verified by opening the radiator cap (you will need to remove the black plastic cover as the filler cap is under this), when the car has been off for several hours and is cool. The coolant level, which should be pink in color, should be right to the top of the filler neck. If it isn't then it needs topping up.

You have two options, depending on your inclination for one over the other.

1) Take it back to the dealer and tell them you have signs that you have air in the cooling system and ask then as a follow up to the job to top it off and bleed out the air. This should be complementary as the job has not been done correctly, although not necessarily the shop's fault. It is quite difficult to bleed the coolant loop. Get them to give you maybe 1/2 qt of SLLC coolant to take home.

2) Buy a 1 qt container of Toyota SLLC coolant and finish 'burping' the coolant loop yourself. Not necessarily something you want to do, if you are not comfortable working on cars.

In either case, you need to check the radiator filler cap and top as required until such time as the neck remains full right to the top for 2 or 3 successive days. When the radiator is at this stage, check the overflow reservoir, which is the white container behind and towards the center of the radiator. This should be filled to no more than the line marked full or F

View attachment 156356
I'd add another couple of ozs to what is shown in this picture. This view is from the RH fender looking across to the left. Notice the white overflow reservoir and (black) cap beyond the radiator filler neck. The silver cap, towards the front, is the radiator cap.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the amount detail you put into this response. You hit the nail on the head, I love cars but I am completely out of my element trying to work on them lol. I'll do what you advised and go back to the shop, explaining to them that there is air in cooling system (hopefully they won't give me any problems and that it will indeed be complimentary). Just so I'm prepared when I go to the dealer, while I'm describing the situation to them, what exactly do I show them for proof of the air in the system? There's the sound itself, and the coolant level (from what I'm understanding from your posting?)

I apologize for all the questions, but you're helping me a lot! I'll check the actual fluid level in the morning once my car has had a chance to cool down.

dolj · Aug 23, 2018

If you can demonstrate the sound, if they are worth their salt, they should immediately know that means there is air in the system.

I hate it when you have to teach the 'professionals' their job. But then again, you guys have to deal with service advisors who know nothing about servicing cars, but everything about sales targets and up selling.

ingyaningya · Aug 23, 2018

dolj said: ↑

If you can demonstrate the sound, if they are worth their salt, they should immediately know that means there is air in the system.

I hate it when you have to teach the 'professionals' their job. But then again, you guys have to deal with service advisors who know nothing about servicing cars, but everything about sales targets and up selling.
Click to expand...

And that unfortunately what I have to deal with at my local Toyota dealership, especially since I live in Miami - there's always a language barrier between myself and the reps because hardly anyone there speaks English haha

But hopefully all will go well and they can fix this for me, thanks again for your assistance! (P.S. just out of curiosity, is air in the cooling system anything that can damage it over time? Just wondering in order to create a sense of urgency in my head lol)

dolj · Aug 23, 2018

I wouldn't wait around, especially as you want them do it as a courtesy to complete the job.

It would depend how much air was in there, but to really know you would need to monitor the coolant temperature. Personally, I wouldn't chance it. If it all goes wrong, then you would have to deal with them and get them to acknowledge it was their fault and you can just imagine the fallout from that.

ChapmanF · Aug 24, 2018

Before you fully commit to the air-in-coolant hypothesis, you might also want to check this post, which includes a short video demonstrating such a typewriter-clicky sound and what makes it.

PriusChat doesn't allow directly attaching a video, so I zipped it. It unzips to a .webm file that most things can play.

The fix is very simple and cheap, if you compare the noise and think that might be the issue.

-Chap

ingyaningya · Aug 27, 2018

dolj said: ↑

If you can demonstrate the sound, if they are worth their salt, they should immediately know that means there is air in the system.

I hate it when you have to teach the 'professionals' their job. But then again, you guys have to deal with service advisors who know nothing about servicing cars, but everything about sales targets and up selling.
Click to expand...

just wanted to write in an update. I went to the Toyota dealership for them to check out the air conditioning noise, and of course with my luck, the air conditioning system refused to make the sound. Therefore, they would not take my vehicle in or do any work to it.

As of today, it is still making the noise, and something I have noticed is that it will continue to make the same sound continuously even when the AC is off. Regarding the video that ChapmanF referred me to, the audio from that video is too muffled for me to be certain that it is the same noise I am experiencing. Would air in the cooling system continue to make the noise even when the air conditioning is off? If not, it might be the sound coming from the mechanism described in the video.

Thoughts or suggestions? I’m at a stalemate with the dealer...

Odd A/C Noises

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ChapmanF Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

About PriusChat

Quick Navigation

Like us on Facebook

Buy us a beer!

Useful Searches

Odd A/C Noises

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member

dolj Senior Member

ChapmanF Senior Member

ingyaningya Junior Member