AC compressor tweet

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

When the AC is on the AC compressor kicking on is normal but mine tend to kick on very often under load condition. When the engine is cold the compressor kicks on every 3 – 8 seconds, after the engine warmed up it kicks in every 15 to 30 seconds, finally when outside temperature is over 100 degrees and the engine is warmed up it kicks every once in a while (like how most cars are). When it does kick on under load condition it makes this tweet sound (like smoke alarm low on battery) and a slight hesitation in power delivery. Do you guys have this same noise under driving condition?

We commented in a thread about this a while back. I was under the impression that it was the DI that was making that squeak the whole time. It drives me crazy, and my girlfriend is shocked I can even hear it.

More AC fun.....

I don't think the idle dip is completely unrelated to the AC, It happens the vast majority of the time when my AC is on. Get your car good and warmed up (a 20 minute freeway drive will make it happen every time), then pull into a gas station or parking lot, and let your car idle. You should begin to see the idle dip if your AC is on.

If you turn your AC off it will change idle rpm and the dip will go away. Turn the AC back on, Your car will rev up to 1000rpm, then the idle will drop down, and the dip will come back.

You can make the rpm jump by turning the AC on and off as well. I'll have my crank pulley put into my car this week and I will check to see if there is any change to this.

[Jidonsu]

I checked and it's definitely coming from the AC system.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Hawaiian

We commented in a thread about this a while back. I was under the impression that it was the DI that was making that squeak the whole time. It drives me crazy, and my girlfriend is shocked I can even hear it.

More AC fun.....

I don't think the torque dip is completely unrelated to the AC, It happens the vast majority of the time when my AC is on. Get your car good and warmed up (a 20 minute freeway drive will make it happen every time), then pull into a gas station or parking lot, and let your car idle. You should begin to see the torque dip if your AC is on.

If you turn your AC off it will change idle rpm and the dip will go away. Turn the AC back on, Your car will rev up to 1000rpm, then the idle will drop down, and the dip will come back.

You can make the rpm jump by turning the AC on and off as well. I'll have my crank pulley put into my car this week and I will check to see if there is any change to this.

You do mean low/wandering idle, right?

[dura1198]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

I've already found the source of the noise, it's the AC compressor. If you sit at idle, rev up your engine to around 2K and leave it steady, turn on and off your AC you will hear that noise (AC compressor clutch kicking in) it has to be under load to make the tweet noise otherwise it’s just a click (normal). I wonder if our AC is slowly leaking since it didn't start to do this until around 1000K miles.

Next time I take my car in I'll have to check the AC level.

Nice troubleshooting. I could not for the life of me figure out what was making that single periodic tweet sound. Now to resolve it...

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

You do mean low/wandering idle, right?

Yes. I meant idle dip... My brain was off there.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by dura1198

Nice troubleshooting. I could not for the life of me figure out what was making that single periodic tweet sound. Now to resolve it...

Here's your resolution:

[Hanzo]

Just got my car back from the dealership. The said the ac level is fine and the compressor clutch is fine as well. Told me to keep driving it, if it gets worse let them know.

[Subie]

I just got my car back from the dealer. They told me the noise was coming from the direct injection, that the A/C put additional load on the engine and made the car make that noise. They told me there was a bulletin to that effect, but could not provide me with a copy due to Subaru policy. Does anyone have access to Subaru's TSB database to confirm this as either truth or BS (I suspect the latter)?

[Mazdaspeed]

Thanks for posting this, I was going crazy trying to track down that squeak! Glad it's not troublesome.

[alrashwa]

I've got the tweet too. I wonder if Toyota just doesn't want to make bad press, or if they are compiling all this stuff into a big recall. There seem to be a significant number of issues on these brand new cars. This is just one of the minor issues too, I know almost all of you have posts in other threads with more major issues.

[irxproductions]

I, too, have this tweet. I stopped by my dealer, and they told me that Toyota is aware of the problem and is trying to come up with a fix.

My dealer claimed it had something to do with the high-pressure fuel line becoming strained by the air conditioner clutch (e.g. "we have no idea what we're talking about, but, darn, your car sure is purty.")

I've noticed this noise since under 300 miles (just crossed 500 today). It's been motivating me not to use the air conditioner, but that's not the fix I'm looking for in 100-degree heat.

Hopefully, we'll get a fix soon.

[eriktherod]

If one were to speculate, it'd make more sense for Toyota do one "recall" and fix everything than one for every minor issue. Would make sense both for consumers and the press!

[Mcdj18]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

If one were to speculate, it'd make more sense for Toyota do one "recall" and fix everything than one for every minor issue. Would make sense both for consumers and the press!

Completely agree. There's too many issue's going on

[CircuitJerk]

Mine does this too. But I've seen plenty of this before on other cars over the last 30+ years. It's just the clutch and compressor. I don't feel that it's anything to be alarmed about.