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Loud A/C FAN Noise

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by carlosfpr, Jul 27, 2015.

  1. carlosfpr

    carlosfpr Junior Member

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    Hello everybody,

    I have a 2013 Prius with 41K Miles. When I turn on the car I can hear the Air Conditioner Fan (my opinion) a bit louder than normal. I know it's the A/C Fan because when I turn off the A/C the sound goes away. It makes a weird Zoom sound, but louder than my previous cars and my wife's car.

    Is this normal?

    I'm going to try to take a video later today.

    Thank you for your help.


    Carlos :)
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there is no a/c fan per se. there is one climate control fan. it blows air into the cabin when you want ambient, heated or cooled air. press the fan button once, with a/c and heat off, not in auto mode, temp all the way down to 'low'. if you hear the noise, it's the fan. if you don't, it's the a/c, probably the compressor.
     
  3. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Could you be hearing the cooling fan for the batteries?
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    ^ Not likely, from his description.
     
  5. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    In the C the cooling fan slows up and down as I a adjust the A/C fan......or is it just coincidence?
     
  6. RogerHq

    RogerHq Junior Member

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    I believe it is a coincidence because the high voltage battery cooling fan is controlled by the battery temperature sensor subsystem and that temperature depends partly on how much power the hybride system puts into or pull out of the battery.
    (Hmm, maybe that wasn't the answer of your question...)
     
    #6 RogerHq, Jul 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
  7. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Or my body/mind is in line with the subsystem and reacts with the same timing as the computer subsystem! As some say, one with the car! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::):)
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    your vulcan mind meld controls the entire cars operation.;)
     
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  9. carlosfpr

    carlosfpr Junior Member

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    Here's the video I took.



    As you can hear on second 3-4 I turned on the AC and on 20 i turned it off.
     
  10. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Yep, that is what the a/c sounds like.....
     
  11. Groger

    Groger Member

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    So. Is this normal? Anything need to be replaced to fix this?
     
  12. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    I think maybe some debris has gotten past the HVAC filter and has lodged in the squirrel cage blower. This could throw the blower off balance or the debris could be contacting stationary portions of the blower housing. Pop the lower glove box out, remove the filter cover and filter element, and insert one of those small inspection mirrors along with a flash light into the filter element opening. The fan is down below.
     
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  13. Groger

    Groger Member

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    I tried it this morning, turned the AC on, and remembered, the sound is exactly the same as the above video but it doesn't do it everytime. This morning there was no load on it, was it was already cold outside, had AC on full blast and still no sound. But sometimes I get that sound. Is it a sound that will kill it, or is it a normal sound and that is just one of the Hybrid sounds I need to also live with?
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is it the compressor or fan making the sound?
     
  15. Groger

    Groger Member

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    Exact the same sound as Carlosfpr as you tube video above...
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try turning just the fan on and see what you hear. if that's not it, leave it on one bar and hit the a/c button.
     
  17. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    When I first start my car, if I set my temperature for 65 degrees when turning on the AC and the outside temperature is 88 degrees or higher, my compressor is loud for a few minutes, especially when just starting it up. As I drive and the compressor has brought up the correct pressure per my temperature setting, the noise gets considerably quieter. This issue freaked my out the first day I got my car brand new. It was 100 degrees outside and me and the wife were going out to dinner. I turned on the air and BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ went the compressor. Of course, I went to Priuschat and found out that our compressors are one of a kind. they only turn on when we turn on the air and are on their on cycle. Hope this helps.
     
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  18. 04priusnow

    04priusnow Active Member

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    mine makes the same sound when the ac is on and blower is set high.. i dont use the climate control.. but it seems the ac runs at different speeds based on demand.. i read somewhere on here that someone got theres replaced while the car was under warranty and the replacement was quiet. mine is a 2010 so maybe the first few years they had this issue?

    Pixel XL ?
     
  19. Groger

    Groger Member

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    Can I run it the way it is for a long time? Or does it need to be fixed. What is the fix? What do they need to replace? Sound seems to come from engine bay and not inside the car.

    Thanks
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    ^ This. Opinion polls and YouTube videos are not going to solve your problem. You can hear a noise in the fan: check it out.