Unusual AC aound accompanied by fluctuating airflow.

Sounds like the AC system is trying to fight really hard and spit up that compressor to cool off the cabin. When was the last time the refrigerant was drain and recharged ?.

If you know what the lurch refrigerant suction line yes I’m willing to bet when you place your hand on it and air-conditioning is running it’s not cold.

You’re probably several ounces low on refrigerant so the compressor just keeps trying to spin faster to move more refrigerant past the expansion valve to cool the cabin because this is the command it is getting from its logic programming it does not know it’s low on refrigerant.

There is a pressure sensor that would not allow the compressor to run if it was 100% zero psi empty on refrigerant.

If that was the compressor sound that’s the sound of no lubrication coming back to the compressor with no extra refrigerant to spray a cool mist of fog if you can picture that in your mind of an aerosol to cool the hot electric motor windings.

This is what happens periodically because the Toyota manual does not tell you, you should perform this process of recovering all the refrigerant out of your system and completely recharging it by weight indicated on the sticker under the hood.

Remember Toyota only has to let the components get out of warranty before they break down guarantee more work back to their franchise dealerships.
If they wrote down the air-conditioning Hass to be serviced every couple years this would make their car look like it had a higher annual maintenance expense that would make it unappealing to customers.

 

When you let the refrigerant go low and listening to that sound that is the beginnings of a failure. Let’s see if you caught it in time.

Usually when I pull the desiccant material sock out of the condenser which is also a maintenance procedure. I have photos of this in my photo album if you visit look it up I show photos and explain what has happened.

If I removed your desiccant sock out of your condenser it’ll probably have a dark gray to black stain on it in the beginnings of some tiny shiny metal particles from being severely overheated from lack of refrigerant is charge.

 

The air flow is NOT affected by the compressor.
You most likely have a fan motor going bad......or it is clogged with debris.
Alas, it might be VERY hard to get to to replace.

 

Here we go again.

ALL of that wasted verbiage and never got close to the real problem which most likely is the fan motor itself.

 

That is NOT a recommended routine service procedure.
IT JUST IS NOT.
Suggesting that to people is just being irresponsible.

 

I even stated in my comment that Toyota does not recommend this in their manual. And the reason they don’t state it is financial it all comes down to the dollar and making their car look cheaper the service.
It’s irresponsible not telling somebody to keep their refrigerant charge completely full so they don’t burn out a compressor.
Unless you have a intentional alternative motive to make money off a customers burning up their compressors then I can completely understand why you would tell somebody not to keep the refrigerant charge up to the factory recommended level. Now it makes sense just to screw the customer out of a big dollar repair bill replacing a compressor, got you understand where you’re coming from. Why did I think of that or see that in the first place.

I guess we should start recommending when somebody’s engine coolant level goes low or gets old don’t do a drain and refill just keep driving the vehicle until the engine burns up.

Transmission oil you never need to change that it’s lifetime just keep going until the transmission burns up.

Car is getting old brake fluid is running low and starting to absorb moisture and become acidic don’t change it just wait until your ABS unit goes out on you

Power steering fluid you don’t have to drain it and flush it and clean it out just wait till your power steering pump burns up all the metal flakes get spread throughout the lines into the power steering rack take out the seals on the power steering rack and replace your whole steering system wow you’re a genius how much more work or automotive repair shops would have with large multi thousand dollar repairs to take the money out of customers wallets.wow you’re a genius how much more work or automotive repair shops would have with large multi thousand dollar repairs to take the money out of customers wallets. all the automotive shops should be sending you a bonus check for your master genius plan of causing customers to have expensive unnecessary repairs.

You should write a automotive repair manual for For automotive shop owners we can call it the “Bernie Madeoff automotive repair procedures for high profits”.

 

This "discussion" is ridiculous.
I will not respond to any more of your posts that are WAY out in left field.

THIS person is having trouble with his FAN not running at a consistent speed.
On the list of possible causes for this, low charge or a bad compressor are on the list right before "an alien death ray".......but not much before.

The fan runs on 12 V. The compressor runs on the HV battery. The two are pretty much isolated from each other.

Then.....my Dad bought a pickup truck new in 1976. The AC still worked great in 2006 without any service.......FOR 30 YEARS.
I don't remember the last time I had to have an AC recharged......maybe never.......in close to 60 years.

 

The A/C is a SEALED system. It should NOT leak. If the refrigerant is low, there is a leak.
It is THAT simple! That is how all A/C systems are. They are NOT designed to leak.
So if your freon is low, you can't just "top it off". I most states, that is NOT legal.
Find the leak, whether it's the compressor, "O" ring, or whatever. Eventually, they will all leak.
Obviously, some go longer than others.
If your car A/C is 2 or 3 years old and it's low on freon, find the leak!
In Florida, and other hot humid states, the compressors run year round, so it's more likely they
will fail sooner. It's not 100%, just higher averages.
If ANY A?C system runs out of freon, and oil, if you run the compressor, it will burn up.
Most if not all systems have low pressure switches that will no allow the compressor to come on if the
system is too low, which protects the compressor.

Not just Toyota, but other brands have "lifetime" oils for transmission and power steering, etc.
In Theory. In reality, nothing lasts forever. With cars, lifetime mean the life of the epa warranty.

 

Yes they were intentionally designed the leak because of the materials they used to put the AC together. They all leak on purpose guarantee repeat business. Otherwise they would use hermetic compressor‘s instead of external clutch compressors with a shaft seal in multiple case housing sections that each individually have a seal or gasket at every section that is a potential small leak. They would’ve used metal lines with no gaskets are sealed all silver braised like a refrigerator. Because of efficiency and light weight they switched over to Aluminum Micro channel tubing what gets 1 million little tiny microscopic leaks that cannot be picked up by normal refrigerant leak detectors or soapy bubbles. So yes the answer is they were intentionally and purposely designed to leak by the materials used in construction. If they were really serious about making us find leaks they would force us to use Helium leak detectors then you would find the leaks.

Yes all cars nowadays do you have a low pressure switch is in there like the old idiot lights on the dashboard when your engine overheats it comes on sometimes it works in time and you don’t blow a head gasket sometimes you get lucky this is how air conditioning low pressure switch is work. By the time the pressure gets that low the oil has already left the compressor and gathered inside the evaporator super heating the compressor and operating it with lack of oil. Relying on pressure switch is to save an air-conditioning system is something that people who read too many books and know nothing about in the real world with no experience. It’s like relying on the government to save you in a natural disaster or a policeman to be there every time a mugger pulls a gun on you.

And yes nearly 100% of air-conditioning compressors will fail if they listen to the advice of somebody to allow them to run low continuously.
But if an AC compressor never runs low and there’s no outside forces acting on it to cause a failure like a failed condenser fan allowing the high side pressure to go ridiculously high or a customer who allows it to run low on refrigerant so the compressor temperature internals can run ridiculously high with a lack of oil return then the compressors simply very rarely wear out they last longer than the cars. Unless they were General Motors compressor designs that over many generations and iterations and many modifications still commonly suffer from case seal leaks as they age. But even then sometimes the compressor doesn’t fail they get replaced because the seals on the case leak.

Exactly lifetime fluids “ In theory “ armchair engineers and marketing.

 

I alway use mine on low continuously for higher FE so doing that will cause the compressor to blow and leak?

 

Using it is good. All my cars from the early 80s. All over 300,k to 450,K ac never turn off. Usually on high. Same with my dads cars. Even old cars from the 50s and 60s still working fine.

 

That is his normal mode of operation .

I have him in "ignore user" and am not missing much .

Makes reading Prius Chat a lot more pleasurable.

 

Really ?
Reference, please.
Hint: I think not.

 

Are you sure it is not the sound coming from the FAN motor ?
It upsets me when someone who knows NOTHING pretends to know everything and leads unsuspecting people down the wrong path.
And does it over and over and over.