Noisy 2017 Prime heat pump

Discussion in 'Prime Technical Discussion' started by tedjohnson, Jan 5, 2020.

  1. tedjohnson

    tedjohnson Member

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    My 2017 premium 46Kmi has a pretty noisy heat pump. You can sure hear it compressing the gas, Its louder than the ICE is. Anyone else observe this? Thanks.
     
  2. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    Yup! It is rather noisy. The only time my ICE sounds louder is when I floor the accelerator in HV mode. The heat pump gets noisier when the temperature goes lower.


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  3. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    Why would the heat pump be louder than the A/C (cooling)? It's the same compressor with the refrigerant moving along the same path in both cases. The only differences in heat pump mode are the damper to the interior condenser being open and the exterior coil being used as an evaporator (cold coil). I am not claiming that there isn't a difference, just wondering how.
     
  4. tedjohnson

    tedjohnson Member

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    Thanks, was wondering if mine had a problem, guess not....Just bought the car used and never used the cooling yet, but thought the heating function might be quieter for some reason.....
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    idk, noisier than the ice sounds too noisy to me. can you post a recording?
     
  6. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Humm, I don't even know what the heat pump sound is like. Can you hear the sound in the cabin while driving?
     
  7. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    Actually not a lot. I can hear it better outside the car than while driving. I actually hear the fans more inside the car.


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  8. tedjohnson

    tedjohnson Member

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    Yes it is noisier than the ICE is, unless you floor the throttle then the engine becomes noisier than the heat pump as drash above says his is....
     
  9. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Well, I can't say I noticed any regular noise louder than ICE while driving my car with windows down. The blower fan if it is set to HIGH may be louder than ICE but that is true without heat pump on. I have been trying to figure out a way to tell when the heat pump comes on, but so far I have not found a easy sign that heat pump is on on my car. If the noise is more on outside of the car, then I have not tried listening the sound while car is on and I am outside.
     
    #9 Salamander_King, Jan 6, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2020
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    same in the pip (a/c only). pretty quiet inside the car windows up. loud buzzing outside.
     
  11. Chazman62

    Chazman62 Member

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    I can't hear the heat pump during driving - there are other noises that are louder to my ears.
     
  12. m8547

    m8547 Senior Member

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    Carista has a "quiet" mode that you can set for the heat pump. I have no idea what it does, but the noise doesn't bother me, so I'm not going to try it.
     
  13. Flaming

    Flaming Active Member

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    One thing i have noticed is i can definitely hear the heat pump when i slow down quickly .. like stopping at a red light. I mean the road noise is enough to cover the heat pump when i drive but i when i slow down i can hear it going from loud to almost silent .. then as my speed goes up i can hear ramping up until the road noise cover it again. I have seen this Carista "quiet" mode in the app ... is not activated on mine and never tried it yet ...
     
  14. Prim.e.xample

    Prim.e.xample Active Member

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    I was locking up last night and opened my door to the garage to make sure the garage door was down. I heard this loud buzzing and thought it was our freezer out there. Nope, just the car sounding like a buzz saw. Freaked me out a little bit then it stopped after a minute or two.


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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    evap check
     
  16. BobB5623

    BobB5623 New Member

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    My 2017 Prius Prime had the same issue at 30K. They replaced the electric compressor and the noise went away. I have a feeling the compressor is undersized for the duty. I would encourage anyone else with this problem to let their dealer know.