A/C is making a loud whine....

Hey all,

I've got a 2006 Prius package 4. A few weeks ago I noticed this really loud whine while the car was sitting idle in the garage (car powered on). I hadn't noticed this sound before and it definitely wasn't the usual whizzing and buzzing I'm used to. At first I thought it had been related to a charger that I had plugged into the power socket. I heard it again today and decided to pop the hood and take a look. Noticed it seemed to be coming from the front, on the left (standing in front of the car). I played around with the Climate control and noticed that the sound only comes on when the A/C is on. Turn off the A/C and keep the fan running, no noise. It seems too loud to be 'typical'. Has anyone had this issue? I did a search, but most of what I saw was on the 2004 models.

BTW - the A/C seems to be working fine, frigid as usual.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(8AA @ Jul 19 2007, 05:00 PM) [snapback]481845[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, it could very well be the 'normal' noise, I just hadn't heard it before. It's barely audible when inside the car - but very noticeable outside.