AC compressor whistling . . .

Mine has done this since day 1 but I never thought much of it. Didn't think it was really an issue, but now that I see there's a TSB on it and it's something that is covered under warranty, I may bring it up at my next service. Following this thread in the meantime.

 

If it's normal, why didn't it do it for the first 29,000 miles?

 

Or did you just not notice for 29k miles?

Toyota does seem willing to shell out cost in labor and parts just for noises. Hopefully this is noise only, not reliability.

My 09 RAV4 2AR-FE has the cold start cam rattle thing, it was claimed to be noise only and not a reliability issue. Also have the transmission low speed light throttle whine too. Now at 250k miles still with a rattle and whine, more than happy not to have had dealer hands in my engine and transmission.

For me it's a risk vs benefit thing. No big deal to hear a random A/C whistle for a decade or two. Better than risk of having to replace an evap unit a second time, on my dime now, because a dealer tech missed a bolt three years prior fixing nothing but a noise.

 

i don't know. maybe you just didn't notice. also mine only does it when it's hot out. why did both my trucks make the sound since new?

 

Ha, no it was very noticeable this spring when I first started using the air. Never in the previous 5.5 years.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed, but the '11 Taco I had and this '17 both had aluminum foil-thin heat shields over the cat(?) that started rattling after a few years. With the '11 I didn't know what it was for a while til I crawled under it. Same with this one. The aluminum corroded around the bolts and fell down so I just ripped them off.

And I'd noticed another rattle lately, so today when I was messing with the AC I crawled under it and there was another exhaust shield that was rotting out, but it was steel. I bent it back up away from the pipe so it should be fine for a while.

I'm not impressed with these trucks although I don't put enough miles on them to really know. Currently at 30k, and that's what the '11 had when I traded it. The only reason I got this one was because of the insanely high amount they gave me for the '11 on a trade. I couldn't sign fast enough.

 

Had it since day one. After a break in period, hadn’t resolved.
While at my Toyota dealership for scheduled service, I talked to my tech about it. Said it’s the first time he’s heard of this.
Next scheduled service, brought recording of it. Still a mystery to Toyota.
Repeat
Repeat
As of now, frankly I don’t even notice it. Still does it, but used to it.
At least it’s on record that it exists in case it craps out later.
In retrospect, can’t bitch . Has been the most reliable vehicle I’ve owned in 30 years.

 

Anyone with these noises have excessive water condensation on the ground after truck is off. I have never seen such huge puddles of water in any other vehicle before due to air conditioner condensation.

 

My 22 has made this noise for about a year. I started noticing this after installing a Leer cap so I thought it was wind between the cab and cap. It has worsened lately so I took it to the dealer. They think it is related to the rear differential. I only hear this when accelerating between 50-60. As soon as I let off the accelerator it stops. I have seen several posts about this and I also heard this same exact sound in a 21 4Runner I recently rented. Seeing how common this is, I’m surprised it hasn’t been narrowed down to the exact culprit. Lots of theories but they seem to vary between AC, Diff and wind. Maybe I missed the thread where it was solved but I would like to have the best info when I return to the dealership. I’d rather not have them rebuild my diff or open my dashboard if it’s not going to fix the issue. Any solid info would be greatly appreciated.

 

the a/c compressor whistle is normal operation. there's nothing wrong with it.

 

T-SB-0004-22

The reproducer is easy when you can put load on the AC (e.g. it's hot outside). Make sure the dealership knows the new part number is NOT a superseding part and to verify the part numbers before installation.

 

Mine has whistled from day one. Don't know if I want my dash torn apart. A few have had this repair done and reported back no issues with the repair and the whistling was gone. My A/C still works very well. YMMV. As mentioned above see T-SB-0004-22.

 

I really don’t think it’s related to the A/C. It does it with the system off.

 

Don't bother...
I also had my evap core leak on my '16, probably in 2017 or 2018. I was at 36,100 or so. Contacted Toyota Corp about it and they told me to take it and have it looked at. Dealership said Evap core needed to be replaced, not under warranty. I called Toyota Corp and they agreed to pay 2/3 for "good will" as a long time Toyota customer. I paid somewhere around $600 to have it replaced.
It's never been the same since. Now it does the whistle. The AC only blows about 80% as cold as before. I had them tear out the dash twice more to investigate and they said everything looks normal. They promised an updated part on the way from Toyota but that never panned out. I've been stuck with it.
oh yeah, I live in FL where it's hot AF.

My prior thread about this - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/air-conditioning-died.608620/page-2#post-20834451

 

I remember my AC whistling on occasion when new, haven’t noticed it in a while though. Not gonna worry about it unless it starts singing show tunes.