Originally Posted by
ahausheer
Wanted to bump this again. My compressor still makes this noise after what must have been hundreds or engagement events. Is this normal and common? Has anyone else taken their car to a dealer for this?
It's possible it may not be worn in.
But it's also possible that the scroll "slips" too much against the stationary scroll. If that's the case, you'd eventually need a whole new compressor as it will develop internal compression loss and loose it's "cooling power". To make it clear, you won't be loosing refrigerant, just the ability to compress it.
It's not uncommon though, if it is colder outside especially, for it to make noise even if it is broken in.
The part that makes me worry about using the "Defrost Button" in extreme cold is just that: it's really cold, and the defrost button uses the compressor to remove water vapor from the air. The issue is, that you generally can't run a compressor at temperatures under 50 F for a home unit, or 32 F (freezing) for a vehicle unit. That's a recipe for disaster over time, as the refrigerant will hydro-lock inside the compressor, and cause serious wear, and some serious rattling sounds too.
I'm not sure if our cars are "smart" enough not to do that: run the compressor when it could damage it. But I also don't know too much about the refrigerant additives that could allow it to run in colder conditions for this vehicle, as there are some things they can add to R-134 to allow it run in extreme low temperatures.
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 51.7 mpg (US) ... 22.0 km/L ... 4.6 L/100 km ... 62.0 mpg (Imp)