enyceexdanny

Is it normal for the car to make alot of noise when the ac is on?
It's not just the air blowing but there is some sound coming from the front/right of the car.
Sound is like... umm "whoosh,whoosh,whoosh... (repeat fast)" not that loud, but is definitely noticeable... When i turn the ac off.. I can hear the sound slowing down....

Any ideas? =)

Southern

Remove the cabin filter, replace if dirty, and check for debris (leaves). Vacuum out the cabin filter compartment, put the filters back in and see if the noise goes away.

GoldTL

how do you do this ??^^^^

nicksan

I'm having the same symptoms on my 99 TL.
When I first turn the AC on it's fine...then after a while it'll make a "pumping" type of sound...

Where is the filter located and is this something I can go out and buy and do it my self?

Southern

Remove the glove box. Remove the screws to the plastic bracket. Slide out the cabin filters. Vacuum out the chamber, replace the cabin filters, and put everything back together.

If the cabin filters have never been changed then you must break the tabs on the plastic bracket. This is a do-it-yourself project that takes longer the first time and half as long thereafter.

enyceexdanny

can i just bring it to a mechanic to have that done?

nicksan

I had the "Cabin Filter" that sits behind the glovebox changed and the surrounding area cleaned when I took my car in for the 75k service. They charged me $80 since it was out of warranty. (Labor + Filter)

Anyways, he said that the filter was never changed/cleaned since the car was new so it was pretty filthy. It had leaves, dirt, etc...

They had to break a tab and unscrew or whatever...but it's clean now.
The bad part is that the noise is still there!@#$

I was hopeful after reading this post that it will fix the problem, if it is a problem at all.

Basically it sounds like water or something is "pumping" along with some air...like a "Swoosh, swoosh" sound as mentioned previously.

I was driving home and I heard it.
It usually disappears after a while but it's pretty annoying.

I wonder what it is...

Southern

When you had your 75K check-up did you mention the noise problem?

You could try to isolate the problem and manually vary the fan speed and see if the noise follows the fan speed. If the noise occurs faster with the fan speed on high or slower with the fan speed on low then I would suspect the noise problem is coming from the fan blower or motor. A dirty cabin filter makes the blower motor work harder since it restricts the air flow, expecially one that has not been changed in 5 years.

If not then it could be the freon circulating through the cooling system.

nicksan

OK, I have a more accurate description of the problem instead of "Swoosh".

It's more of a "gurgling" or "Water boiling/pumping" sound that is coming from behind the globe compartment.

I have read elsewhere that this might be normal...condenser pushing fluid...or something.

I never hear this kind of noise in my MDX or ES300...

It's annoying and clearly audible.

nicksan

Southern,

Yes I mentioned this to them but they could not replicate it leading me to believe that they did hear what I heard but assumed it was normal.

It doesn't sound like a fan.
It sounds like it's fluids moving...gurgling/boiling sound.

So your comment about freon moving might be accurate.

I can clearly hear this on the passenger side.
It's annoying...it's been doing it since I got this car last year used.

So I guess now I'm wondering if it is actually normal...

It make the sound every 2 or 3 seconds or so for a while. Then I think it stops...usually I turn it off when it starts doing it because of the noise.

I was driving for 1.5 hours a month ago. It was making the noise but by the time I was on the Turnpike it wasn't doing it so it definitely goes away after a while...but not within a few minutes.

I will try different settings...it seems to get louder when I come off the highway and stop...momentarity it gets louder...like today when I drove home from Acura, after racing a Mercedes I came off the highway then hit a stop sign and it was making the sound again...

Southern

I don't believe that gurgling sound is normal because I don't have this problem on my used 2001 TL.

Other than the freon theory, another possibily could be the radiator fluid. Check that the radiator fluid isn't low (remember to check this with the engine completely cool). An air pocket in the radiator could be causing this noise.