Hi all,

I noticed that the AC on my TLS has produced some
breathing noise frequently behind the passenger side
compartment.

When I set the temp to 72 and outside temp is 70
or so, the breathing noise happens every 2 min or so
and air is being blown so slowly that I thought there
is no air being blown out. My 98 Accord EX-V6
AC has less breathing noise, at least not as frequent.

Is it normal?

Please advise,

-- william

 

i brought my 2oo2 TL in for service yesterday to have that very issue checked. Its been my experience in past cars that you hear that noise when the refrigerant levels are low. I had them check the r134a pressures and they claim its fine. Its really an annoying noise.

 

i knwo what u mean...taht noise is soooo damn annoying...i took it in a couple weeks ago and the service guy says its the ac letting out the cooolant...

 

Hmm, the AC in my TLS was out of order twice before.
Stevens Creek Acura just recharged the AC and it went
out in a month. Then Plesanton Acura replaced the AC line
as they said the AC line
was broken and leaking all feon. But I haven't got
a chance to test it in full strength as it was in winter.
Now I am hearing these hissing breathing noise quite often.
If it breaks the third time, perhaps I should claim it as
lemon

sqamar95: they said AC is letting out coolant? Does it
mean AC system has something leaking and
they need to repair something?



-- william

 

It sounds like the noise you're hearing is the r134a starting to boil in your evaporator. This noise is only temporary and starts when your A/C compressor kicks on and will go away in a few seconds as pressures in the system adjust.

This is extremely common and happens in most cars. Both of my cars do this (1 Nissan & 1 Acura).

In fact, if you go listen to your refrigerator right after the compressor shuts off you will probably continue to hear coolant boil for a few seconds (you may have to open the freezer to hear it). The point I'm trying to make here is that it's common for refrigeration systems to make a slight hissing/boiling noise when they start and stop.

 

It may be easily explained away with science, but its still annoying. No car i have ever had before made this much ac noise so consistently.

 

Hi fla-tls, thanks for your info. Is it supposed to happen frequently?
Mine seems to happen every 2 min or so.. when the outside
temp is almost the same or lower than
the temp set in climate control.

That's make me worry.

-- william

 

It sounds like expansion valve on the evaporator coil.
the noise is normal, if it's real loud the expansion valve should be replaced.
(The expansion valve determines the correct amount of refrigerant going into the evaporator, and it lowers the pressure of the refrigerant.
When the compressor starts, the expansion valve opens and the liquid refrigerant flows through a strainer in the high pressure liquid inlet. Once in the expansion valve, the refrigerant is correctly pressurized. As the evaporator calls for more refrigerant, the expansion valve allows the required amount of low pressure liquid refrigerant into the coils)

 

sorry man not coolant i meant freon...anywas ive been having this issue for over a month and took it in once and they said it is normal...this didnt seem normal when every 1-3 mins you hear a whistling sound...so im just waiting for sumthin to break so that i can take it in...i know this cant be normal and somethin is up with the AC system...if any1 finds a resolution for this please let me know..yea william it sounds like the both of us is having the same issue...i just blast my radio cuz its soooo damn annoying...

 

I am taking the car in to Pleasanton Acura to see what
they say about it. The service manager, Vincent, said
they will have factory representative visiting today.
I will let you know this afternoon.


-- william

 

My car and my friends type s does the same noise, when the ac is on auto or one of the fan speeds. When ever i press the recirculate button, it doesnt make the noise.

 

Ok, just came back from Plesanton Acura.
One of their technicians said it is normal.

He said it is expansion valve working. He said
when you set the Auto on and outside temp
is cooler, the expansion valve opens/closes more frequent
and it's normal to hear that breathing noise
every minute or so.

During the hotter day, the expansion valve
opens for longer duration and you hear the breathing
noise less frequent.

I hope he is right and won't cost me another trip to
dealership.

-- william

 

he's wrong...ive been driving in 90 degree weather for the past week and it makes the noise every couple mins. So it isnt less frequent. And i never use auto i alwas set the speed of the fan myself usually 1 or 2...

 

Hi sqamar95, yup I am afraid you are right. I was just
driving from Plesanton to San Jose and outside temp shows
80. The breathing noise are still there every minute or so.

Hmmm, as you said, perhaps we are waiting for something
to break (hopefully before warranty expires.)

:wow:

-- william

 

I have a 2002 TL and I do not hear any noise at all....no creaking, no AC noise, nothing...yet I saw tons of complains....man, I might need my hearing checked out..hehe

 

william...

u r just reminding me an old guy in this fourm called willc8....hahahaha
he got banned a couple months ago...

 

:o :o :o I hope my posting won't get me banned

-- william

 

The noise is normal, have a 01 TL. My question to you all is the system cooling the car??? Is your system set on full auto climate??
I used to run mine on full auto climate but we've had some 100+ days here in MS and my car seemed to cool better when the display reads a/c on and the fan knob in its highest setting. Haven't heard the hiss noise since I haven't used full auto in a while but I will check today.