Is this a normal AC compressor sound?

It's a nearly 13 year old car and old cars make strange noises when they're stressed. I've heard plenty of ACs in a Prius that sounded like that were fine and some that sounded like that were failing.

My recommendation is to wait for a drop in temperature and replace your cabin air filter then go through all the basic functions of your HVAC to confirm that everything is still working normally and let us know if you come up with anything and we'll walk you through next steps.

If you don't find anything wrong then the message is that your car is getting old and you need to do everything possible to go easy on it by parking in the shade and avoid driving during the hottest parts of the day so you can get as many years out of it as possible before you have to repair or replace the vehicle.

 

One of the best parts of an aftermarket Sodium-Ion pack is it produces a high amp charge for a much longer period of time. With an OEM battery pack when it gets super hot out and AC starts sounding funky it's because the battery pack is out of extra power for the AC system and computer dials back how much power it sends to AC. This problem is mostly eliminated with aftermarket LiFePo4 and Sodium-Ion packs.

 

The same company also makes a sodium-ion pack for Lexus hybrids... You can find older Lexus Hybrids for cheap once the OEM battery pack goes bad. Way nicer ride than a Rav4 too!

 

Look up the soother project add on from the previous sodium battery seller before buying.

 

You probably want to make that RAV4 happen sooner than later before something goes on with the 3. And becomes not viable .

 

That is normal. At least it's been for mine for 8 years.
"feels like" temperatures don't count. It feels like it's already 150 degrees out to me and it's
only 7:45am!

When it's so humid out, the compressor will run fast to cool down the cabin quickly.
Turn OFF recirculation and open the windows for a minute to blow out all the hot air.
Then close the front windows, then the rear.

Then you can turn on the recirculation. It's likely around 125 degrees in the car after sitting
in the sun, but only 90-95 outside. That air cools much fast.

Do you use a windshield screen when the car is parked? That will cut down on the heat.
So will a dash cover. That really helps.

 

A simple thing you can do is plug in an OBD-II device that can show you live data, and have it show you the "AC Watts"—the electrical power being sent to the variable-speed compressor.

The compressor can operate anywhere from 250 watts up to 2.5–3 kilowatts. At the lower end of the range it's rather quiet, and at the higher end it can sound a little like a passing motorboat. With a display showing you the power, you can get used to the way it normally sounds at different power levels.

Naturally, the pitch is related to RPM and drops steadily as the power drops. The loudness drops mostly steadily too, but there can be spots where something nearby happens to resonate at a particular pitch and gives a little loudness boost if the pitch of the compressor is near that. (You can play with the same effect by humming or whistling different pitches in a public restroom, ideally when no one else is there to think you're weird.) In my car, there's a resonance right around 1–1.1 kilowatts where the sound is a little more noticeable than it is just above or just below.

You can also sanity-check that claim by watching the power sent to the A/C and getting used to how it sounds at different power levels. You'll get used to the way dialing back the power doesn't make it sound funky, only lower-pitch and generally quieter, except for certain pitches where something resonates.

 

Yes sir I know how all four of mines sound and that ain't it so if no sight glass at least look at what lol can top gauge states. usually with the low side gauge hooked up I can generally tell what I have going on enough toknow what's going to happen . usually running Enviro temp . And oil that goes in bigger molecule easier to pump all that nonsense . Been running it since R12 hullabaloo. Seems easier on system .