A/C Compressor noises

[BBISHOPPCM]

I've noticed my A/C compressor is extraordinarily loud for the first 20 second so so after it first engages. Seeing this as a possible defect, as it has gotten worse since I bought the car in January, I took it in. They confirmed that yes, the compressor is loud; but they told me it was low on refrigerant. Since I am over the "new car warranty" by 10,000 miles, I had to pay to have the system evacuated and recharged for $133.00. I was told this would fix the problem, and of course, it did not. I am aware that there was a TSB for low refrigerant levels from the factory, but my statement fell on deaf ears. Anyone else have this issue? I'm going back tomorrow to hopefully get a refund for the unnecessary service and to get the problem fixed for real.

[dopey]

What kind of new car warranty do they offer on Versa's over there??

My Tiida's compressor makes some noises sometimes but seems to work well still.. but thankfully I've still got another 20 months / 80,000km of warranty left.

Our cars here come standard with a 3yr/100,000km warranty.

Have you taken it to an independent air conditioning workshop for evaluation or has it only been looked at by Nissan?

[Ever Victorious]

3 year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper5 year/60,000 mile powertrain

It's the low end of "industry standard". Many companies in the US are moving to 7 or 10 year/100,000 warranties. And Chrysler is doing the same, so it's not just a "Korean" thing.

[kc5f]

EV - You're going to have to stop to calling me the Versa reliability "guinea pig" if BBISHOPPCM bought his less than a year ago and is now more than 10,000 miles past the 36,000 mile warranty. Even I don't (quite) have that many miles after just under 15 months!

[Ever Victorious]

nah... it just means that like any good experiment, there's more than one test subject.

[BBISHOPPCM]

I have driven over 21,000 miles in just 11 months! The "new car" warranty is only for 1 year/12,000 miles. I did return to the dealer today, they are actually taking care of me. They will refund my money for the unnecessary evac/recharge, and replace the compressor under warranty. They were able to replicate the noise and confirmed that it is not normal. Looks like I got lucky...

Nissan will warrant the compressor and related components for 3 years/36k, but low refrigerant is covered only under the new-car warranty (which literally covers everything outside of abuse) for 1 year/12k. They are only refunding my money because there is a legitimate mechanical problem causing the noise, as I stated when I first had it looked at, and not low refrigerant (although that does explain why my A/C always sucked).

[Ever Victorious]

Nissan will warrant the compressor and related components for 3 years/36k, but low refrigerant is covered only under the new-car warranty (which literally covers everything outside of abuse) for 1 year/12k. They are only refunding my money because there is a legitimate mechanical problem causing the noise, as I stated when I first had it looked at, and not low refrigerant (although that does explain why my A/C always sucked).

Was yours rather inconsistent? Because mine will get cold, then cool, then cold, then cool...

I don't have compressor noise.

[BBISHOPPCM]

My A/C performance was overall poor. I did notice a huge difference in cooling efficiency after the evac/recharge, as the system was only 1/2 full prior to. Unfortunately, the only way for them to know for sure is to perform an evac/recharge, which costs you money.

Poor performance was consistant. For instance, on my 500 mile trip to PA, the A/C should have been nearly freezing, where it was only "cool" at best.

[nissanhater]

My parents are going through the worst situation right now with their '07 S Sedan. The dealer told them their A/C compressor was making too much noise when it was first turned on, so they replaced it under warranty. That one moaned and groaned when it was running, the sound changing pitch with engine RPM. They replaced that one with another new one, which is also making the same noise. We took the car to another dealership who refused to make any repairs saying Nissan would not pay them for it. My dad has initiated the GA buyback procedure by contacting Nissan, who is giving him the runaround that we don't qualify for a "last chance" repair (even though the state says we do qualify since Nissan has had 3 ineffective attempts to repair the compressor). However, they are sending out a "master technician" to our local dealership on Thursday. He will evaluate the problem and attempt another repair. The dealership and technician intend to keep the car until it is repaired, providing a rental during that time.

From what I understood the TSB dealt with the compressor itself being defective and not refrigerant levels. However, I could be wrong since no dealer has yet been able to actually diagnose the problem.

[BillyBeaneBall]

If this doesn't work, then hopefully the state would side with your father and a "lemon law" case will result with you winning. Hopefully this doesn't make you think the Versa is a bad car...it certainly is not...but I could understand how you might think that way.

Unfortunately every manufacturer has "lemons" that get sold...just part of the game I guess.

[CodeRed]

MY AC makes a "guuuuurmmmmmpppp" when i first turn it on. But after a min or two it starts working perfectly fine. You might have a faulty unit go get it checked by the dealer.

[brownbrix]

damm i thought those noises were normal.good thing i have an appointment this weekend ill get them to check it out..

[nissanhater]

So the "master technician" came to see about our Versa S sedan (during which time we have been provided a red S hatchback from Enterprise). He has determined that the wrong compressor was put on our car twice. The CVT Versas and the 4-spd auto Versas have a different compressor. When the dealership went to order the two new ones for our 4-spd auto, it was kicked out of the system. So they ordered the one for the CVT thinking they were the same. Obviously, they're not and putting the wrong one on creates the hysterically annoying noises we were hearing on ours. The master technician also said that he has run across this problem once before already. It appears that Nissan needs to revise its parts ordering system at least with the Versa A/C compressors. Now we wait to see if the condensate leak comes back in the spring/summer (different earlier post about that).

[BBISHOPPCM]

Got the new compressor and a check for $129. There is still a slight startup noise, but this is completely normal (should go away after a second).

[nissantech06]

My parents are going through the worst situation right now with their '07 S Sedan. The dealer told them their A/C compressor was making too much noise when it was first turned on, so they replaced it under warranty. That one moaned and groaned when it was running, the sound changing pitch with engine RPM. They replaced that one with another new one, which is also making the same noise. We took the car to another dealership who refused to make any repairs saying Nissan would not pay them for it. My dad has initiated the GA buyback procedure by contacting Nissan, who is giving him the runaround that we don't qualify for a "last chance" repair (even though the state says we do qualify since Nissan has had 3 ineffective attempts to repair the compressor). However, they are sending out a "master technician" to our local dealership on Thursday. He will evaluate the problem and attempt another repair. The dealership and technician intend to keep the car until it is repaired, providing a rental during that time.

From what I understood the TSB dealt with the compressor itself being defective and not refrigerant levels. However, I could be wrong since no dealer has yet been able to actually diagnose the problem.

The TSB is a two-part, the first part says to evacuate the system and charge it to spec and check for leaks, the second one says if there is anything visible on the compressor to replace it (thus the reason for the noise).

[nissantech06]

Many companies in the US are moving to 7 or 10 year/100,000 warranties. And Chrysler is doing the same, so it's not just a "Korean" thing.

Hmmm...maybe that's because Chrysler has had continuous transmission and engine problems since the late 80's. Ever since the invention of the 41TE (FWD with Mitsubishi or Chrysler engine) and 41LE (longitudinal FWD, found in the LH sedans) they have never been able to make an autotrans that didn't blow at one point. It's a marketing technique to get people to trust their products.

Sorry, I know it's WAY off-topic.

[BBISHOPPCM]

NissanTech, exactly what does a "normal" Versa A/C compressor sound like? Is the startup noise actually normal?

[nissantech06]

NissanTech, exactly what does a "normal" Versa A/C compressor sound like? Is the startup noise actually normal?

Funny you mention that...a slight noise on startup when the clutch kicks in is normal, and a little more noise on very hot, humid days is ok, too, but anything lasting too long or getting excessive under normal load is grounds for worry.

[BBISHOPPCM]

My new compressor sounds just like the old one for the first few seconds after startup, but not nearly as bad... sounds like play in the swashplate assembly. The old one made some noise that worsened after a few seconds, this one is more consistent but stops after a few seconds. I checked the compressor, and it is a different unit, as I marked the old one with a UV pen.

[dopey]

My compressors making more and more squeaking noises now.... and doesn't seem as cold as it should be. The noise is getting on my nerves though..... time to take it to the dealer for some warranty replacement I think.

[BBISHOPPCM]

That almost sounds like belt slippage... either your automatic tensioner isn't doing its job, or the compressor is seizing up.

[Slither]

My V has a had a noisy compressor since new (Aug 06).Funny thing is, it ain't noisy in summer when I'm pumping cool air. It's noisy in the winter when it's running in defog mode. When the clutch cycles on I get a rattly type sound. If I extinguish the a/c dash light/button the sound disappears - so I know it's compressor related.

My dealer says it's normal - I don't think so but I don't care too much cause it's their car..

[BBISHOPPCM]

How is it their car? Lease? Loaner? Theft?

[Slither]

How is it their car? Lease? Loaner? Theft?

Lease - going back to them (eventually) for them and next owner to sort.

With my previous Sentra somebody at the dealership brought it at my lease end (low mileage) Likely same will happen with the V so it can go back to haunt them [PERSONALLY.]