P3 Models inc XC60 AC Constant Whining Noise
 

P3 - Air Conditioning unusual constant 'whining' noise.

Our 2014 XC60 D4 AWD has been making an unusual loud whining noise only when the AC was on, sounding like a bearing on it's way out or like the annoying electric power steering on the Minis - we feared it was the compressor.

Google was king and resulted in finding a Technical Service Bulletin for Volvo Cars North America relating to a modified AC pipe. Spoke to Volvo and they said they had never heard of this complaint and expected it to be the compressor rather than a pipe (which made perfect sense tbf)....decided to go with the AC pipe as a starting point and work upwards.

The air conditioning pipe is the Low Pressure return flexi to the compressor, literally 10 minutes to install.

Pipe ordered, refrigerant recovered, pipe fitted and regassed. FIXED...no more annoying 'whinnnning'.

How many I wonder have made a similar complaint and ended up replacing the compressor for £££$$$. AC pipe was £130 and is a modified part.

Not sure how this new pipe prevents the annoying sound, the original wasn't fouling any of the bodywork or mountings....very strange.

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Technical Journal 29474


DESCRIPTION:

Unusual noise described as a drilling noise may be audible from the AC system when the AC compressor is engaged, most frequent during idle or low speed driving and ambient temperature range 59-86 degrees.

PRODUCT MODIFICATION:

New AC pipe with integrated muffler has been introduced at the factories from 2014w26 for 5cyl and 6 cyl engines. New part number was added for -2013w20 5cyl engines and if this noise is present, do not replace the AC compressor or TXV valve.

Note:
This hose was introduced in the 4 cyl engine 2013w46.


In case of customer complaints, install the new AC pipe with muffler according to VIDA.

P/N31436536 5cyl engines
P/N31407977 5cyl engines -2013w20
P/N31436537 6cyl engines

Hope this helps/saves someone mistakingly replacing the expensive AC compressor along with belts etc when the issue is the ac pipe.

I have said whine on my 2015 D5 XC60, I have already replaced the compressor which didn't cure it. My sister has the same issue, to a lesser degree, on her 2013 D5 XC70.

However according to the TJ you kindly shared, my car (March 15 build) should have the modified part? Or have I misunderstood it an it's to be fitted to cars built from that point?

Is the part number printed on the hose - I'd like to check what's fitted.

I would expect your car being a March 15 build could've had the modified pipe fitted from the factory...or maybe it just missed out which explains why you have the 'ac whine'.

I've just checked the new part and strangely enough it's just one digit out from the ones listed in the TSB...I imagine it's best to take note of the Technical Service Bulletin number and ask the Service or Parts Dept in your local Volvo Dealership....our Service Dept chap almost dismissed it but brought in a Tech from the Workshop and between them they ordered the correct modified part.

Here's my new AC Pipe Part Number 31407976:

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Thanks for posting - I'll check mine out tomorrow....

Good evening, I have exact same issue with my 2015 xc60 D5. I haven’t changed compressor/pump yet. Did you manage to cure this in the end?
Thanks
Ross

No not yet, but that’s entirely down to my apathy. The a/c works just fine, just a little noisy when hot, I’ve not found the time yet to dig deeper…

AC whine
 

My May 2009 build XC60 D5 has had an AC whine for 8 years now. The compressor failed a couple of years ago (bearing failure) and I had high hopes that the new compressor would cure the whine, but unfortunately it reappeared.

I asked the local Volvo dealer about the applicability of this product bulletin to my car but they said it was not applicable.

The technical journal says it is applicable to the US / Canada market and for cars from 2012 model year on, but goes on to mention 5 cylinder engines. As far as I'm aware Volvo has never sold XC60 5 cylinder variants in the US (and definitely no 5 cylinder diesels). i had a search for the part 31436536 recommended for the 5 cylinder engine and it seems to be for the 5 cylinder petrol engine when I look at US parts sites.

I wonder how much difference there is between AC systems for petrol engine versus diesel? I suspect that the bulletin may well be applicable to my car but given it's now a 13 years old high mileage car and has a few bumps and scratches I've given up on the search for perfection. I have found that when the whining starts if I cycle the AC on and off it generally goes away for a while, so I've learned to live with it.

Think you answered your own question - new pipe has an integrated muffler!

Yes I have been living with it for the last couple of years just noticed it more during this warmer weather. Air con is still nice and cold. I tend to run it all year round to keep the interior drier in the winter months. Thought maybe I had worn the compressor out from constant use.
Thanks
Ross

Ok so looking into this fault a bit more now trying to work it all out as have been told by a couple of different garages it will be the aircon pump. Don’t want to throw bits at it for no reason as I have read people saying pump does not fix the issue.

To confirm, my car is a 2015 xc60 D5 AWD. Current mileage 110,000.
This noise started to become evident around 2020 and 80,000 miles (it may have been there from slightly earlier just not noticeable)
Noise is exactly as everyone else says. Changes with engine rpm and stops completely when air con turned off. So we know where it’s coming from.

My next question is, if the problem relates to the above (air con pipe)
Why would the noise start appearing after approx 5 years old and 70,000 - 80,000 miles.
Would this not be evident from much earlier if it was just a pipe that was wrong from build?

Checked P/N on mine today all I could find was this.
I do wonder if this was an old stock item used? My car is March 2015 build.

Have spoke to Volvo service over the phone and they are saying they have never heard of it? Very strange.

Ross

I think after reading the 1st post is that the car lost gas and bearing/piston lube was lost within the compressor, when the new pipe was fitted and the car re-gassed everything was being serviced as it should be on the circuit.

As I find it hard to put it into words a lot of the time imagine you drained a pipe and then turned the water back on, you'd get a resonance sound as it re-filled itself, same thing with this but while it was low on gas and in a sealed system the resonance never got to escape until the new pipe was fitted and the system recharged.

Take it into Kwik Fit, they will test it for you and if it's only gas they'll be able to tell you there and then, if they can't sort it you don't pay iirc.

So I had the air con re gassed a couple of days ago. Interestingly the whining noise has reduced by about 75%. (I would say inaudible to the untrained ear)
It will be interesting to see if it’s still quiet once the ambient temps are above 20c but will probably have to wait until next year for this.

The garage confirmed no leaks on system and the old oil removed wasn’t particularly dirty. Maybe the fresh oil has done the trick?

I also had another look at the air con pipe which is a FoMoCo, no. 31332152. Date on it is 06/02/2015.

Will keep this updated if any change.
Thanks
Ross

I have exactly the same “whine” from the AC on my D4 4 cylinder XC60 (2015).
Ac works fine and I imagine that my car will be fitted with any modified piperwork in view of its age.
Is it likely to be the compressor?
Any ideas on cost of replacement?

Try an air on re gas if you haven’t already. This has quietened mine down by about 75%. Mine is also a 2015 which I believe has not been re gassed before. So we’ll overdue.

The usual progression for all of the funny noises from AC (given that it's working and cooling ok) is to first check the gas and oil, and refill it. That's the cheapest and the quickest remedy to try, and if any parts need to be changed you don't lose the gas/oil you've just put in, they get saved and reintroduced after parts replacement.

On the side note, it's not good for the AC to be OFF for long times, since there is no recirculation of gas and no recirculation of oil. Grommets and stuff get stiff and brittle in absence of good lubrication. My aircon is on constantly, which is recommended by most manufacturers for years now, but if you do turn it off do remember to turn it on for some time at least once every 2 weeks to recirculate everything.

I have this exact issue on my S80! Late 2014 model. It’s still under selekt warranty I wonder if they will cover it?

Should do, I've been re-gassed on s/h cars that had a warranty.

Interesting read...

I have this on my 2013 V60 T6.... Whines like hell.

Might need to think about this, although tend not to use the AC that much anyway.

For anyone worrying about the noise when going to the Golf club when challenged about it just say... yes mate it's the supercharger!

I replaced this AC pipe with a used 31407976 from Ebay on my Volvo S80 2012 D5 AWD and the whining noise is gone. Thanks.

2015 2.4 diesel auto 70000 miles
 

Interesting....
My air con has whined for all of the 8 years I have had it. TBH I thought it was an engine noise until turning off the air con silenced the whine.

Like many have said it is best to use a/c all the time, which I do, but this thread does make me wonder about the new hose fix.

I would love to understand the oil in the a/c compressor, where and if it circulates and how people ruin their compressor by getting oil amounts wrong.

I suppose the ultimate question for this thread is do Volvo dealers have the a/c expertise to advise a customer about this issue and do any fix.

Any thoughts Clan, if I may be so bold ?

This issue is one that I will definately not be doing anything about until I understand it better, as the a/c works beautifully, despite the low engine rev whine since new.

Air con whine fixed
 

I have just had my 2015 xc60 2.4 with 80000 miles air con whine fixed.
I have had the car almost since new and the air con has always had a quiet whine at low revs .
Recently it became loud enough to notice, so after reading the air con threads It seemed sensible to have the gas checked. Its always blown cold well.
After removing all the gas 450 units, the engineer put in the correct amount,750 units from memory. He was able to confirm the compressor was sound, both with his ears and his equipment, and that the whine was made loud by resonance caused by low gas.
Having done a few trips, it is now as quiet as when new.
He explained to me that gas does escape over time mainly due to rubber hoses and seals.
It now gives a truly arctic blast.
Fwiw it was done by car-air mobile . He tells me he has very controlable equipment rather than the automatic equipment on the high street chains.
Volvo could not help as they do not keep the right gas. £85 plus vat and worth it to me.

Hi all, I've got the dreaded aircon whine from my recently acquired V70 D5 (July 2013 85k) It's getting worse, and the aircon isn't as good as it was, so need to do something about it. If I'm going to have the system checked over and re-gassed, I'm tempted to have one of the improved "muffler" hoses fitted at the same time.

I'm not sure what age the present hose is. It's a FoMoCo 6G9N-19N601-JC (or 31332152), could well be the original. It seems from other posts that the favoured "muffler" hose is a Volvo 31407976, but I've not seen any reference to it being fitted to a V70, most seem to be XC60s. The part no in the (very helpful) technical journal note 29474 is either 31407977 or 31436536 for 5cyl engines, so I'm a bit confused.com at the moment.

Can anyone shed any light?

Cheers AG

Well I had the AC serviced and re-gassed, also fitted a S/H pipe ref 31407976, and am pleased to report that, for now at least..., the noise has gone! Brilliant. Forum strikes again!

I also finally got round to replacing the pipe with the baffled one. Part number ending 76 is diesel, ending 77 is petrol. Took my aircon guy 40 mins and for the first time in the eight years I have owned my xc60 2.4 l it is blissfully silent. No more whine.

My symptoms were just as in the volvo technical sheet earlier in this thread.
£195 for the part, £120 for the aircon guy ( car-air in hereford ). To me its worth every penny.

Regassing was only a partial cure. New pipe was total cure.