A/C clutch failure; will now be the 3rd fix attempt in 2,500 miles. At a loss for words.

[Miqie]

This isn’t the only vehicle to have this problem- GM 5.3 engines did this for quite some time, the fix was to flash the ecu to pulse the electrical current to the compressor clutch, and to install a stronger belt, manufactured by gates rubber co. They may have also added a tensioner that was stronger.
as to your issue, the alternator has a sprag clutch type/overrun pulley. The technician could have misdiagnosed the problem assuming the sprag wasn’t doing it’s job/ accommodating aggressive drag that occurs in a sharp period, like when an ac clutch is activated, or when an engine is shut off. The technician could have removed the belt and spun the pulley by hand to diagnose the sprag pulley….. if the compressor clutch is definitely causing the chirp, spray the serp belt with a spray bottle of water on the ribbed side of the belt-when the engine is not running. Then, start the engine and get the ac compressor to engage… use a piece of heater hose like a stethoscope to verify chirp location. If the belt is louder after being wet and running the ac compressor, it is almost always a belt tension issue. By disconnecting the harness connector to the ac compressor, you can eliminate the resistance from the clutch being engaged by denying the clutch electrical current. If the noise goes away, then the belt is slipping in the compressor clutch pulley. Some never vehicles do not have mechanical tensioners but rather, use a belt that tensions itself. If this is the case, the quickest fix would be to throw a new belt at the engine, or if the Engine has a mechanical tensioners, have a new tensioner installed- then verify repair… if it still makes noise, applying Coca Cola to the belt helps, but risks being rinsed away in time. When the coke dries, it is tacky.. I have seen belt “glue” dressing cause aero belts to melt into the pulleys, so I don’t advise it. I deal with belt noise issues all the time at my work- seldom it is the belt unless it is worn out usually the mechanical tensioners is worn out and not applying as much tension/force, onto the belt circuit- sometimes their is an alignment problem… when apply water to the belt, if the noise get quieter- it is an alignment issue… except these darn new fangled self tensioning belts are different. If you have any more questions, do not hesitate to ask me… again, I deal with this stuff all the time. Good luck!

Damn..............you should go into business as a Toyota tech! I'd trust you over any dealer concerning this issue.

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[BOLDTACO]

update on this - brought it in on Tuesday, diagnosed it as something in the compressor now? they either replaced the part or did something to it, getting confirmation on that later, but hopefully its fixed...

 

[TacoFreak]

I hope this fixed the problem @BOLDTACO. If you have a bad compressor then a lot of other people with this issue might have one too. Maybe time for a TSB?

 

[32spoke]

I hope this fixed the problem @BOLDTACO. If you have a bad compressor then a lot of other people with this issue might have one too. Maybe time for a TSB?

If the compressor was “bad” like internally seizing, the belt would constantly slip- belt would melt and be smoking’ when the compressor clutch was engaged.

 

[TacoFreak]

If the compressor was “bad” like internally seizing, the belt would constantly slip- belt would melt and be smoking’ when the compressor clutch was engaged.

True, and that could have just been dealer bs. But I assume there are other ways a compressor could fail that make it harder to turn but not have seized. That could make the belt slip when it was first engaged.

Hopefully we will learn more about exactly what happened after @BOLDTACO gets that truck back. I know I would be pushing for more info if it was my truck.

 

[BOLDTACO]

(update)

Sat at toyota for a few days, diagnosed it, put in a new A/C compressor and tested it to 2 other tacomas. All of them did the chirping. " normal operation."

Corporate knows about the issue and hopefully a TSB or something will arrive sometime soon...

 

[TacoFreak]

Years ago US car maker service departments were famous for telling customers, "they all do that" and now Toyota dealers say "could not duplicate" or "normal operation". New language that still translates to say to they could GAF. A Lexus dealership once responded to a question about my SC300 that "it is a characteristic of the design", same thing but oh so much more refined. lol

 

[32spoke]

True, and that could have just been dealer bs. But I assume there are other ways a compressor could fail that make it harder to turn but not have seized. That could make the belt slip when it was first engaged.

Hopefully we will learn more about exactly what happened after @BOLDTACO gets that truck back. I know I would be pushing for more info if it was my truck.

I don’t think compressor is seizing, it just has too much initial resistance/inertia for the belt surface area combined with tension, to begin to spin the ac compressor when the electromagnetic clutch is engaged. If the compressor was seizing, there will be more than just replacing an ac compressor- as it would send contaminants throughout the AC system, and hide within the condenser, receiver drier, and anywhere a low flow area is. Everything within the ac system would need to be replaced… otherwise it would happen again, and again and again.

 

[cowboypep]

My Tacoma started the chirping around 5k miles in when the AC was on and I just took it in to my dealer a few weeks ago. They replaced the entire compressor and it appears to have completely fixed the issue.

 

[32spoke]

My Tacoma started the chirping around 5k miles in when the AC was on and I just took it in to my dealer a few weeks ago. They replaced the entire compressor and it appears to have completely fixed the issue.

Wow!! Congrats

 

[BOLDTACO]

My Tacoma started the chirping around 5k miles in when the AC was on and I just took it in to my dealer a few weeks ago. They replaced the entire compressor and it appears to have completely fixed the issue.

supposedly they " replaced " mine... I'm gonna reach out to them in a little bit cause it's still doing it and I honestly never got confirmation that it was replaced. very wishy washy...

 

[BOLDTACO]

I hope this fixed the problem @BOLDTACO. If you have a bad compressor then a lot of other people with this issue might have one too. Maybe time for a TSB?

Yea I contacted corporate about this. They need to come out with something regarding this because too many people have to deal with this. it's definitely not a one-off issue.

 

[cowboypep]

supposedly they " replaced " mine... I'm gonna reach out to them in a little bit cause it's still doing it and I honestly never got confirmation that it was replaced. very wishy washy...

That’s odd, they gave me a paper receipt showing the compressor was replaced. I also originally took a video of truck making the noise and sent it to the dealer to prove that it was making a noise so they couldn’t give me the whole “can’t replicate problem” crap. I’m sure they were annoyed, but I think it helped get it fixed.

 

[BOLDTACO]

That’s odd, they gave me a paper receipt showing the compressor was replaced. I also originally took a video of truck making the noise and sent it to the dealer to prove that it was making a noise so they couldn’t give me the whole “can’t replicate problem” crap. I’m sure they were annoyed, but I think it helped get it fixed.

I bet they hate me lol. I've brought it in MANY times due to this chirp. My opinion; a new vehicle should not make a noise like this...

 

[cowboypep]

I bet they hate me lol. I've brought it in MANY times due to this chirp. My opinion; a new vehicle should not make a noise like this...

Maybe try a different Toyota dealer near you. They told me that they weren’t 100% sure the compressor was the problem. So I told them I saw people had similar issues on Tacoma forums online and they determined it was the “AC clutch”. They reached out to Toyota and Toyota told them to start with replacing the compressor and to go from there. And I haven’t heard a chirp since that was replaced.

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