Belt chirp when a/c turns on

[ProjektZero]

Having other mods done to my taco and asked the service advisor to have the chirping looked at. He said 4th gen’s don’t have a manual clutch. So this is a normal sound when running the a/c.
Similar to the sound you would hear when the auto parking brake engages or disengages.

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[sparkytaco]

FYI - Mine is getting a little of chatty and I hear it while driving, slight chirps off and on. Going to have the dealer take a look (at least document it).

 

[32spoke]

Just experienced this noise today on cold start only.

I heard it! Replace the batteries on your smoke alarm. Ok, kidding aside.. if the chirping noise is only doing this on cold starts, then it is likely belt tension. You can confirm this by spraying water from a squirt bottle at the ribbed section of the serpentine belt that drives the ac compressor. Do this immediately before a cold start, if the noise is worse= tension. General Motors has belt issues on early 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 v8 engines and they had a software flash to fix the issue.

 

[32spoke]

If the chirping stops or is less noticeable when the engine is completely warmed up, the belt may have overcome the slipping by become warm/more pliable, and able to grip the pulleys with enough force to prevent slippage. Again, spraying water at the ribbed portion of the serpentine belt that spins the compressor, When the engine is off. then fire up the truck and turn the ac on, and listen… water will remove some mechanical grip the belt has in the pulley. This is just for process of elimination. When the dealer dealer tech says that it sounds normal for these trucks, this is a lame answer. Belts can make noise from slipping and alignment related issues.

 

[Pootklopp]

I had the chirp, the dealer went with a tensioner/belt replacement.

It has decreased the number of chirps and volume of them but has not completely removed the noise.

On a separate forum I was told the idler should be replaced as well or it will just continue to happen.

 

[Gfenza89]

I’ve never heard this noise on my truck

 

[32spoke]

I had the chirp, the dealer went with a tensioner/belt replacement.

It has decreased the number of chirps and volume of them but has not completely removed the noise.

On a separate forum I was told the idler should be replaced as well or it will just continue to happen.

Idler only if it is off angle or worn out.. Toyota may need to flash software to pulse the fan clutch on instead of a hard “on” engagement, or increase belt tension. This issue will be most noticeable on cold starts in really cold weather, when rubber is least pliable

 

[Pootklopp]

Idler only if it is off angle or worn out.. Toyota may need to flash software to pulse the fan clutch on instead of a hard “on” engagement, or increase belt tension. This issue will be most noticeable on cold starts in really cold weather, when rubber is least pliable

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5jq6cQW1zZN97JzP7

You can hear it at the 8 second mark here. This was before the tensioner was changed. This was probably a 90 degree plus day.

 

[32spoke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5jq6cQW1zZN97JzP7

You can hear it at the 8 second mark here. This was before the tensioner was changed. This was probably a 90 degree plus day.

It would be worse in cold weather.. is there any contamination on the serpentine belt that spins the AC clutch? If so, that could explain it… if that that belt slips when hot outside, then Toyota corporate needs to know about this issue, especially if you are not the only one… dealer mechanics are not engineers…

so not the battery in the smoke detector? lol

 

[Pootklopp]

It would be worse in cold weather.. is there any contamination on the serpentine belt that spins the AC clutch? If so, that could explain it… if that that belt slips when hot outside, then Toyota corporate needs to know about this issue, especially if you are not the only one… dealer mechanics are not engineers…

so not the battery in the smoke detector? lol

It's document once from me, I know that. I have had others say they also brought the issue to the dealer, so hopefully it gets fixed at some point.

It's much better now and has not been happening on my cold starts (in cold weather). But I'll bring it up again when I have some free time. Everything works fine so I'm not that worried at this point.

 

[Goriders]

Weird. I haven’t noticed it but will listen now.

 

[Duce95]

I’m at 5500 miles and I don’t notice it as much as I did when I got it in April. Might have gone away or I don’t notice/care anymore.

 

[Kjc]

I've had this since April but now have noticed the A/C doest have to be on... If I start the truck with vents on I'll usually hear 2 quick chirps probably 9/10 times... Usually on the first start of the day...

I'm getting more worried about the radiator fan seems to cycle way too much... Even right after starting... On 10 seconds then off for 10 seconds.. Seems like non stop

 

[vi4thgen]

I’ve been having this issue with my truck as well. First noticed it in the summer, seems to have become worse in cold weather.
Truck has been to the shop 3 times now about it and the belt was replaced, but issue seems even worse now and I hear it during starts, but also during certain revs when the truck is slowing down or gearing down.
I have a manual TRD sport.
I’ll ask them about the idler next time it’s in. Hoping they can get a fix for it soon!

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