So I am currently checking out a 2016 Subaru Forester with 78k Miles on it. They want 13k for it and the only problem I find is that the compressor and/or cooling fan is pretty noisy. The battery is very corroded if you can maybe see it. But otherwise the car looks in very good shape! Definitely what I am looking for that has many safety features for my underlying medical conditions. Only thing holding me back from buying this is the noise when the ac is on. I put a video link below to show you. Does anyone know what it is by any chance?
One way you can tell if it's the fan would be to temporarily disconnect it and see if the noise goes away. (It won't hurt to run the engine and AC for a short period of time without the fan.)
It sounds to me like the bearing on the A/C pulley. I doubt it would affect performance much but it might lead to some embarrassing sounds around the drive-thru. It's weird that it would start that kind of wear so quickly. The only reason I can think of is maybe someone recommending a replacement of the serpentine belt and putting too much torque on the tensioner before the belt had a chance to wear in and expand.
It's up to you if you want to replace it, I've got and older civic that makes a whining noise from the timing belt tensioner everytime I start it up. It is easy enough for me to fix over maybe 2 hrs some weekend but it doesn't bother me enough. Your a/c fix would involve evacuating the refrigerant and either replacing the whole compressor or just the bearing, either way its a near 1k job
I’d have it diagnosed by a professional mechanic as part of the pre purchase inspection and deduct the cost of the repair, from your offer.
Sounds like the cooling fan motor, in my opinion.
Good luck!
