Hello everyone, I've posted about this topic before. I'll provide some updates on my 'journey'. I've been experiencing the drone, the motorboat, the jet, the worn out bathroom fan, whatever which way you want to describe it... happened when really hot (high 20's to mid 30's C), the drone would get louder as speed increased and quiet down when slowing to a stop. Yes, I know that there is no mechanical connection between the rotating driveline and the AC components, but I'm just telling it like it is. It was so loud and obtrusive that I could feel the vibrations under my feet. Also noticed it when the heat pump was running in colder temperatures. I lived with it for just over a year (went through a summer and a winter) before having it checked out at Polestar. In May of 2023, they determined that it needed a new AC compressor. P/N 36011847 58743 Compressor, EXCH, was replaced, along with a wiring harness. Within 2 months of that repair, the weather got hot, and the AC had quit on me on a few occasions, blowing warm moist air and requiring a shut down of the car to 'reboot' the HVAC. BTW, the drone was still there - the new compressor had not served it's intended purpose. The diagnosis this time was a faulty valve. P/N 32373474 98741 Valve housing, was replaced in August. As the summer wore on and temps continued to be hot, I noticed that not only the original noises not being resolved, there were now even more weird sounds unbecoming of a so-called silent EV. This round, the system would thump, and howl as the system turned on and spooled up. I would describe the sounds like that of a very old building's piping system, like water hammer, and air in the lines kind of noises. This seemed to happen after the car had sat for a few days, unused. Most recently, and the most acute occurrences of the thumping and howling, have been when the temps started to drop again (near freezing ) and the system (appears to be) switching modes from cooling to heating. A thunk and uuuuurrrrcchh, is now added to the repertoire before the compressor starts it's jet engine rendition. And the floorboard drone as speed builds and lowers as I come to a stop are still present.
Side note, I have not received any new brackets (that I know of) and it sounds like that wouldn't have helped anyways.
So, I have been in touch with my new friends at Polestar service... they are trying, I can't fault them for that. This time, I'm told there is a new superseded part number for the AC compressor, and so it sounds like I'm headed towards my third compressor in the coming weeks. Not sure about timing, this all came about over the past week. Apparently Polestar has some head office techs in town for training. I'll update as this unfolds.
Ok, to be clear, I'm not here to rant. My sincere hope is that this sharing of information will result in a solid solution to the problem. And I hope I'm not coming across like a crazy Karen/Chad (apologies to those named as such). I'm a gear head, car guy. My other rides are a supercharged modded Audi with an aftermarket exhaust, and a good old naturally aspirated V8 powered SUV as my junk hauler. I know what a good combustion engine sounds like, and what a nice clean EV 'should' sound like, and so I'm 2 out of 3 at the moment... Fingers crossed that I'll be advocating the Polestar again soon! This issue aside, I really do enjoy this car! Ok, that and the little niggling software shortcomings...
