Just collected my car back from the Skoda garage to get the air conditioning condenser replaced. I noticed a strange whining noise coming from what seemed the engine after about a week of ownership. That was in February, so it was rare that the conditioning came on as it seems to only kick in above five degrees. The mechanic also said that it was not blowing cold air at all.

The garage initially had trouble diagnosing the fault, as again it was too cold for it to kick in. They said that they had never seen or heard of this before but coincidentally they got another Superb in with the very same fault in a car the same age as mine.

Could this be one of the sources of the reported engine whine problem that seems to mentioned quite a bit on the internet? It does sound like the engine until you switch the AC off.

Just a thought :think:

Edited 12 April, 201313 yr by smiffy64

I meant to say compressor instead of condenser...oops.

Did replacing the compressor cure the whining then? I get this on mine, but the noise is there until I turn the AC back on, then it goes.

Edited 13 April, 201313 yr by Yearofthegoat

They had to replace the compressor which fixed the whining and the fact it was not blowing cold air. Thankfully under warranty as I gather it is a very expensive part that also needs a bit of time to fix.

The noise was like a mixture of grinding metal and a breathing sound that was actually coming through the vents.

My car is near as damn it perfect now. Just the off centre steering and slight pulling to the left to go. That one does not get done under warranty. Ah well.