2009 Santa Fe - whirring noise
 

Hi all, within the past week or so I have noticed a whirring/whining noise (not loud but noticeable to me and now that I pointed it out my husband can hear it). I thought it had to do with the transmission as it seemed to change as the gears changed so my husband check the fluid level and added a bit. No change. As I was driving along the other day, for the heck of it my husband pushed the a/c button off and voila, no more noise. So, obviously, it's an issue with the a/c, would it be the compressor? He checked for any loose belts (and said there is only one that runs everything and seemed fine). If it is the compressor, is it something only the dealer can do or can it be done at home? My husband is pretty good with mechanic stuff so if it was a beginner or intermediate job I have faith he could do it. Of course my 5 year warranty ran out 2 months ago (sadly I noticed back then that the a/c didn't seem as good as it was in the past but figured it just needed a flush or something) so we can't afford to take it to the dealer for repair. Any ideas/help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Have the drive belts ever been changed? How many miles are on the car?

It's got 59,000...no, no belts have ever been changed, should that be a first step? Can it be done at home? If not we're assuming it's the compressor and it's not covered so we're out of luck. Fortunately won't be needing a/c for much longer this year and hope to trade in the late spring of next year. It still works, just makes a whirring noise that goes up and down with the changing of gears (not particularly loud)....yesterday for some reason it didn't do it at all, although it's been doing it daily for the past 1-2 weeks?

Well, the belt(s) should be changed at 60,000 miles anyway so it couldn't hurt. Not saying that is the problem but the compressor does take a lot of power to turn when the A/C is on so it could be slipping and causing that sound.

Any idea on cost of that? I'm assuming it's not covered anymore. Husband just got laid off. :(

In case anyone still happens to be following this...now that the weather has changed, I have been using the heater a little bit here and there...guess what, same noise as when using the a/c, would there be a fan or pulley or something that both a/c and heat use? Any ideas? Maybe something cheaper than I had planned?

The belt tensioner
The water pump

Easy way to tell at home before a service appt? And, either covered under the 10 year warranty?