After determining the root cause of the noise being the A/C compressor, I did indeed cut the belt right off...Success! The screeching sound stopped immediately.
My 15 was getting pretty bad this year, cycling between warm and cold. I did the washer mod on the AC co.pressor, where you pull the smaller washer, and it helped big time.
I ended up buying one of these, because of the amount of smoke, I didn't trust the old one, and I couldn't get a reconditioned one in the UK for my particular car. Shipping over a new one from the USA would hurt, so I've gone with this. I don't imagine it will last as well as an OEM version though, as I'm not entirely convinced it is genuine. Zexel is an OEM on some parts though. Who knows. Seems to be built well though:
I took it to the mechanic. My ac compressor needs to be replaced.
Your Valeo AC compressor will be swapped out multiple times.
Right at 5k miles the AC Compressor stopped working. Took it to the dealer and they replaced the Compressor. 3 weeks later, 5,600 miles, hot air blower out the vents again. Again they replace the Condensor, Compressor. All under warranty... 4 AC Compressors. When we got rid of it in 2019, the APP and the AC stopped working for the 4th time.
She's replaced the compressor, condensor, AC recharged then a year or so later once again blowing hot air (we're in TX). Spoke to the mechanic right now & he said the compressor clutch is not kicking in because it's not receiving the ground signal from the engine computer.
I have a 2018 and had to get a new compressor. I have a great mechanic and he straight up tells me that Subaru a/c are just garbage. I have an ‘09 Corolla and a ‘17 F-150 work vehicle, and both of those put out ice cold a/c no issues. Even with the new a/c, coolant, and everything else, it still pretty weak.
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This part for Subaru Forester is made around the world. We have reviews for ac compressor manufacturers from countries such as: Japan, France .
In March 2026, the ranking of ac compressor for Subaru Forester on PartReview included 3 manufacturers. It is based on 8 reviews and 25 votes.
Last month, PartReview users preferred ZEXEL. 0% of positive votes went to this manufacturer.
In second place: ac compressor VALEO — 0%.
Third place: OEM Subaru with 0% of the votes.
In the overall ranking of ac compressor, which aggregates opinions of owners of different car makes and models, these brands hold the following positions:
After seeing which ac compressor owners of Subaru Forester prefer, check other popular parts for this car. In March 2026, leaders on PartReview were:
You can also see what Subaru Forester owners chose among such parts as: Strut assembly, Oil filter, and others.
