Just to closing the loop on this one.

Long (and not useful) story but we ended up going ahead and replacing the compressor and i have not heard the whirring noise since.

I'm going to have my independent mechanic look at it as soon as he located a part for a different issue (Brake Booster). Some of the other posts I've looked at suggest low Freon can create this noise. I'll do my best to update the outcome once we get it resolved. As for A/C in the winter, you can ru...

Played with this a little more last night and did find that the whine goes away when you turn the A/C off. Fan was still blowing and it was quiet.

I'm looking for some help diagnosing a noise on my 2008 V70. There is a noticeable whine coming from the dash area which changes pitch with the RPMs of the engine. The noise completely disappears if I shut the HVAC off which has always led me to believe the blower motor is the culprit. The odd aspec...