[Profssor]

Hi All,

According to my service advisor, it is relatively common to have debris caught in the squirrel fan for the F10 heating and Air Conditioning (hereafter known as the HVAC Blower). If you look on YouTube, you’ll find some fairly inadequate videos on how to replace the HVAC blower.

The job is actually quite easy, and if you take your time, you can do the job in a couple of hours, start to finish.... going slowly... :-)

The problem with the fan is that the foam filter screen designed to keep debris out of the fan disintegrates over time, allowing leaves and garbage to get into the squirrel cage (fan). Once in the squirrel cage, the debris cause the fan to be unbalanced, create turbulence, and create quite a noise on high speed, in addition to inefficiencies associated with not moving air as it should. If you have this problem, you will know it.

My BMW dealer quoted me $1,745 to replace the filter box and HVAC fan. I was able to do it for about $270 using the same factory parts.

First, do not pay the $500-ish dollars for the BMW HVAC blower. Go to FCP-Euro or similar online supplier and purchase the OEM Behr blower for about $180. Then... purchase the redesigned filter box from your dealer or an online supplier for about $74.

The steps required to replace the HVAC fan are relatively simple:

1. Disconnect the negative of the battery.
2. Remove the plastic tray over the passenger side firewall (three plastic clips)
3. Remove the factory aluminum brace (two bolts)
4. Remove the plastic electronics box lid (four torx screws)
5. Remove one 12V wire from the right side of the electronics box (10mm bolt)
6. Remove one torx screw from the left front side of the electronics box.
7. Fold the electronics box forward on the wires connected to it.
8. Remove the connector from the sensor on the filter box.
9. Remove the filter box (four torx screws)
10. Remove the two connectors from the fan assembly.
11. Remove the three torx screws from the fan assembly and remove it. It is a bit of a tight fit to work out the fan assembly, but not too bad.
12. Disconnect the two plugs from the fan and fan controller on the fan assembly
13. Remove four screws to split the fan assembly.
14. Remove four screws that clamp in the fan and remove the fan and replace it.
15. Reverse your steps.

Make sure you watch the YouTube Video here:

As it will give you a rough idea on how it looks to do this job.

When I removed my fan, I found a bunch of leaves in the squirrel cage. I could have just cleaned out the squirrel cage rather than remove it, but when I felt the endplay on the HVAC fan, it was a bit excessive so I just replaced it.

What a difference. To go from jet airplane loud on max ac to whisper quiet was quite a change.

How in the world BMW service comes up with their prices, I have no idea. The next time I were to do this job, I could EASILY do it in one hour. A BMW service mechanic who has done more than one of these could easily do it in the same amount of time, which SHOULD make the replacement cost (even with the CRAZY priced BMW fan) around $800 with tax. Talk about price gouging. Sheesh.

Hope this helps someone in the future.

Joe

[rkstar9]

nice guide! is the evaporator visible when you removed the blower?

Asking because I have a bad evaporator and Id like to see it before taking down the dash.

[Profssor]

No. I suspect the evaporator is buried in the interior somewhere behind the dash. Once you remove the fan assembly, all you can see is the inlet duct leading to the cabin air filters.

I would dread removing the evaporator. I have the factory service manual and could pdf you the instructions for removing the evaporator if you would like. Shoot me an email to dr Joe west at iCloud. Com if you want the instructions.

Joe

Originally Posted by rkstar9

nice guide! is the evaporator visible when you removed the blower?

Asking because I have a bad evaporator and Id like to see it before taking down the dash.

[rkstar9]

Great I sent you an email

[harris69]

Originally Posted by Profssor

Hi All,

According to my service advisor, it is relatively common to have debris caught in the squirrel fan for the F10 heating and Air Conditioning (hereafter known as the HVAC Blower). If you look on YouTube, you’ll find some fairly inadequate videos on how to replace the HVAC blower.

The job is actually quite easy, and if you take your time, you can do the job in a couple of hours, start to finish.... going slowly... :-)

The problem with the fan is that the foam filter screen designed to keep debris out of the fan disintegrates over time, allowing leaves and garbage to get into the squirrel cage (fan). Once in the squirrel cage, the debris cause the fan to be unbalanced, create turbulence, and create quite a noise on high speed, in addition to inefficiencies associated with not moving air as it should. If you have this problem, you will know it.

My BMW dealer quoted me $1,745 to replace the filter box and HVAC fan. I was able to do it for about $270 using the same factory parts.

First, do not pay the $500-ish dollars for the BMW HVAC blower. Go to FCP-Euro or similar online supplier and purchase the OEM Behr blower for about $180. Then... purchase the redesigned filter box from your dealer or an online supplier for about $74.

The steps required to replace the HVAC fan are relatively simple:

1. Disconnect the negative of the battery.
2. Remove the plastic tray over the passenger side firewall (three plastic clips)
3. Remove the factory aluminum brace (two bolts)
4. Remove the plastic electronics box lid (four torx screws)
5. Remove one 12V wire from the right side of the electronics box (10mm bolt)
6. Remove one torx screw from the left front side of the electronics box.
7. Fold the electronics box forward on the wires connected to it.
8. Remove the connector from the sensor on the filter box.
9. Remove the filter box (four torx screws)
10. Remove the two connectors from the fan assembly.
11. Remove the three torx screws from the fan assembly and remove it. It is a bit of a tight fit to work out the fan assembly, but not too bad.
12. Disconnect the two plugs from the fan and fan controller on the fan assembly
13. Remove four screws to split the fan assembly.
14. Remove four screws that clamp in the fan and remove the fan and replace it.
15. Reverse your steps.

Make sure you watch the YouTube Video here:

As it will give you a rough idea on how it looks to do this job.

When I removed my fan, I found a bunch of leaves in the squirrel cage. I could have just cleaned out the squirrel cage rather than remove it, but when I felt the endplay on the HVAC fan, it was a bit excessive so I just replaced it.

What a difference. To go from jet airplane loud on max ac to whisper quiet was quite a change.

How in the world BMW service comes up with their prices, I have no idea. The next time I were to do this job, I could EASILY do it in one hour. A BMW service mechanic who has done more than one of these could easily do it in the same amount of time, which SHOULD make the replacement cost (even with the CRAZY priced BMW fan) around $800 with tax. Talk about price gouging. Sheesh.

Hope this helps someone in the future.

Joe

Your timing to post about this couldn't have come at a better time as mine started making that noise too. I keep mine on low setting but I was afraid it was going to quit working. My Indy quoted 4 hour labor to replace it. Thank you for posting this.

[Profssor]

If you want to drive down to Laurinburg, I can help you do the job. Four hours to do this job is crazy.

Joe

Originally Posted by harris69

Your timing to post about this couldn't have come at a better time as mine started making that noise too. I keep mine on low setting but I was afraid it was going to quit working. My Indy quoted 4 hour labor to replace it. Thank you for posting this.

[sae85402]

Do you have the part number for the updated cage (is it Genuine BMW 64119216222)

[EL Jeffe 5]

Last year my blower started making noise
I opened there was much of crap from blower filter and leafs
Easy fix

[kohsin]

I just had blower motor replaced. Dealer also found craps inside, the foam filter is gone also..
Total cost $840. I am just glad I have 3rd party insurance

[john2011uk]

I cannot remove my F10 BMW525d 2009 blower unit assembly because the blower outlet is attached to the cabin by a green fibre air duct. I followed all the instructions found on Youtube, but nobody talks about this air duct outlet to the cabin - has anybody else had this problem? The air duct is a rectangular fibre ducting through which the blower outlet transfers air to the cabin - it is permanently attached to the blower unit on my car. Any help appreciated.

[ericbmwlover]

After reading multiple sites and finding no info, I did figure our how to remove the flexible green air duct that goes from the blower housing to the passenger cabin.

I think on early F10s, the air duct is glued using a sealant to the blower motor housing. It looks like you might be able to unscrew a clamp on the passenger cabin side, but this didn't work and the screws are not accessible.

First, we need to disassemble the blower assembly in place.

There is a top piece with wires running across, that can easily by taken off by just removing a few torx screws. Once that is unscrewed, it is not really easy to detach the wires, so just leave this part wired but push or tie it off out of the way.

Then there is an additional internal plastic piece or baffle that can be removed completely. A few more screws, and a few wiggles, and this piece can be taken off. It has a center honeycomb that is centered on the squirrel cage. Once this piece is off, you can access the air duct.

The air duct end on the blower side looks like it can be pulled up, and is glued. The trick is the air duct end actually needs to be pushed down. (Or the blower assembly pulled up.) But since it is glued, pulling the blower housing up doesn't work. What worked for me was working an xacto knife along the edge of the blower housing, cutting and cleaning out a bit of the sealant. Really just working the sides, sort of sticking the blade in, twisting a bit, all while pushing a bit downward on the air duct end. Eventually, the whole air duct end slid free downward.

[StradaRedlands]

This was today's project... thanks for inspiring me! The blower was making a lot of noise at high speeds, so figured this had to be a fix! I bought a cheap $40 replacement motor on Amazon that I was going to use, but after taking the old one out and cleaning it, decided to try reusing it as it seems fine. This original Behr one spun well, and had very little play in it. Wiring had thicker gauge as well. Glad I gave it a try, as upon reassembly was MUCH quieter. Maybe there was an imbalance or something causing it, as no debris came out and it was fairly clean. The sponge filter media was shot, and I didn't order a new cover at the time, so cobbled something out of screen material to get me by. Looks like I can purchase the sponge media rather than the whole cover, but it still seems kinda of craptastic. Will monitor the screen and see how it holds up. They fall apart because the wire harness rubs on them. Seems to be a bit of a design flaw. But yes, as Profssor says above, a straightforward and easy job. Save yourself a few $$$ and give it a try!

[M_Bimmer]

...here is another solution (50 cents) to the fan box"factory filter" and does not require any gluing since it's so stiff....just tim to fit.

I guess I could have purchased the $50 cover with the course filter from BMW, and hoped that it would last a few years - again, but found that a 50-cent Scotch Brite 9" x 6" pad trimmed down to 9" x 4.2", fits well (snug) into the cover without collapsing, but allowing no pressure difference (e.g no air flow restriction)...no more leaves, and more importantly, no more "jet engine" sound when the fan is on Max setting.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

...here is another solution (50 cents) to the fan box"factory filter" and does not require any gluing since it's so stiff....just tim to fit.

I guess I could have purchased the $50 cover with the course filter from BMW, and hoped that it would last a few years - again, but found that a 50-cent Scotch Brite 9" x 6" pad trimmed down to 9" x 4.2", fits well (snug) into the cover without collapsing, but allowing no pressure difference (e.g no air flow restriction)...no more leaves, and more importantly, no more "jet engine" sound when the fan is on Max setting.

I was looking for something like that, but could only find the smaller size... what a great option!!!

[M_Bimmer]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I was looking for something like that, but could only find the smaller size... what a great option!!!

Next time...try here @ $8.99 for Qty 20 = 44 cents each (I rounded up to 50 cents)

https://www.costco.com/scotch-brite-...100403314.html

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Next time...try here @ $8.99 for Qty 20 = 44 cents each (I rounded up to 50 cents)

https://www.costco.com/scotch-brite-...100403314.html

A lifetime supply!!!

[M_Bimmer]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

A lifetime supply!!!

Depending in where in SoCal you are, I'm happy to give you 1/2 of my supply.

I'd hate for you to head over to Costco and incur +$2000 in car damage given the the amount of considerate drivers hanging out there - and most of them full of "holiday-middle-finger-cheer", and we don't even have bad weather.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Depending in where in SoCal you are, I'm happy to give you 1/2 of my supply.

I'd hate for you to head over to Costco and incur +$2000 in car damage given the the amount of considerate drivers hanging out there - and most of them full of "holiday-middle-finger-cheer", and we don't even have bad weather.

We need eggs and milk, but are afraid to go get any!!! Actually filled up the tank this morning ($4.55/gal premium!) before opening hours!

And yes, I would love to have one of your extras! I'm thinking I can put it in front of the screen, and replace it as needed (planning on never needing after this). Located in Redlands 92373?

[Hellboy550i]

Originally Posted by kohsin

I just had blower motor replaced. Dealer also found craps inside, the foam filter is gone also..
Total cost $840. I am just glad I have 3rd party insurance

Is it applies if the blower motor is gone or if it's running with noise can also qualifies for replacing with 3 rd party coverage ?

[Zenski]

Thanks for the post, just cleaned mine and put in the scotch pad!

[fs123]

Thank you for this! I need to do same process.

[Johnkwick]

is it still holding up?

I've been using electrostatic filter cotton for 18 months and now it's getting super dirty, no sign of blower overworking (loud noise). But I'm overthinking should I replace it?