[Nicke]

Thanks for all directions!

My blower started having cricket noise a few weeks ago and then yesterday it just stopped working. Got a new part today from the dealership and installed it after a long daycatvthe work. Easy operation. I did not remove the glove compartment or ducting (just pulled it a bit lower) got the old motor out fine, and new in aswell. For me the most "difficult" was to get the new motor to lock up and attached to the car, but got it there finally.

Oh and I could bearly turn the old motor at all by hand, it was almost seized up. After it stopped working yestersay I turned of the system completely not to risk Something to fry or something which I think was good idea considering the condition of the old motor.

[artem123]

Replaced blowing motor this morning. Had fun all the way. While the motor was out i used a compressed air to blow out the filter and the entire compartment. Car smells fresh, and motor works whisper quite)))

[Dackelone]

I came across this thread looking to service(disinfect) the AC system in my 135i. I think this video might be of help for anyone looking to replace their blower motor or FSU resistor.

[caldep]

I just performed this repair on my e91. It is very easy to do!
It took me less than 30 minutes total (including prep and cleanup).
1st, if you have the leak that kills the blower, definitely fix that first.

2nd, Like many others I did the job without removing the glove box or the duct work in front of the blower motor. Skipping the duct work removal requires finagling the motor to get it out; and quite a bit to get the new one in. Take your time. It will go in, you don't have to force it.

If you chose not to remove the ductwork, you need to make some room. Pull the ductwork straight down (on the passenger side end) to break it free of the clip. Once free you can pivot it forward enough to get the motor in and out.

Before removing my old unit I got a good look at the tab as there is some question on which way to rotate the motor. The way mine was installed, the tab sits in a recess when properly seated. The motor can be removed by rotating either way (however one direction was clearly the better choice). Rotating counter clockwise required pulling the tab down a little bit and a push that I managed with the hand pushing the tab down. I could then rotate the rest of the way without fussing with the tab. Rotating clockwise to get it out required pulling the tab down a lot to clear a second barrier (which would require two hands, one to pull tab hard and second to turn while still holding the tab down), but it could come out that way as well. I chose the easier route of turning it counter clockwise. I should have photographed it.

I had resigned myself to removing the glove box since I am 6-3 and over 300lbs. But I decided to try it first without removing the glove box or ductwork since I could always remove them later. Glad I didn't.

Thanks for the excellent instructions. I recommend watching the videos if you are at all worried about this so you can truly see how easy it is.

[kane_ca]

Hi, My mechanic can't find a replacement blower motor for my 2006 x3. We are located in BC Canada. - Any Canadians out there who can direct me? Many thanks in advance.

[norsairius]

I just ordered a replacement Valeo blower motor unit because the dealership quoted me ~$700 to replace it! The part alone was going to be $400-$500, which is absurd, so I'm looking forward to giving this a shot. I'm somewhat of a newbie when it comes to doing work on cars so we'll see how it goes!

Originally Posted by kane_ca

Hi, My mechanic can't find a replacement blower motor for my 2006 x3. We are located in BC Canada. - Any Canadians out there who can direct me? Many thanks in advance.

I know this is coming weeks after you asked your question, but I believe ECS Tuning ships to Canada. You'll be hit with customs, tax, etc. However, if you can't find anything in Canada directly, it may be one of your only choices:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-hamburg-...113453729~ham/

Or this for the OEM part (much more expensive):
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...r/64113453729/

Edit / Update:
I was able to do the replacement relatively easily. This was my first DIY on this particular car, but it's also a fairly simple job. My replacement blower motor's housing had the locking tab broken off during shipping or something and I couldn't find a spare screw to use in the other tab, so I just swapped the new blower motor and regulator to the old housing.

I was able to do this without fully removing the venting, but I did need to undo one end so I could move it just enough to get the old blower out and the new one in. Otherwise it took some wiggling to get the old blower motor out and the new one in.

It'll be nice to not have a squeaky blower motor!

[caldep]

"

Hi, My mechanic can't find a replacement blower motor for my 2006 x3. We are located in BC Canada. - Any Canadians out there who can direct me? Many thanks in advance.

I purchased my blower online from OEM Bimmer parts. I think it was in the $120 range.

[mantis]

fixed mine and now a year later get a recall notice ugh

[MNe90123]

Tons of great information on this thread.

So I pulled my motor out and gave it spin and now it works. It seems like it was slightly stuck for some reason and just getting it unstuck fixed the problem.

The only issue is that I broke the retaining clip in the process. Any thoughts about how risky it is to drive the car around without having it fully clipped in?

[pdesjardins]

Thanks for all the info. I'm sure it saved me a bundle!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by MNe90123

Tons of great information on this thread.

So I pulled my motor out and gave it spin and now it works. It seems like it was slightly stuck for some reason and just getting it unstuck fixed the problem.

The only issue is that I broke the retaining clip in the process. Any thoughts about how risky it is to drive the car around without having it fully clipped in?

From Eninty's original post...

Addendum:
If your new blower unit came without the locking tab you can secure the unit using the front index tab. The index tab lines up with a hollow bung on the HVAC housing that you can install a small wood or sheet metal screw into to keep the blower from rotating out of place (I doubt it ever would anyway).

[Ricthewrench]

Bump this antiquated thread for a big thanks! 09 328, motor removal took approx 100 seconds. 2 screws, plastic out, pop er out, no additional parts removed. 5 minutes to carefully install, tab unbroken 👍. Easily the simplest repair I have done.

[Robiovic]

My ac fan starts squicking at low fan speeds.
For my car, there was no chance to put out the fan assembly without removing the foot fan duck(too many cables), but I choose to put out the glovebox too, it was much easy to access the fan motor, and removing the glovebox is a matter of minutes, it's only middle trip, cup holders and then 6x bolt for the glovebox, easy. With the glovebox removed, it's very easy to put out and in the air duct and fan assembly, you have lots of places to do that. Much better than fighting with the fan assembly

I try to put some grease inside the bearing but that doesn't work, it's squeaking even more(I guess grease does not penetrate the bearing fully). I do this again but I have used oil this time that will penetrate the bearing better through that little bearing filter cap gap, but no expectation to last as long as proper grease lubrication.

[Mathew87]

Today I changed my blower motor as well, mainly by following the instructions of the OP. I did need to remove the HVAC duct work to gain a better grip on the motor itself in order to twist it. And that ended up being a problem because it is actually impossible to put them back in 100% correct fashion without removing the entire glovebox assembly. Which is what I should have done from the start in order to contort my body less. Another complication was that I figured out rather late that the cupholders must be removed as well since they hold the glovebox hanged in two places with some rubber coated pins and prevent the glovebox from dropping freely after removing its screws.

The old blower motor did restart after tapping it a few times but I found it too risky to simply oil and reinstall it because it's actually a safety item that would have failed eventually at the worst possible moment. Like when the windows are foggy or frosted. Everything metal in it looked a bit rusty and simply worn out, even though it still used to work quietly. My only regret is that I could not find a brand-new original Valeo unit on short notice on my local European market, and settled on a generic Chinese one. I found the BMW repackaged Valeo a rip-off for something as simple as a fan. 200 euros vs 60 euros for the generic. And 60 euro is still double the price for what it sells on Ebay with delivery in the US but the local market is what it is. The generic Chinese works OK, blows reasonably strong, is similarly quiet to the Valeo, but does not increse its RPM when I put it on the highest setting. It just continues to the spin at the same speed as it did on the penultimate setting shown on the control panel. This leads me to think that it probably has a lower power rating that cannot match the one of the Valeo unit.