Blower Fan Replacement (Removal w/o Tools)

[StealthGTI]

Hello,

My interior blower motor (ventilation) started making some sickly noises around the 70,000-mile mark. It was disappointing on a car that was just over two years old. Later, the fan speed began to fluctuate until it eventually became unreliable, working only from time to time.

I didn’t see much about how to replace the blower online, not even in YouTube. So I decided to take photographs for you and my website, as well as to shoot a video for my YouTube channel. Now that I’ve done the job, I’m very certain I could complete a swap in 15 minutes or less.

Here are the steps (refer to the photos below):

01. Remove the two plastic finger screws that hold the foam insulation in place beneath the glove box.

02. Remove the foam insulation. The blower is in plain sight.

03. Pull down the blower's locking tab, which points toward the firewall, about 2mm to allow the blower to rotate.

04. Rotate the blower ~20 degrees clockwise. The blower will fall free.

05. Remove the blower; remember – it is still electrically connected to the car.

06. Unplug the blower’s power cable; move the blower to a working surface.

07. Unplug the resistor power cable.

08. Remove the two resistor mounting screws using a T20 driver (the only tool needed).

09. Remove the resistor and transfer to the new blower; install its mounting screws.

10. Insert the resistor power cable until it clicks.

11. Maneuver the blower into its mounting position; orient the mounting tab towards the firewall and the resistor toward the right.

12. Rotate the blower slightly left or right to get it to seat, then rotate it counter-clockwise to lock it into place.

13. Insert the blower power cable until it clicks.

14. Test the blower. The blower will not run faster than “4” unless the engine is running.

15. Install the foam insulation; make sure to align the vent holes and finger screw holes.

16. Install the two finger screws.

17. Go for a drive and enjoy the fresh air!​

I think Volkswagen got the design right when they made the parts easy to remove and separate. My new fan is slightly louder than my original part. I’ll live with the extra rumble from the new fan. I’m inclined to think Volkswagen perfected the removal aspect of the blower because they expect them to fail relatively frequently. If that’s true, I’ll have a new revision in two years. HAHA!

If you're more of a "video guy," I've uploaded a video HERE. Feel free to ask questions.

Scott

 

[Diggs24]

wow, that is easy.

good vid as usual

 

[Finglonga]

Thanks, good to know. Wonder how many hours a dealer would charge to do a simple job like that?

 

[IWMTom]

Thanks, good to know. Wonder how many hours a dealer would charge to do a simple job like that?

"Five hours, we need to tear down the dash and sacrifice our first born child"

 

[MonkeyMD]

Thanks, good to know. Wonder how many hours a dealer would charge to do a simple job like that?

Not apples to apples, but for my Fit, was quoted $360.

$60 part, 3 torx screws and 20 minutes later, I was done.

 

[StealthGTI]

HAHA!

The dealer will charge MSRP for the part, which is $160. For labor, they'll charge at least an hour just to justify the pay and time for the service rep and administration. But they'd probably charge two hours since every car that goes into a dealer bay gets a "courtesy" inspection.

Scott

 

[Bingo McFriskin]

Feel free to ask questions.

Scott

Hi Scott, thanks for your excellent tutorial. My blower seems to have died last night (no fan at all on any speed). I checked fuses, then found your video and took my blower out in just a few minutes. I'm still trying to figure out if the blower itself is the problem or if I need to look elsewhere.

My question is, should a good blower spin freely while it's in your hands? Mine will turn just a bit before grinding to a halt in either direction.

Thanks,
-Rich

 

[anotero]

"Five hours, we need to tear down the dash and sacrifice our first born child"

Maybe the second born too.

 

[StealthGTI]

Rich,

"No fan on any speed" could just as easily be the resistor, too. However, I cannot think of any good reason for a fan to seize after turning a few times in each direction. I'd replace it and see what happens. You can also plug in your old fan with it in your hand and see how it behaves. If it spins to a stop or has torque (driving into the seized position), then perhaps the resistor is good and the fan has an issue. You might also inspect it to see if there is an obstruction.

Good Luck,

Scott

Hi Scott, thanks for your excellent tutorial. My blower seems to have died last night (no fan at all on any speed). I checked fuses, then found your video and took my blower out in just a few minutes. I'm still trying to figure out if the blower itself is the problem or if I need to look elsewhere.

My question is, should a good blower spin freely while it's in your hands? Mine will turn just a bit before grinding to a halt in either direction.

Thanks,
-Rich

 

[George Ab]

Well done. Thanks for adding to the MK7 collective knowledge base.

 

[Bingo McFriskin]

Rich,

"No fan on any speed" could just as easily be the resistor, too. However, I cannot think of any good reason for a fan to seize after turning a few times in each direction. I'd replace it and see what happens. You can also plug in your old fan with it in your hand and see how it behaves. If it spins to a stop or has torque (driving into the seized position), then perhaps the resistor is good and the fan has an issue. You might also inspect it to see if there is an obstruction.

Good Luck,

Scott

Thanks Scott. I went ahead and bought a replacement blower on ebay that included another resistor. From the pics, it looks identical to the interchangeable unit that you got with the silver center hub (so maybe a bit louder). I will install it in early August and report back ASAP.

 

[dietcokefiend]

On my old 09 Rabbit I started to get some dry bearing sleeve noise a year or two in. I ended up removing the blower (which looks the same as in the car) and dripping some synthetic oil down the shaft into the sleeve bearing. 7 years later it was still perfect and silent.

I think some of these are just running dry. If you start hearing a little noise just pop the thing out and put a drop of oil into it.

 

[Bingo McFriskin]

On my old 09 Rabbit I started to get some dry bearing sleeve noise a year or two in. I ended up removing the blower (which looks the same as in the car) and dripping some synthetic oil down the shaft into the sleeve bearing. 7 years later it was still perfect and silent.

I think some of these are just running dry. If you start hearing a little noise just pop the thing out and put a drop of oil into it.

That's the funny thing, there wasn't any noise, it just stopped blowing.
I pulled the assembly apart and tried WD-40. It loosened up a bit, but it clearly does not want to spin.

 

[Bingo McFriskin]

Received the replacement today, installed in a couple minutes and it's icebox cool again. Scott, you turned a $400 shop repair into a $65 minor inconvenience. Thanks very much again!

 

[StealthGTI]

Thanks for sharing that. I like to help people, but you putting a price tag on it makes helping out a bit more satisfying.