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Squeaky Fan or Blower Motor?

15K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Skitals 
#1 ·
Hey y'all,

I have a squeak coming from the passenger side dash board. The squeak only happens while the fan is on and i'm driving over any sized bumps. It also squeaks most of the time when I initially step on the gas pedal. This is strictly related to the fan or blower being on and driving over bumps. And also when I initially step on the gas pedal. The torque of the engine starting to move the car must move something in the fan or blower motor system and makes it squeak.

This is a HIGHLY annoying squeak!!! Someone please help!
 
#2 · (Edited)
I had something similar happen to me. Thought it was a leaf or something in the a/c blower motor. Had the dealership look at it and they said they got some leaves out of it and it was fine. Noise was still there but much quitter. Over the next week the noise got louder and louder. Took it back in and they looked at it again and said, "Oh, you're going to need a new blower motor. This one is going bad." $140 for the "diagnostic". Took it home, figured out how to remove the blower motor myself (underneath the passenger dash - spent a lot of time upsidedown in the passenger footwell.) Looked completely fine except it squealed when I turned it on. I sprayed some WD40 down inside the bearings and no more speak. It has been three years since I did that ONE time and still runs without a sound. The dealer gave me back the $140 after I explained to his master mechanic how I had "fixed" the blower motor.

As an aside - it just doesn't seem like anybody wants to try and fix anything anymore. Just want to "get a new part" to fix the problem. Pisses me off.
 
#3 ·
That’s the world we live in these days. Gone are the times where a tradesman would REALLY fix / repair a problem. Instead we now live in a modular world where everything is replaced with a new one.

Maybe when people go to the dealer they should be explaining they want something explicitly fixed and not replaced and see what answers they get back. Of course that’s not going to work for everything. But would be interesting to see what the dealer does. ….. or doesn’t do
 
#4 ·
Hey did your squeak only happen while the fan was on and you are driving over bumps at the same time. The bumps didn't need to be big. Just enough to shake the fan or whatever it is squeaking.
 
#5 ·
Agree totally. All those electronic modules at $400 or $800 when by replacing a mosfet or transistor for $4 plus say 1.5 hrs labour would do the trick.

Those parts are just so overpriced that some oversight should be put in place. Like telcos and their roaming fees. Robbery.
 
#8 ·
So was this blower motor or fan easy to access, you say? Do you have any link to the instructions on how to do this and check? Maybe I could try some WD40 before I threw money at it.
 
#9 ·
So was this blower motor or fan easy to access, you say? Do you have any link to the instructions on how to do this and check? Maybe I could try some WD40 before I threw money at it.
The blower motor is not technically difficult to get to but it is in an awkward spot. If I recall correctly - laydown face-up in the passenger footwell - you will see some screws on the panel underneath the glove box. Remove that panel and it will give you access to the blower motor. There are quite a few screws holding the blower motor in place (maybe 6 or 8 and it is tricky to get out but you can do it. (it's an even bigger pain getting it back in) Once removed it becomes obvious if something is stuck inside it or if it is the bearings making the noise. You can also reconnect the power and turn the a/c on while it is removed and check the noise again. I sprayed some WD40 down inside the bearing housing and turned it on again to check it - no more noise. And as I said, I did this a couple of years ago and have not had any more noise come from the fan.

Even though it was frustrating due to the awkward position I had to lay and all the cursing I did trying to get it back in correctly it ultimately saved me the $500 the dealer wanted to replace the entire motor.

Sorry I didn't take any photos when I did it.
 
#12 ·
It's SUPER easy to get at. If you've ever replaced your cabin air filter, it's almost that easy - there are a few more screws and you need an extension to reach a couple of them, but it literally took me 15 minutes start to finish to replace my blower motor.

There are a couple of threads on blower motor replacement around. Even going slow for the 1st time, it shouldn't take more than an hour. As others have stated, the tricky part is that you have to work on your back in the passenger footwell. A good head light (like you would use for camping) is plenty of light for the job.

GL
 
#14 ·
The blower motor was about $85 USD IIRC. Well worth it - now it doesn't squeak anymore and I don't have to worry about it failing. At some point, the squeak becomes a failure when the motor seizes up. I didn't want it to happen in the middle of winter, so I replaced it in September.
 
#15 ·
I'll be getting a new one within the next 2 weeks. If the blower motor fails in the meanwhile, will it mess anything else up? Or will it just mean that I want have any fan/blowing capabilities until it is fixed?
 
#16 ·
If the motor fails, it only means it won't blow air any more - means your Treg will be chilly on the inside. There are stories about a little smoke / dust when they seize up, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it happens, it happens - nothing you can do about it.
 
#18 ·
I will attempt this project this week since my motor finally gave out. It started squeaking at higher speeds so I would just run it at a lower speed. That lasted through the summer but now it hardly runs at all. Thanks for the good advice on how to remove it.
 
#19 ·
My Fan blower motor was squeaking getting worse every day,,,Pull out bottom of passenger dash,,,mine just had clips,remove curtesy floor light plug,,,,, late 2008 built v6 tdi,,arrived Australia 2009,,get under dash,,I'm a 100 kg ,,so I done mine kneeling from the side,,with a good light and a mirror,,,,7x 5.5 mill screws to remove,,then fan housing will pull down,,unplug fan wiring,,,,carefully with a screw driver ,,push down on 4 rubber motor mounts,,unpick fan wiring from clip and fan motor will seperate from housing,,,I sprayed mine,,top and bottom bearings with RP7 (same as Wd40),,,then replace back into housing,,a little bit of rubber grease or oil on mounts will help,,,,check fan by plugging it in and turning on air con,,if all is good,,replace with 7 screws,,I also replaced cabin filter whilst there,,,my fan is now running very quiet,,I didn't disconnect battery,,just put key in my pocket,,,,easy fix,,,,hope this helps someone with there squeaky blower fan,,,,cheers john
 
#21 ·
Mine sounded like a squirrel chirping under the dash when the AC was on, but only at certain speeds/RPMs. Just lubed the blower motor. Good video on how to partially separate the motor from the housing. I used 3in1 oil on both ends of the shaft. It spun much more freely by hand. Took less than 30 minutes to pull the motor, pop it apart, lube it, put it back together, and reinstall.

I did the same procedure on the air handler motor in my home hvac 3 years ago and that's still going strong 😁
 
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