[B1ANK]

Had the manual air con on full on Sunday and suddenly there was massive vibration through the dashboard ! I turned the fan off and all was quiet again...
I took the car to a BMW dealer who checked the car, they found the micro filter that was fitted at the last service was fitted upside down so not secured properly! they are not sure if this has caused damage to the blower motor and the only way to find out is to remove the dash board!
the car is out of warranty.... it could also be the bearings have collapsed ALWAYS THE WAY.....
the blower motor was replaced under warranty when the car was 2 and a half years old...
any one else has this problem and massive vibration and potential massive cost?

[miniredcooper]

Ouch..... But surely the fitting of the filter upside down is their mistake and therefore their fault so not your problem. Well worth an argument I would think.

Let me know how you get on - I have a spare complete heater unit for a manual air con car (all the internals there and working) - It's on ebay at the moment but if it doesn't sell and you need it let me know.

[B1ANK]

Found the problem...
The bearings have had a major failure and the blower motor is shaking around in the dash, hence the massive vibration...
Parts £63 plus vat
Labour £130 per hour + vat... Total time around 4 hours!!!
Over £500...

The blower motor is only 14 months old as it was replaced under warranty in May 06 ! out of warranty hence the dealer is making a request on my behalf...

BMW clearly have not upgraded faulty parts that have known faults... Is this legal to sell known faulty parts? Heater motor? Gearbox? Clutch? Its replacement parts are just as bad!!!

Any ideas on what we should do?

[B1ANK]

The dealer has called... BMW has offered a free blower motor, 50% of the labour and I am to pay the rest... A total of £225 plus VAT !

Still not cheap but it will be covered buy a two year parts and labour warranty...

Question I want answered is have BMW up graded the quality of the part they will fit or is it the same cheapish component that will cause problems in the future??

[miniredcooper]

Ok - still sounds expensive though but better than nothing I suppose.

I reckon there is still scope to push them a bit on this one though - let me know what you think.

1. They fitted a filter incorrectly which they say caused the fault

2. They replaced the blower under warranty in May 06. If you are now being offered another replacement with two years parts and labour warranty - then surely the one fitted in May 06 carries the same warranty with it and has therefore failed during it's warranty - so again please fix Mr Dealer and no pennies from me thankyou very much.

3. The fact they are offering an FOC Blower, and 50% labour straight off - makes me think you are in the position of strength here

I'm certainly no expert in warranty and certainly no Nicki Campbell/Esther Ranzen (Watchdog etc)- but I reckon they are being a bit cheeky in asking you to stump up a penny let alone £265 odd quid (why do they always give you the price ex VAT that annoys me too - but maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man prematurely).

But ultimately it's your choice and what you are happy and comfortable doing - but as I said good start and well done in getting them to cave and £265 is better than what I thought it might be.

[oldmots]

Something does not sounds quite right. I doubt that a backwards filter would do this kind of damage without some warning like a whining sound as it rubbed. Blower bearings are very long lived and unlikely to fail when yours did. The average blower is good for much longer. The real problem was likely that the blower was improperly mounted in the housing and came loose or came loose and rubbed something and damaged the fan. This is hard to prove without taking it apart yourself, but the problem was possibly caused by the previous repair. This would tell me that I was gettign a false diagnosis to save the previous repair guy a headache.

[B1ANK]

well the letter and call have been made by me to BMW UK...
knowone seems to be sure if the filter has affected the blower motor, the bearings are not as long lasting as they should be and have failed!
keeping my fingers crossed that they cover the full repair!
they can also fit some rubbing felt at the same time to stop lots of squeaks in the dashboard...
more news tomorrow...

[B1ANK]

BMW have come back to me and have made a final offer...
They will pay for the all parts and 80% of the labour to replace my heater motor that failed!
A two year parts and labout warranty included...
A fair offer I think seeing as my car is out of warranty as it expired in September 2006 !
I may even consider a new Cooper D when its time to change now!

Seems its worth a haggle with BMW customer service once your dealer has tried on your behalf...