jaspirr

My A/C has been cutting in and out so I took it to the dealership today. They just called with the usual bad news. They say that the blower motor and the regulator are both broken. They want $1,300 to replace them.

I asked what he meant by "broken" and he said completely not working. That seems a little strange to me because the A/C does work occasionally - about 20% of the time. I would think that if the blower motor is completely broken, that would not be the case.

I did plenty of searching on this forum and Google and just can't find much about a DIY replacement or about the expected cost of paying to have it replaced. I saw in some search a cost estimate of $300 to $400. I have a hunch that the $1,300 that the dealership wants is way excessive.

Does anyone have experience with A/C blower motor replacement? Either a DIY instruction or a cost for a shop to do it? Thanks.

edit: Just found this site that says it's a DIY and costs less than $300. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

MB_SD

Can't help on cost but can say that mine went out as well in my '14 with less than 20k miles. Replaced under warranty

roadkillrob

Depending on the parts cost, you can mostly assume labor at a dealer is 2x, so if the parts are cheap the labor most of the cost, you can save a bunch at an Indy - personally no one should be servicing their car off warranty at a dealer is my feeling when you can get a MB factory trained Indy for half the money (unless you live somewhere there are no really Indy's)

jaspirr

Minor update. I declined the dealership's work and picked the car up. As I was picking it up they pulled me aside and said somehow one of the techs magically got the A/C working again by "reaching in and spinning the engine" but that they are confident it's going to break again.

Of course they told me a few hours ago that it was 100% completely broken and would not work again, so I have trouble trusting them. Regardless, I think the blower motor is on its' way out although not completely dead. I'll probably try a DIY replacement.

jaspirr

I ended up replacing the blower motor myself for $130 and 1 hour of work. I can't believe the dealership wanted $1300 for it. It involves removing 3 screws, unplugging 2 wire connectors, and twisting the motor out of its' mounting point. Just posting this update in case anyone is debating doing a fix themselves or paying a mechanic.

Ludedude

Well done