AC blower fan vibrating car at high fan speed.

[Brnn]

Took delivery of my new model 3 yesterday.

I did notice a potential issue after getting in after parking it in a lot for a few hours. The AC fan kicked to high and was vibrating the interior. Not exaggerating, I could feel my arm vibrating on the arm rest, and in the steering wheel, and there is a loud buzzing sound. This happens at fan speeds over 7 or 8 (of 10). I’m assuming this isn’t normal, right? Probably the blower fan has a bad bearing or the fan is out of balance.

Does anyone know if the blower is accessible somewhat easily, or is it buried in the dash? If easily accessible, I’d like to give it a firm tap, or at least try to see if it’s vibrating badly to confirm the problem.

 

[akdnj88]

My M3 does this too. It's August 19 build so not too far off from yours. So I assume it's normal.

 

[Brnn]

My M3 does this too. It's August 19 build so not too far off from yours. So I assume it's normal.

That’s interesting. I had a RWD long range a few months ago before this car and it definitely didn’t do what the new car is doing. I made a service appointment, so I’ll see what they say.

 

[Brnn]

Anyone know where the AC blower fan is? Hard to find tech manuals for this car...

 

[Eno Deb]

Mine doesn't do this even at the highest fan speed. A buzzing noise would drive me crazy. I'd make a service appointment.

 

[jdcollins5]

Anyone know where the AC blower fan is? Hard to find tech manuals for this car...

It is in the front of the car behind the front fender. You need to remove Frunk bucket to access it.

 

[Brnn]

Mobile service came out, and it’s definitely the blower fan according to him. Unfortunately mobile has no way to access it. They have to take the entire dash out to reach it. Brand new car with 80 miles. Very worried about scratches, unknown missing clips and bolts after the service, etc. ugh

 

[cucubits]

Mobile service came out, and it’s definitely the blower fan according to him. Unfortunately mobile has no way to access it. They have to take the entire dash out to reach it. Brand new car with 80 miles. Very worried about scratches, unknown missing clips and bolts after the service, etc. ugh

Did you ever get this sorted out?

 

[PTinetti]

Had the same issues with our 2018 Model 3. First the mold/sock smell started coming up about every 6 months, no matter how much foam cleaner we put in filter area. Then a couple weeks ago the high speed vibration started.

I opened the hood and looked at the intake duct, nothing obvious until I got a camera down there. Mold, dirt all over on the recirculating duct cover and box. Turns out the blower blades are caked in a dust, mold combo. Compressed air wouldn’t get it off. Replacing the blower is a massive job of removing dash, steering, etc.

You have to put the hvac out of recirculating setting to get the flap door open to see the blower.

So rather than tear the dash apart, i snipped the metal mesh so I could get my hands in there with a brush. Very slowly, I used a pipe brush and cleaned every single blade, dipping brush in a water/Clorox mixture to clean all the crap off every few blades. You can only get about 6 before the recirculating flap will try to close. you need to go back into the car, press hvac on and off to get the timer to reset.

As I went, I would use a wet/dry vac to suck out excessive water/Clorox buildup. Apparently water can collect in a low spot at the recirculating door, soi kept sucking that clear (you can only get to it when the door closes on your hand and leaves it half open). After all blades looked clean, i ran it in camp mode for several hours, gradually increasing fan speed.

Perfectly fixed now!!! Seems to blow better and can go up to 10 vibration free! Hope this helps some people out there.