THE.KWC

First I wanna say that this is not my video but the guy who made this video did an amazing job. From looking through the Q7 forum it seems this is a common problem and i'm hoping the MODS will sticky this post. After watching this video my fan has been noise free for 4 days now. The total repair time was about 30 minutes and literally cost me $7.00 for the spray grease.

I will say this. When taking the fan out there is a very well hidden screw tucked in behind the wire harnesses close the passenger side fender. When looking at the fan, this screw is on the bottom right side. you need to crawl under the dash and look up to see it. Once all the screws are out the fan simply slides out of place.

Here is the video

pulsejet

I had the same issue. I followed the video and the squeak stopped for a few days, but eventually came back. I took it into the dealership and the blower was replaced and covered under Certified Pre-owned warranty. I would definitely go that route if you are still covered.

chatterbox

On other forums I read about fixing it but it helps for some time only. When it started squcking but still works just buy a blower motor online for half a price ($189 vs. $393 from dealers).

ballfire

Which online store did you go with?

chatterbox

You can go to audi online parts - the link is on the home page. I'll check later the one I used to as I got the link at home computer.

sealf76

In my case....the carbon brush of the blower fan motor is completely worn down...anybody tried to change carbon brush of the motor? I ordered new blower fan online... it cost $178.00 with free shipping. I thought it is good deal compare to $340.00
from dealer.

anyway I will try to replace carbon brush of the motor for the future.....as emergency back up.

jeff1975

I just went to the dealership with my 2011 Audi Q7 with this same problem. Dealer told me that it was clogged up with leaves and that is why it was making that noise. They wouldn't let me speak with the mechanic who supposedly cleaned it out. Funny thing is that the vehicle has spent it's entire life in southern Arizona with nary a tree in sight and a garage at my house and work. I paid to have them "clean out the leaves". Audi is lying to it's customers because they do not want to fix these vehicles under warranty. I am looking into a class action lawsuit. If anyone is interested you can reach me at jeffswartwood@yahoo.com.

kkbma

so pitiful. how is your vehicle doing now? any other issues? I have a 2010 TDI and I have had so many issues... blower motor is out now and about to order the part.

Joseph Huber

A couple of additions to the video above.

It is possible to remove the entire motor from the plastic case. In the picture below, use a thin L-shaped stiff wire to work off the friction clip indicated by the arrow. This friction clip holds the wires in place. Once this friction clip is removed, it will give you more slack, and you will be able to remove the wire connector from the plastic housing. BE CAREFUL! if you yank on the wires too much, you can dislodge the motor brush assemblies (the round copper coils on each side of the motor).


Once you move the fan out of the way, you can remove the wire connector from the fan housing by prying out the two tabs indicated by arrows in the second picture below, and pulling up on the wires. Now, the fan is free to better clean and lubricate the back bearing.



If you are really brave, you can pry up (gently but firmly) on one side of the metal bracket that is press fit into the motor frame, shown by the arrow below, and dislodge it a bit. It will snap out. This bracket holds the back motor bearing in place and it will slide up on the shaft a bit. Sorry, I forgot to get a better picture of that. This will cause the bearing to slide up a bit, and there is a "pivot" piece in the bearing that will be exposed a little more. You can then get more lubricant into that bearing pivot. Then, take a flat head screwdriver and pound/snap the frame back in place. The bracket is snapped in on two sides. Take a look at both sides, as I recall that one side might be more suitable for this procedure than the other.


When reassembling the fan, make sure that you get the wires bent right, so that the squirrel cage doesn't rub on the wires.

In my Q7 (2015), the big wiring harness that is zip-tied to the fan housing is zip-tied to a friction clip. I pried the friction clip off, so it wasn't necessary to cut the zip tie.

I did pull the brushes out and mine had plenty of life left. The fan squirrel cage was filthy, coated with some dust (which blew out), but there was a combo of grease and carbon dust (probably from the brushes) that was stuck to the cage. I scrubbed those out with a toothbrush.

Alphadog1

I got a replacement blower for about $60 from Amazon, If you don’t want to refurbish the old one