A/C Heat fan Speed

[drs]

It's been a while...

Noticed yesterday that my fan/blower speed doesn't really increase air velocity as I push the fan speed switch and the little red lights increase. It stays about the same.
Vehicle has 67K miles.
BMW said possibly resistor, cost for part and service $368, or it may be the entire control unit in dash with all the controls that cost is $1,495. If its the latter have to really think before I put $1,495 into a 13 year old vehicle.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dennis

[Eric Giles]

I would lean towards the final stage resistor being the problem. You can get a new aftermarket replacement FSR from $40-70 online, and a Genuine BMW FSR for around $125. I've even used the cheap no-name $25 FSR units with success, but it's not something I recommend.

With a screwdriver, you can change the FSR yourself in less than an hour start to finish.

If the CCU is bad, which I doubt is the issue from what you're describing, then known good used units can be purchased for under $300 on ebay. Once again, you can swap it out yourself in a matter of minutes.

[jsoto]

FWIW, no need to remove any part of the glovebox, even though alot of articles state that. Remove the trim....and it's a tight spot where the FSR sits, but with some thinking as you eyeball it, once can unclip/reclip the FSR by just removing that trim piece on the CC

[Zulu95]

+1 for it being the Final Stage Resistor.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by drs

It's been a while...

Noticed yesterday that my fan/blower speed doesn't really increase air velocity as I push the fan speed switch and the little red lights increase. It stays about the same.
Vehicle has 67K miles.
BMW said possibly resistor, cost for part and service $368, or it may be the entire control unit in dash with all the controls that cost is $1,495. If its the latter have to really think before I put $1,495 into a 13 year old vehicle.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dennis

I wouldn't hesitate if I was keeping the vehicle another year or two at least - $1,500 is approx 3-4 months of most new car payments - Even a $350/mo lease on a new 3-series is going to set you back over 4k in a year and that doesnt count the increased insurance cost, etc

I don't know why people sit there and look at age of car and wonder if its "worth fixing" - sure if the engine or trans takes a dump I can understand but even a decently large repair like that at $1,500 is pennies compared to what new vehicles cost.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

I don't know why people sit there and look at age of car and wonder if its "worth fixing" - sure if the engine or trans takes a dump I can understand but even a decently large repair like that at $1,500 is pennies compared to what new vehicles cost.

Sometimes the thinking is "If I sink $1500 into a vehicle worth $3000, I'll never get my money back".

The way to get the money "back" is, of course, to not sell it but keep it and get another $1500 worth of use from it...

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Sometimes the thinking is "If I sink $1500 into a vehicle worth $3000, I'll never get my money back".

The way to get the money "back" is, of course, to not sell it but keep it and get another $1500 worth of use from it...

^^Exactly my point which is why I used the $400-500/mo example of a new car - if you put $1,500 into the X5 but it runs great for another 6 months or more you've "gotten your money back" for sure