Air flow directional knob/lever
 

Hi all
Happy owner of X5 35d.
Sad owner as one air flow lever in rear center consol air vent has come off. Looks like its made of two clip together parts, found rear but not front, must have lost during cleaning.

Been told cannot replace/repair this without replacing whole rear vent console setup :rolleyes:

Seems very strange. Anybody had the same issue and been able to get replacement lever anyway?

Dave

Yes- was covered by warranty, but SA said it runs bout $700- mostly labor because they have to take out the entire center console. And two of us have reported the leather being torn on the sides of the console during the fix. My leather was also repaired for free.

Wanted to post my experience with replacing this lever on the dashboard center console of my X5. It's actually much easier to do than I initially thought it was going to be. Here's my mini how-to:

Tools you'll need:

• Small to medium flat head screw driver. Large enough to be comfortable but small enough to fit within the air vents.
• Small to medium "s" type screw driver with a flat head. Again this should be large enough to work with but small enough to comfortable fit between the air vents. This doesn't have to be an "s" screw driver...it's just what I happened to have (one with a flat head and fillips on each end). Any 90 degree flat head screw driver should work.

NOTE: This procedure does not require you to disassemble anything in the vehicle. Which makes it attractive as you can avoid the problem given above (where the vehicle interior is damaged due to the replacement). Plus it makes the whole process a 5 minute job (once you get the hang of it). The part you need is not available seperately. You will need to order the entire housing just to obtain the lever. I was missing the center console lever but purchased the passenger side air assembly as it was about $20.00 less. Why buy the center console when all I need is the lever?

• Pop the lever off the replacement assembly using a flat blade screw driver (or equivalent). It is clipped in place to the back piece on each side. It doesn't take much effort to pop off. If you want to preserve the finish on the replacement unit I recommend protecting the plastic where the screw driver will be touching it. This is not absolutely necessary as you will not be using the entire assembly...you're just after the lever (and back piece if you've los it).
• Be careful when pulling off the lever as there is a little metal clip/spring inside the lever. While this part is not completely necessary if you're a perfectionist you'll want it when you install the lever in the vehicle. Most likely this clip/spring will have fallen off and is laying somewhere around your work area (hint: do this in a clean, open area so you can find it...I used my kitchen table). This spring goes at the bottom of the lever in the center with the hump facing up as you look inside the lever. It's purpose is to apply pressure against the air vent slat to slightly push the lever out once cliped together. This allows the lever to more easily slide along the air slat. It also makes for a tighter clamp on the back piece. It's easy to manipulate back into the lever with a small screw driver. I applied a small amount of Vaseline with a q-tip to the lever to hold it in place so it didn't fall off during assembly. Whew...that was a lot for that little spring!
• Now go to the vehicle and put the back piece into the air vent ensuring the "fingers" go around the post. It's fairly obvious how this part goes in. Be careful not to drop it in the air vent and lose it in the ducting. While this wasn't much of a problem when I was doing the work it was something I was aware of and a possibility so I thought I'd mention it.
• The lever clips onto the back piece on each edge of the lever. This is where the 90 degree screw driver comes into play. You will need to jockey the back piece where it up against the slat and then push the lever onto the back piece (you may wish to try practicing this on the assembly you purchased first...makes it easier to do on the vehicle when you've done it a few times). You will use the 90 degree screw driver to hold the back piece while you push the edge of the lever onto it. You should not be using the screw driver to push the back piece onto the lever. When you do this you'll hear a click. Then repeat for the opposite side...which is much easier as now the lever is holding the back piece in place.

By practicing on the air assembly you purchased you can become familiar with the process and how to do it before trying it on the vehicle. Now that I've done it a few times it will take all of five minutes to do. The longest part is ensuring the back clip is properly positioned. And, as long as you don't try prying with the screw drivers, you're unlikely to mar any part of your dash. So don't pry with the screw drivers. Hold with them.