[clayswen]

I recently took my daughters x1 in to the dealership for a diagnosis of the ac working on drivers side and not the passengers side. They said the shaft that the actuator is attached to is stripped. They sent me a video showing the shaft free spinning and moving back and forth with play in it. I've seen a repair kit for this air flap problem. Does it fix this issue with the shaft free spinning? They want $4500 to repair it thats highway robbery to me.

[DomMuc]

the only oem repair is to replace the heaterbox wich is appx 4k

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by clayswen

I recently took my daughters x1 in to the dealership for a diagnosis of the ac working on drivers side and not the passengers side. They said the shaft that the actuator is attached to is stripped. They sent me a video showing the shaft free spinning and moving back and forth with play in it. I've seen a repair kit for this air flap problem. Does it fix this issue with the shaft free spinning? They want $4500 to repair it thats highway robbery to me.

****It's huge, thankless job to replace the box itself. On other cars it is often the gears that strip (they are made of plastic..), and the actuators themselves are not that expensive but getting to them is *unbelievably* tedious and a big big job as SO much has to come out to get to them - and they are often only held in by two screws and connected with a 4,5, or 7 pin connector... There are several of them.

If the shaft is still free spinning and moving when energized that's a plus and it may be able to be fixed but getting to it is still a decent job that will require some time.

If there is a repair kit and you can find an independent mechanic to give it a whirl no doubt it will be cheaper, but since you noted the shaft has play in it, and is moving back and forth it sounds like it has experienced some abnormal resistance/force (perhaps from dirt or oxidation) that wore it out. The repair may work perfectly, but the original reason for the failure may be due to the doors/flaps themselves having worn and are basically not moving freely anymore...

Anyway, it's a big job and $4500 is a lot of money, but the OEM fix by a mechanic familiar with the issue will check ancillary systems to insure other stuff in the area still works too and a new box with a fresh shaft/actuators will be a comprehensive fix vs a possible work around that works for awhile with a repair kit.

Good luck whatever you decide.