C5 mk1 heater left driver side temperature flap repair

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ml11ML
(Donor 2021)
Posts: 53
Joined: 07 Oct 2020, 10:22
Location: Slovenia
My Cars: 2003 C5 Break 2.2 HDI
x 5

C5 mk1 heater left driver side temperature flap repair

Post by ml11ML »

Hi,

managed to repair my stripped out drivers side temperature flap (euro car with steering on the left side so no access behind glovebox) that got stuck on hot without buying the long shaft motor version or replacing the entire flap and without removing the dashboard. Posting this in case someone else with a left side steering c5 has the same issue.

This is the automatic climate control with left and right temperature but only one air flow direction control shared for both sides (it was said in another thread that there might be different versions).

The trick is to cut a hole in the plastic dashboard piece hiding the motor/flap and then use epoxy putty to fill in the stripped hole.

Here are the steps how I did it (I put the heat to full and let the motor stop spinning and turned the blower off before doing anything):
1. Steering wheel fully up and seat all the way back to make as much room as you can because it quickly becomes very annoying working down there
2. Pull back the plastic piece that comes from behind the seat covering the foot vent (maybe have someone hold it back while you remove the screw)
3. Remove screw holding in the other plastic panel near the throttle pedal and the foot vent (I think the screw is T20)
3.5 You can find where the motor is located by sticking your phone behind the plastic while recording with the flash on to see where it is
4. Cut the plastic part covering the motor with a rotary tool (I used a cheap chinese dremel clone) - I don't think any other saw or cutting tool would work because there is not much space and the plastic is curved in strange ways...
5. Remove 3 6mm screws holding in the motor directly behind the metal thing (there is enough space behind the metal beam to pull the motor out and make sure that the hole in the flap is stripped or damaged)
6. Put pieces of epoxy putty in the hole and try fitting the motor back in to see if it sticks - In my case I had to put about 3 small pieces of it in the flap before the motor shaft pressed into the epoxy and you feel the resistance when you try to pull it back out very gently
7. Screw back in the motor screws and the single screw holding the bottom plastic panel besides the pedal and the foot vent
8. Wait for epoxy to become fully solid before moving the temperature setting

I had to drive my car to go shopping after around 1 hour and 30 minutes at which point I risked turning the temperature to lowest because the heat was too much but judging by a small leftover epoxy piece I had it was almost fully hard by then. Do not move the temperature before you are sure it had the time to become fully hard as it could move and then become solid in the wrong position. In that case I have no idea how messy it would be to remove the motor again and fix that.

A few days have now passed after the repair and I change the temperature every day (heating in the morning, cooling later) and it works great. The air feels the same out of both sides.

I hope this will help someone else while trying to keep these old(ish) cars going on a budget :wink:
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