[gatos]

It is a bit tricky to replace the motor. I made a guide sometime ago, but all the photos disappeared. Here is my second try


There are two methods to do this

Method 1
Remove the speaker grille cover. Lift it from the rear (the part nearest to the windscreen, otherwise you may break the two nearest clips)


Undo the 10mm bolt. You will need two long extensions to reach the bolt. Use a magnetic socket, or if you don't have, put a tiny pit of blue tack on the socket, so the bolt stick to the socket. If not, it will fall down and can some times be very hard to find again


Open the glovebox and undo the two bolts securing the airbag bracket on the car frame. Take a sip of coffee or tea....


Undo the two screws pointed by the green arrows and remove the soundproof cover. Unclip the cover pointed by the yellow arrow


Undo the 10mm bolt


If you want, you can also remove the glovebox. You don't have too, but it helps a bit when you pull out the dashboard, as it will allow it to flex a bit more. Just undo the two screws securing the glovebox brackets and you can just slide out the glovebox


There is another 10mm bolt on the other side of the passengers footwell, covered by the side carpet. You don't have to undo it, but if you do, it will allow you to pull the dashboard a little bit more and give you slightly better access to the recirculation motor. So if you decide to do this, the undo the screw securing the carpet and carefully remove it following the VIDA instructions. Be careful not to break the bracket of the panel at the rear. VIDA says "Pull the panel out of the centre console using a twisting action."


Undo this 10mm bolt


If you now pull out the dashboard carefully, You should now be able to see the recirculation motor. Use common sense, when pulling the dashboard. It is made of plastic and can flex a bit, but don't overdo it too much, as you risk braking something


The following images of the recirculation motor are from a car where I removed the whole dashboard. I am using this photos, as it is easier to see what you will need to do. Using a very short screw driver, undo the 3 screws (pointed by the yellow arrows) and rotate the white clip (pointed by the red arrow) upwards to unhook it from the rod




You can now remove the recirculation motor. Part number is MR68


You can either get a replacement motor, or take the one you have apart very carefully. You will find that a couple of the teeth on one of the cogs are damaged. You can rotate that cog 180 degrees and fit everything back together and the motor should be working fine again. This motor is working fine, so you can't see the broken cog teeth, as none of them are broken. It is just to give you an idea of what it looks inside


METHOD 2
This is the method another member here tried, where instead of pullinging out the dashboard, he removed the glovebox and cut a flap through the plastic of the dashboard which is hidden behind the glovebox. That gives enough access to the recirculation motor. I will leave it up to you to decide which method is the best. If you don't want to butcher your car, then follow the first method. If you don't mind so much, then the second method is by far much much easier. Don't forget that when the glovebox goes back in, it will hide most of the damage

Undo the two screws pointed by the green arrows and remove the soundproof cover. Unclip the cover pointed by the yellow arrow


Undo the two screws securing the glovebox brackets and you can just slide out the glovebox


Using a sharp tool, cut through the plastic of the dashboard which is hidden behind the glovebox. You will have to cut a bit higher than I did in the photo below, to access the top screw. Be careful when you are cutting it and don't go to deep inside in case you damage anything behind