Defender Blower Motor Issues: Fix That AC Problem!

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my 2018 Land Rover Discovery last year. I've got some experience working on cars (mostly basic maintenance), but this was definitely beyond my DIY skills. My symptoms were pretty much identical, inconsistent blower speeds and terrible climate control performance. Took it to my trusted workshop, and yep, it was a faulty climate control unit. They had to replace the entire unit, wasn't cheap either, set me back about 880 Euro. The repair took about half a day, but it's been working perfectly since then. What's the mileage on your Defender? And have you noticed any other electrical quirks? This info would help to better understand if you're dealing with the same problem I had. Just a tip, make sure they do a full diagnostic scan before replacing any parts. Sometimes these issues can be related to other electrical components too.

Thanks for sharing your experience! My Defender just hit 73293 KM and had its latest service about two months ago. I've noticed some inconsistent fan speeds too, especially when starting the car in the morning. Funny enough, no other electrical issues so far, everything else works perfectly fine. Good call on the diagnostic scan! I'll definitely make sure they do a thorough check before replacing anything. At least I have some idea about potential costs now, though hoping it won't come to a full unit replacement. Anyone else had similar experiences with newer Defenders?

Hey again! Yeah, after seeing your mileage details and symptoms, I'm even more convinced it's similar to what I dealt with. Actually, my Discovery started showing these exact same signs around the 70K mark, especially that morning startup issue you mentioned. It's like déjà vu! Since my last post about the control unit replacement, I've actually learned that quite a few Land Rover owners from our local club faced similar issues. One thing I didn't mention before, before the full replacement, my mechanic tried cleaning the blower motor resistor first (way cheaper option), but it didn't solve the problem in my case. I know you mentioned having service done recently, did they by any chance check the refrigerant levels? Mine was perfect, which is why they went straight to checking the control unit. Just trying to save you some troubleshooting steps I already went through! Oh, and here's something interesting, after the repair, I noticed my fuel efficiency improved slightly. Apparently, the system was working overtime trying to compensate for the faulty unit. Keep us posted on what you find out, really curious if it's the same issue I had!

Thanks for all that detailed info! Yeah, I'm definitely seeing the parallels between your Discovery issue and what's happening with my Defender. Actually, just checked my service records and they did test the refrigerant levels during the last service, everything was spot on there. I really appreciate the tip about the blower motor resistor, that's definitely something worth checking before jumping straight to replacing the whole control unit. Though from what you're describing, I'm starting to think I might be heading down the same path as you did. Pretty interesting about the fuel efficiency improvement after your repair, I'll have to keep an eye on that once I get this fixed. I've booked it in for next week, and I'll make sure they start with a full diagnostic scan as suggested. Will definitely update everyone once I know what's going on. Really hoping it won't need the full unit replacement, but at least I'm going in prepared for that possibility! Thanks again for all the helpful information, it's great to hear from someone who's already been through this.