[KrissyFL]

Took my 2019 Rogue to dealer for loud humming noise when using HVAC. They said they found 2 mouse nests under the hood. One on the fan blower motor. They said it will cost $650 (and 3 hours) to replace the blower motor because it “probably” has bad bearings because of the mice. They told me it is not covered by the warranty. Is it possible the mice could even get to the beatings inside the motor? Does anyone know how to get to the fan motor in a 2019 Rogue? I’ve looked and can’t find any videos. Thanks, in advance, for your help.

 

[VStar650CL]

Is it possible the mice could even get to the beatings inside the motor? Does anyone know how to get to the fan motor in a 2019 Rogue?

It isn't that the mice get to the bearings, but the noise indicates they nested inside the blower cage (the part with blades that spins and moves the air) and threw the cage out of balance. This puts enormous load on the front bearing and will quickly make it fail. The blower is behind the glove box near the top of the dash, and it's the same for all Rogues from '14 to '20. Find a video for any year in that range. With the glove box removed, look up and to the left. There's only one screw holding the blower to the HVAC housing, but it's in a very awkward spot and the blower body will usually be stuck and hard to rotate for removal.

 

[Scaramanga]

It’s the first thing bolted to the firewall before everything else in the dash. I recommend taking out the passenger seat entirely to access this. Before that, have you tried a shop vac from above to try to suck out any mouse yuck in the fan?

 

[VStar650CL]

It's in the HVAC housing, which is bolted to the steering crossmember and not the firewall. Even the crossmember is only bolted to the firewall in one spot, beneath the wiper motor. The rest of the attachments are to the door frames at the A-pillars.

 

[Correllkp]

It isn't that the mice get to the bearings, but the noise indicates they nested inside the blower cage (the part with blades that spins and moves the air) and threw the cage out of balance. This puts enormous load on the front bearing and will quickly make it fail. The blower is behind the glove box near the top of the dash, and it's the same for all Rogues from '14 to '20. Find a video for any year in that range. With the glove box removed, look up and to the left. There's only one screw holding the blower to the HVAC housing, but it's in a very awkward spot and the blower body will usually be stuck and hard to rotate for removal.

 

[Correllkp]

I took my 2019 Rogue to the dealer because of blower motor vibration. They told me the same thing about a nest inside the rotor. However I took apart the rather I took out the air cabin filter air cabin filter had some nest stuff on one side but not on the blower side. Clean that out still vibration. How can rodents even get to the blower motor to make a nest. The cabin filter was intact no holes.

 

[VStar650CL]

It only takes a few grams of leaves or debris in a blower cage to cause enough imbalance for a noticeable vibration. Consider the G-force exerted 3~4" from the center of rotation at several thousand RPM. That couple of grams now "weighs" several ounces.

Cabin filters don't always expand fully when they're inserted, I've found all sorts of crap over the years that got past perfectly intact ones. It doesn't take rodents, just parking under pine trees. Those needles can crawl through remarkably small gaps. The only answer is to remove the motor and clean out the cavity. Unfortunately, on gen2 Rogues that isn't a 2-minute exercise like some other models. However, it still isn't difficult for anyone who knows what they're doing and owns a power screwdriver.

 

[Correllkp]

It only takes a few grams of leaves or debris in a blower cage to cause enough imbalance for a noticeable vibration. Consider the G-force exerted 3~4" from the center of rotation at several thousand RPM. That couple of grams now "weighs" several ounces.

Cabin filters don't always expand fully when they're inserted, I've found all sorts of crap over the years that got past perfectly intact ones. It doesn't take rodents, just parking under pine trees. Those needles can crawl through remarkably small gaps. The only answer is to remove the motor and clean out the cavity. Unfortunately, on gen2 Rogues that isn't a 2-minute exercise like some other models. However, it still isn't difficult for anyone who knows what they're doing and owns a power screwdriver.

Thanks for the reply. Yes looking at the tutorials changing the blower motor will take about three minutes about four hours to get to it. I’ll save it until really bothers me.

 

[VStar650CL]

No, it isn't that bad. Once the glove box is down the way is open, but it's in an awkward spot. I'd estimate 30~45 minutes if you've done a few already, probably 60~90 minutes with hand tools in the backyard. Make sure you're looking at the right vids, the gen1's are much harder than the gen2's because they're on the driver's side with the accelerator and dash support brackets in the way.