Battery Cooling fan Service/Cleaning

[invader166]

Good day all,

Does anyone have information with regards to how regularly you should service/clean the HV/traction battery cooling fan in the lower trunk area of the car?

I'm nearing the 2 years of ownership mark, and have yet to find any mention of such maintenance. Either online or in the manual. I have instead read about other vehicles with high voltage hybrid battery systems that had battery cooling fans full of dust and debris, and eventually suffered a complete battery failure due to overheated cells. All because the cooling fan had lost its efficiency could not supply enough air.

I did not any see any filter in the fan intake the last time I checked, so I would imagine you would need to take apart the unit to reach the fan and clean it properly.

Any DIY guides on how to do this?

[JejuSoul]

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The only other thread I can remember about taking apart the battery cooling fan was for flood damage.

Problem with battery cooling fan

Here's a schematic from the service manual.





Please let us know how it goes.

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[notfred]

With the intakes at the front under the seats then I'm not sure how much dust and debris will have made its way through the battery pack to the fan. If the fan is dirty then that would mean that the battery pack is dirty.

I wonder if other cars are setup the other way around with the fan blowing air in to the battery pack rather than sucking air out? Then it would make sense to clean the fan and any filters on it.

[JejuSoul]

With the intakes at the front under the seats then I'm not sure how much dust and debris will have made its way through the battery pack to the fan...

Correct. Here's two pictures of my 2015 getting a new battery pack.

This shows the original battery cells. Look how dusty the higher front group of cells and metal rails is. This is directly under the air vent opening. There is much less dust at the back.




In comparison here are the new cells being unpacked from a wooden crate.



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[invader166]

Well, had a look at the fan...really nothing to report. All practically brand new.
I guess it is true. The battery pack is kept under vacuum by the fan, not pressure as I was expecting to find.

[IanL]

So the battery acts as a filter to protect the fan