BMW i3 Radiator Fan Replacement Parts

The BMW i3 is a fully electric vehicle (BEV) or range-extender (REX) and does not use a conventional engine-driven or electric radiator fan of the type found on petrol or diesel cars — there is no traditional coolant radiator requiring a fan to cool an internal combustion engine. The i3 does have thermal management components including a small heat exchanger and cooling circuits for the battery and power electronics, but these are not served by a conventional radiator fan assembly. If you are searching for a cooling fan or motor on an i3, you are most likely looking for the battery cooling fan, the heat pump blower, or a cabin air blower unit, so it is worth clarifying exactly which component has failed before searching.

It is unlikely a conventional radiator fan is what you need on an i3, as the car has no petrol or diesel engine and therefore no traditional radiator cooling fan. The term is sometimes used loosely by non-specialist sellers for other fan or blower assemblies on the i3, such as the battery pack cooling fan, the power electronics cooling pump and fan, or the cabin blower motor. Ask the breaker to confirm exactly which cooling or fan assembly they are listing and match it to what your car needs, ideally using your registration or VIN to cross-reference.

The i3 REX does have a small two-cylinder petrol engine, but it runs at relatively low loads as a generator and its thermal management is not the same as a conventional petrol car; it does not use a traditional front-mounted radiator fan as you would find on a standard petrol or diesel vehicle. Any cooling fan present on the REX is very different in design and function to a mainstream radiator fan, and availability of used REX-specific cooling components from breakers is limited. Confirm with the breaker exactly which component you need using your full registration or VIN, as a part listed generically as a 'radiator fan' is very unlikely to be the correct match.

The BMW i3 ran from 2013 with a mid-life update around 2017 that brought battery and minor trim changes, but because the i3 does not have a conventional radiator fan, this question does not apply to a traditional radiator fan part. If you are looking for a battery cooling fan or another thermal management blower from this period, the 2013–2017 and 2017–2022 cars may differ in specification, so you should confirm compatibility with the breaker against your specific registration or VIN rather than assuming year-based interchangeability.

Trim level, including the sportier i3s variant introduced in 2017, does not in principle change whether the car has a conventional radiator fan — neither variant has one. The i3s has a higher-output motor and slightly revised suspension but shares the same basic thermal management architecture, so the absence of a traditional radiator fan applies equally across all trim levels. If you are sourcing a battery or electronics cooling component, confirm the exact part needed with the breaker using your registration, as motor output differences between standard i3 and i3s could affect cooling system specifications.