All the electric radiator fans are now made in china.

 

I was recently in the market for an electric fan and came to the same conclusion. I opted to go with a used original BMW fan (Bosch / Modine) from a low mileage salvage car instead. I'll see how that one holds up. It was only $20 so it could fail 10x and I'd still be less than the cost of a new 'CoolXpert' fan.

 

The Taiwan stuff is better than the Mainland stuff. I agree with buying used old school OE vs made in China stuff ( I can say it, that is my gene pool ). I had a bad experience with Behr Service made in China. Never again.

 

In my country, I was just quoted RM2860 for genuine BMW, while Mahle Behr is only at RM485. Are new genuines also made in China? Also, at this point I'm not sure if it's better to give Mahle another try or get a used genuine. Both approaches have questionable lifespan

 

The Genuine BMW part is made in Germany

 

Fantastic, thanks! I'll place an order for the genuine part and change it once and for all, hope it lasts until the vehicle reaches its end of life.

 

Has anyone swapped the control module from the auxiliary electric fan on the automatics? Looks like the same device.

 

Yes, it’s the same control module for pusher or puller fan. But there were several different fan suppliers and models over the years, so they are not all the same. If you read the electric fan guide (link below), he goes into detail on this and suggests keeping a spare fan module on hand.

E46 Electric Fan Guide 2019.pdf

drive.google.com

 

MahleBehr is neither Mahle nor Behr.

If it has both names on it, it's... ok, it's poo.

Interestingly, while Hella claims association with Behr, Behr does not reciprocate that,
and Mahle doesn't present any connections with Behr, either, on their 'forward- looking
wonder- planet investor- focused upwardly- directed laser- focused bullshit- guilded' webbysites...

t