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Cabin filter for your car

Mojoe

By Mojoe
in Passing Lane

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Do you replace your cabin filter?  

74 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you replace your cabin filter?


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Mensan Newbie

Mensan

Posted
Posted
Yearly on my daily drivers, helps prevent the musty a/c smell.

 

You can prevent this (musty smell) by turning off the A/C before you turn off your car. If the fins inside your car are cold, and you shut the car off, you get condensation. If the car sits, the moisture sits. I always run my car without the A/C on for about 20 seconds to let that portion of the system warm up so there's no condensation.

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TTQ B4U Rookie

TTQ B4U

Posted
Posted

Funny you should ask....I just replaced the one in my wife's minivan after nearly 95k miles. OMG was that thing nasty. Had a dried mouse with a chunk of dog food stuck to it too :eek:

 

I LOL when the guy at the oil change place showed me. I guess that's where the funny smell she had for a couple weeks last summer was from. Went away so I didn't pay it much attention.

 

Noticed that it smelled like brand new afterwards. FFWD a few weeks and yesterday when I was out in the van I noticed the blower sounded different and blew noticeably more air too. Go figure.

 

Does anyone know if there's a rear cabin filter in such set ups or is the rear typically all filtered by the same one? They only replaced one but I'm not sure.....

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Sully Newbie

Sully

Posted
Posted
I've got about 25k on my car and I don't think I've even replaced the main air filter. I have no clue if my car even has a cabin filter. If I had a car I cared about, I'd be replacing that thing all the time.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Second Gen Newbie

Second Gen

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I think the cabin filters came in to play around 2000 (Daughters car was hit or miss according to the owners manual). Joe the FD does not have one so you are OK. You other B-stards will need to replace them at some time.. As mentioned above it does help with some of the odd smells that tend to creep into the newer cars (Unsure if this is really related to running the AC or not a couple minutes after stopping). My 2006 Tundra waz crusty last year when I replaced it. Assume every 2-3 years even with a clean freak like me..
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  • 3 weeks later...
craig71188 Rookie

craig71188

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Posted
Probably the most overlooked maintenance item I have run into.

 

This....

 

Many folks don't even know they have them.

Some shops won't suggest them because a (very) few can take 45 min + to replace

 

Not replacing them can also contribute to:

Repeated blower resistor failure - airflow helps cool them

Same with blower motors

Potential premature a/c compressor failure - again low airflow can cause high head pressures

 

Some people just take them out and don't replace them at all but...in some cases they are located between the blower motor and the a/c evaporator. Copper "dust" from blower motors wearing can get on the damp evaporator and actually corrode through the thin aluminum.

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