Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 54

Thread: Just a reminder, guys...don't neglect those cabin air filters!

  1. #1
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Olympia, WA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,126
    Thanks
    1,197
    Thanked 1,848 Times in 1,101 Posts

    Just a reminder, guys...don't neglect those cabin air filters!

    I stumbled across a video on how to change the cabin air filters on our cars, and decided on a whim to check mine. I didn't expect to see much, since it is not particularly dusty around here and the car is not old. At about a year and a half and 45,000 miles on my car, here is what I pulled out!



    Yuck! Way worse than I thought it was going to be.

    Keep in mind that these are not HEPA-type micro filters. They just filter out "the big stuff", and can be cleaned/reused if you are careful. I blew all of the debris out with compressed air first, used the sprayer on my kitchen sink to give it a high-pressure rinse, press-dried it with a towel, and used a hairdryer to finish the job. Don't worry if it is still discolored afterwards as that won't affect it's function.

    As an aside, it is NOT necessary to empty your glovebox to do this. The glovebox is removed by pinching the sides of the box inward to release two tabs. This will allow the glovebox to fall down, but instead of letting it drop you can just pop the two lower pivots for it off by gently pulling the whole glovebox upward and outward. There are two pivots, one on each side, and they just clip on. Then you can just set your glovebox...with contents...aside.


    Last edited by Cobrajet; 11-06-2017 at 10:27 AM.

  2. The Following 13 Users Say Thank You to Cobrajet For This Useful Post:

    + Show/Hide list of the thanked

    anog (08-15-2016),Daox (08-15-2016),Eggman (08-14-2016),fc321 (05-22-2018),gone.a (10-22-2017),inuvik (08-14-2016),MetroMPG (06-22-2020),MightyMirageMpg (08-15-2016),MysticMirage (08-14-2016),Ranny (08-14-2016),tomrad (11-06-2017),Top_Fuel (08-14-2016),Wayne (05-06-2017)

  3. #2
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    10,156
    Thanks
    4,039
    Thanked 2,788 Times in 2,107 Posts
    Video please.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Eggman For This Useful Post:

    Bert (07-01-2020)

  5. #3
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Here's a quick YouTube video...

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  6. The Following 12 Users Say Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    + Show/Hide list of the thanked

    Alex1a1f (10-23-2017),Bert (07-01-2020),Car Nut (10-23-2017),Cleartec (08-20-2016),Dookaughs (04-08-2023),fc321 (05-22-2018),Jin (08-17-2016),MetroMPG (06-22-2020),MightyMirageMpg (08-15-2016),MysticMirage (08-14-2016),Wayne (05-06-2017),wellswebdesign (08-15-2016)

  7. #4
    Senior Member Charlie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    FL
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    244
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 58 Times in 38 Posts
    Good advice. Not sure I would have kept using that filter though after cleaning it. Was that some sort of mold I saw growing on it?? If so, toss it for sure.

    -Charlie-

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to Charlie For This Useful Post:

    inuvik (08-14-2016)

  9. #5
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Olympia, WA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,126
    Thanks
    1,197
    Thanked 1,848 Times in 1,101 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie View Post
    Good advice. Not sure I would have kept using that filter though after cleaning it. Was that some sort of mold I saw growing on it?? If so, toss it for sure.

    -Charlie-
    Not mold, just dirt. Were there any hint of mold, I would have tossed it.

  10. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    287
    Thanks
    103
    Thanked 222 Times in 104 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    Here's a quick YouTube video...
    I'm glad my video has helped so much. Over 5000 hits on it. It goes to show how popular the car is in the Philippines that 55% of the watchers are from there. 23% US, 3% Canada.

    That's a lot of crap in that filter. I don't know if these cars are designed differently than older cars that don't have a cabin air filter, or if all that stuff used to get into the dash of old cars and just stay there. Or get blown out the vents.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.1 mpg (US) ... 18.7 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 52.9 mpg (Imp)


  11. The Following User Says Thank You to wellswebdesign For This Useful Post:

    Daox (08-15-2016)

  12. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    NE
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    548
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 81 Times in 62 Posts
    Yikes !!! I clean them once a month . Amazing how much they collect tree debri , bugs , dandelion floaters , etc.. Replace it every 1+1/2 years . Some filters can be cleaned out with a vacuum when using a crevice attachment ( tool ) in the pleats on the top side ( facing incoming air ) of filter .
    Last edited by cinder; 08-15-2016 at 05:17 PM.

  13. #8
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Mitsu
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,359
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    256
    Thanked 315 Times in 246 Posts
    We had the same problem. AND When filter clogs it bows down and fan will eat through it quickly.

    I was looking to get K&N washable, but they are not available. The best deal we found was @rockauto, I bought 2 just in case.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 46.4 mpg (US) ... 19.7 km/L ... 5.1 L/100 km ... 55.7 mpg (Imp)


  14. #9
    Senior Member Alex1a1f's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,541
    Thanks
    754
    Thanked 926 Times in 520 Posts
    Just changed my cabin filter after 20,500 miles... should've looked sooner probably.

    PTC on Ebay sells a cabin filter for our cars for $10 shipped. A good buy in my opinion.
    Attached Images Attached Images   
    (blank signature)

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to Alex1a1f For This Useful Post:

    fc321 (05-22-2018)

  16. #10
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Alex1a1f View Post
    PTC on Ebay sells a cabin filter for our cars for $10 shipped. A good buy in my opinion.
    Thanks for bringing this up as a reminder. I haven't even looked at mine and my car is approaching 33K miles. I just bought the one you mentioned on Ebay.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  17. The Following User Says Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    Alex1a1f (10-23-2017)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •