The cabin air filter for your car, truck, van, or SUV helps trap and eliminate pollutants from the outside air before entering your car’s cabin, ensuring that your heating and A/C system has a clean air supply. Replacing dirty cabin air filters helps reduce allergens, smog, fungal spores, and dust inside your cabin, and is an easy maintenance task that can improve air quality, A/C system performance, and airflow.
If you are wondering how often to change a cabin air filter, it’s recommended that you change your car, truck, or SUV’s cabin air filter every 15,000 to 20,000 miles, but your car’s owner’s manual will list the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance intervals. These are simply suggestions, but if you frequently drive in dusty or heavily-polluted areas, replacing your cabin air filter may be necessary more frequently. If you notice odors coming from the vents, issues with your air conditioning system, or a lack of or limited airflow through the vents, you may have a clogged cabin air filter. Our detailed step-by-step instructions will help you perform a cabin air filter replacement on your vehicle to help keep you and your passengers breathing easily.
Supplies Needed for This Job:
0:00 Welcome Back
0:55 Locate the Cabin Air Filter
1:32 Remove the Old Cabin Air Filter
1:45 Install the New Filter
1:58 Reinstall Your Glovebox
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This video’s detailed step-by-step instructions explain how to change a cabin air filter. A new cabin air filter removes contaminants from the outside air before it enters the cabin, and can help improve your car’s A/C performance and airflow. Your car’s owner’s manual will provide the recommended cabin air filter replacement interval, but if you notice a dirty or clogged cabin air filter, if the heating and A/C housing is filled with leaves or debris, or if you drive in dusty or heavily-polluted environments, replacing the cabin air filter more often can help improve climate control system performance, comfort, and cabin air flow.
Transcript:
If you’re not sure how often to change your cabin air filter, or if the filter you purchased doesn’t include instructions, you should review the manufacturer’s specifications for your vehicle. As always, if you’re not completely comfortable doing this yourself, we’d be happy to recommend a professional technician in your area.
Here’s what you’ll do:
[Inside vehicle]
• Open your glove box and empty it out completely… then locate this pin on the outside edge. Use your screwdriver to take the screw out, then slip the pin out of the hole on this arm. And put the screw someplace safe. Some vehicles will have a band holding the glove box in place that you’ll need to release.
• Now, gently press in on both sides of your glove box… and it will lower. This will expose what’s behind it, including this black cover, which is where your cabin air filter is. Most vehicles with a filter behind the glove box will be accessed like this. Just be careful not to force the glove box down—there will be a limited amount of slack in the hinges.
• There are tabs on either side of this cover that are released by squeezing them inward. Once the cover is removed, pull the old filter out slowly—it’s likely to be full of dust and dirt.
• When you go to put the new filter in, check the airflow arrow on the edge to make sure you’re getting it in place properly. Once it’s seated securely, replace the cover… and snap it into place.