Replacing the cabin air filter in your car is a normal, and required part of your vehicle’s maintenance. The cabin air filter’s duty is to keep pollen, dust, mold, small dust particles, and other debris from entering the cabin of your vehicle and blowing out the vents of your AC or heater. A dirty or clogged cabin air filter will prevent your car from getting proper air flow every time the air conditioning or heater is turned on your vehicle (essentially limiting the effectiveness of your AC / Heater). Since cabin air filters are a fairly inexpensive component to replace (normally under $30), and don’t require any special tools (in most cases) to preform the replacement, there’s no reason not to do it yourself.
The first step in replacing your cabin air filter it to locate it in your vehicle. Every vehicle is different, and the location of the cabin air filter can be anywhere from inside the engine compartment to behind the glove box. You may need to look online, talk to a dealership or look an owner’s manual to find the specific location of yours. It’s likely that your owner’s manual will have an illustration or picture of its location.
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Most of the time is located underneath the dash, encased in a plastic box. What you need to do is remove a couple of the clips that hold it in place and the filter slides right out. This is normally an easy process to do when you’re trying to maintain your vehicle. Make sure that you remove the filter, as well as any debris that may be in the cabin air filter box. You want to use a vacuum to suck out anything that could be left in the box before you install the new filter.
In order to improve the air quality in your vehicle it is recommended that you change the cabin air filter every 15,000 miles (this is a generic figure, so consult your manual). If you are on very dusty roads or in the country is better to change it very regularly so that you do not let harmful particles into the cab of your vehicle. It is also recommended that you change are regularly if you have pets riding in your vehicle.
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