Cabin Filters

Not sure if this is the right area for this question.... so ok.. we bought my 04 WRX back in July... I didn't really notice anything (but maybe I was too excited to finally own my own subie)... but people started commenting that my car was "stinky" inside. I'm guessing that the girl that owned it before me was a smoker. Now just about everyone who takes a ride asks "what is that smell?" I don't smoke.

We are going to replace the cabin filter... does anyone actually do this and does it make smells in the car go away? I'm hoping I don't have to dig deeper.. there better not be any dead fish hidden... :rofl:

 

I have been thinking about doing this myself. Let me know if it works.

 

not sure how intensive a job it is on a subie as ive never done one, but on my moms acura mdx it was pretty simple. just removed the glove box and one little support bracket and it slid right out. her car has over 100,000miles on it and her filter was relatively clean. but i assume with a smoker it may be worse. if its any more labor intensive than hers i wouldnt recommend taking it to a shop to have them replace a $10 filter, they may charge you upwards of an hour labor (@ $65+ an hour could get pricey) for something you could probly do in 30mins

 

It should be about the same. Remove the glovebox and you should be able to get to the filter.

 

Our '01 Odyssey filter is filthy after about 2 years! I found instructions to replace it here: http://subaruparts.com/install/2002iairfilt.pdf

It is for an '02, but looks pretty easy. Goood luck. If that doesn't help, I would recommend having the interior (carpet / seats) steam cleaned professionally. That helped my car that had been driven by a smoker.

Good luck.

 

yeah just wasnt sure where it was located. but its simple enough if you can change your own oil you should be more than capable to change your cabin filter.

and as far as dirty, obviously if you live down dirt roads, high pollen areas, smoke in the car, etc etc its gonna be dirtier.

 

it's right behind the glove box...if you and Travis can't get to it; come by and I will.

 

Thanks! Hopefully the smell will go away after its replaced.. i had thought about a good steam-cleaning too. The heat from the summer didn't help matters...

 

It helps a ton! Here is an example of what it can look like and yes this came out a Subaru.

 

Those pics are not pretty.....

 

You can also spray something good smelling on the new filter.A touch of febreze maybe.Some cars get a little moldy from the evaporator.There is a fix for that too.

 

If you put an air freshner (the kind made for the home AC vents) it'll help. A lot of times it gets damp inside the vents and icky stuff likes to grow.

 

Thanks for the tips! Hopefully they will both be smelling better by the weekend. The hubs gets that smell from the A/C sometimes too.

 

Where's everyone buying their new filters from?

 

There is a guy on ebay the name of something like the cabin guy or something. He sells them cheap.

 

Here it is.....

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/AirCabinMan-NOW-SHIPPING-TO-CANADA__W0QQ_armrsZ1

 

Those are some pretty bad cabin filters:eek3:. Another thing that can make your car stink is if your evaporator has some kind of mold or mildew accumulating on it. BG makes a product called Frigi-Clean that kills the nasties that might be growing. I use it with a can of Frigi-Fresh and the car smells as good as new inside.

 

WHere you spray that in at?

 

The Frigi-clean is like an expanding foam that sprays into the air box were the filter sits(with the filter removed). Then you let it work for a few minutes and it drains out of the evap drain tube when its done. The Frig-fresh is an aresol that you spray in through the fresh air opening in the cowel with the fans on.

 

Where you get it? You have order online or does Autozone/Advance carry it?

 

We sell it here at the shop.(Gwinnett Place Honda) I had never heard of it until we started carrying it. I think only BG vendors are able to sell there products though. Not sure how that works exactly. They sell the kit for like $50, comes with both cans.

 

Thank you for this thread. This is something I never considered before, but this is what I found.



I think I'll be checking this once a year as suggested in the OM.

 

Yipes! Mine weren't as bad but pretty close. The spray stuff really got rid of the smell in my car. It was a little strong at first (fragrance wise) but either I got used to it or it went away. The air feels fresh again. :clap:

 

... I can't bring myself to pay what they want for an OEM cabin filter.

I goto lowes. I buy the nicest 3M home/house filter there for $15, and I cut it to size. I usually get 3 filters out of one piece, and I change it seasonally. It does get that dirty that fast around ATL...

 

....wtf double post, delete me plz