Replaced Cabin Air Filter @ 15K Miles / 15 Months - Check Yours

As mentioned, no special filter. It does switch air flow to Face mode, though, for that fresh, in your face feeling.

See attached...

 

Helpful because manual sort of implies you could ignore the filter if not running the special cycle.

Filter interval could be compared to furnace, a/c home filters -- run time not mileage. House filters replaced every 3 months running 24/7, about 2160 hrs. 30,000 mi at 30 mph avg city driving 1000 hrs or 41 days. Dirtier environment. Running a blower against a clogged filter can wear the motor.
3M electrostatic fiber filters are better than the cheapest ones. HEPA type and heavy filtering ones will restrict air flow and strain the blower. A/C requires a certain air flow rate, they don't like restrictions.

It could be perfectly reasonable to remove that filter and just run like a cheaper car -- after the initial warranty expires. It's mainly useful for people with allergies.

 

Biggest benefit I think is to keep leaves and stuff from getting caught back where you can't reach. But regardless, it still needs to be cleaned, since the fan is blowing air thru the filter and a dirty filter will make the A/C or heat less efficient, and might promote a bad smell.

I agree. Small amounts of air freshener help when there's a bad odor present, but generally I stay away from that altogether. But I hadn't thought about putting something like that on the filter itself - probably cheaper than buying a special filter if that was your plan anyway. I think people like the new car smell because they know the car is new that way, plus they put a lot of money into it, so they better be happy with it.

OTOH, my son could use a whole can of air freshener and think the air smells vastly better.

 

Has anyone checked this filter on a relatively new car before the air filter can get dirty?

I finally checked mine for the first time at nearly 18000 miles. While it is mostly a dark color, it isn't clear to me that this color / pattern / texture is dirt. In fact, most of the 'remaining' white is on the same side (top) as the small quantity of tree debris. Hardly any dust blew out. The 'clean' side (bottom, with no external debris) was darker than the 'dirty side'.

All this makes me suspect that the factory filter was never white.

 

Yes, it was reasonably white. Not exactly paper white but similar.
I took it out to add a carbon mat (the ones used for the kitchen dust extractor fans).
Now I have a cheap active-carbon filter. In city driving, with lots of smelly cars around, it works rather well.

 

Had my 30k mile service and the pollen filter was replaced. The old one was full of crud but now the air is clear and fresh and the a/c blows harder and colder.

 

$18.97 at walmart....much better than the cheap crap white ones. $3 off rebate coupon below....

 

Sorry to bring back this thread, but can you post the part number of both cabin and engine air filter? Thanks.

 

You just go to the site. Search air filters. Select your car and year. This will be the engine filter and/or cabin filter for your car.

 

Where can you buy new air cabin filters ? Only NAPA ? I checked Autozone and several places for an engine air filter and no one carries it so I'll probably have to order that online.

 

I am reviving this thread as I have changed my air cabin filter yesterday, and I think the picture attached says it all.

This was after 8 months (changed at the 30.000km service) and 13.600km of driving. Of these km, 60% were driven in city traffic...
*do* check the air filter often, as it clear does a good job in keeping nasty stuff out of the cabin...

Cost of the filter, 18€ at the Toyota dealer here in Munich.

I will also have the A/C disinfected in the upcoming 45.000km "fitness check" (as they call it here, essentially the oil change), at the cost of 25€ as it started before winter to stink of mold sometimes (it got much better in the winter, now it is practically gone, but sometimes I smell mold sometimes).

 

rockauto.com .... Mann filters for about $7 ... they are excellent. They also have cheaper ones of an unknown name brand for $2-3 and change. They're all probably perfectly fine. It just lays there ... not sealed or anything like the engine AF is .... just a gimmick to seperate you from your money at the dealership AFAIC.

REV

 

Just for fun, I went to my local Toyota dealer to buy a new cabin filter for my 2011....They had a super piece of @#$% for $28 that would probably trap a HUGE fly; and then they had the charcoal filter for (hold on here) $58....+ tax of course. So I ordered a very nice charcoal filter from autopartswarehouse.com for $24 (total if I remember correctly). It fit perfectly and functions as good as the $28 piece of garbage that Toyota has the never to sell to unsuspecting clients.....p.s. THANKS to you all for the very detailed instructions on how to perform this simple DIY....John N....(the old geezer).

 

The last one I changed was the Fram Fresh Breeze with Baking Soda (PN: CF10285) for my 2010 Prius. I got it from Walmart and it was under $20 if my memory is correct.

 

FRAM CF9846A Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter for 2005-2009 Prius.

Goto Amazon and get it for $ 13.91 USD!

Amazon states the FRAM CF10285 does NOT Fit my 2009 Prius, must be for 2010 or later models.

 

If you keep your outside vents closed and windows closed most of the time, you'll be surprised to see how clean your cabin air filter is even at 20K. Just my experience with my other toyota vehicle considering vacuuming the vehicle at least once every 2 weeks.

 

I won't be surprised to see your cabin air filter getting dirty pretty quick. I have never had any breathing problems in any car with the vents closed after driving for more than 20 yrs and that includes driving for 16 hrs. straight. I now have 7K miles on my pri in just 2 mos. and won't probabbly change the cabin air filter until I get 24K miles on it. Plus, fresh air is always available when you need it at an instant and it's free. Not only will the cabin air filter be cleaner in a longer period of time but also make the battery fan much cleaner too resulting to a better cooling efficiency. BTW, I'll post a picture of the cabin air filter for comparison. I think it will be great if we post pictures of our cabin air filters after such time/mileage and see the difference with vents/windows closed/open.