Gen III Prius Cabin Filter Replacement

Ouch! I bought the same filter on Amazon for $29.02 Prime shipping 3 days ago. Installed it yesterday and took all but 3 minutes.

 

Bought this 2 months ago:

 

thanks ron. question, when you set your mode to recirc, what path does the cabin air take?

 

I requested my local dealership replace my wife's new RAV4's cabin filter with the carbon filter as it was stinking like mildew, oh and to spray it with thier special "foam" to disinfect the pipes....

They contacted toyota and did so to appease me /us. It is def less stinky with the carbon filter, but what I gained from this experience is that it is imperative to keep the AC system on fresh air and not recirculate......

...Unless it is mid summer and recirculate will help but pls be sure to set AC to fresh air a few mins before you arrive at your destination to clear the pipes of the unwanted moisture that causes the nasty smell which is an accumulation of moisture from the ac.

 

AC use leaves the small AC radiator in the air flow coated in moisture, and all the surrounding passages and drain tubes as well. The latter can clog, making matters worse. When that moisture lingers, you can get mildew. A filter is not going to prevent this, might actually delay evaporation of the moisture.

 

Right, so was I right in my above statement to use "fresh air" on a consistent basis and not "recirculate" as advised by local stealership.... To help alleviate said unwanted moisture.....

 

Any time you use AC, regardless of fresh or recirc, a lot of moisture accumulates in the system. It's like a cold glass of water collecting moisture on the outset. The two things I can think of to offset problems:

1. Minimize AC use.

2. Switch off AC, but keep fan running, 5-10 minutes before your destination, give the humidity a chance to exhaust.

 

it's strange, i can't find anything in the manual, but if you're not pulling outside air, it has to take it in from somewhere in the cabin when your on recirc. maybe it's under the dashboard somewhere.

 

Ron, is your thinking that by buying the more expensive CF filter you won't have to replace it as often? Based on the debris I saw when I cleaned my filter, I can see the need for the filter, but I'm not sure about the need to replace it very often. I often drive with my window open and nothing filters that air. Obviously, the air coming in through the filter has different particulates in it, but I'm confused as to how "clogged" these filters get. OEMs tend to "recommend" replacement on time/distance schedules, but that doesn't really say much about the "need" to replace them.

 

Actually the maintenance guide suggests inspection and cleaning, replacement only if it's severely clogged, evidenced by dramatic decrease in air flow.

 

That's not the way I read it. It does say up top to "clean", but later down it says to "replace". The Note just adds that life could be shortened if one lives in a dusty area, etc.

30,000 miles or 36 months
Check installation of driver’s floor mat
Clean cabin air filter (vehicles with solar power ventilation system)
Inspect and adjust all fluid levels
Inspect wiper blades
Replace cabin air filter (vehicles without solar power ventilation system)
Replace engine air filter
Replace engine oil and oil filter
Rotate tires

 

Thanks Ron.

 

pat wong says if you can see the sun through it, you're good to go.

 

How often you need to replace it depends on how polluted and dirty the air is where you live. I live in the Chicago area. The air is very polluted here. My cabin filter is extremely dirty (black) at 10,000 miles. I replace mine then.

 

^ Yes, the environment plays a big part. Dry climate, dusty roads, not so good.

We're past 49000 kms, yet to change either filter. The engine filter in particular looks brand new. It's our rainy clime I guess.

 

I get that. My only point was that the manual does recommend replacing at 30,000 miles, so when the dealer suggests it based solely on miles, what to do? FWIW, I'm not convinced the black color means it needs to be replaced. Have you checked it before the 10,000 and found it wasn't black? I didn't change mine at 10,000, but I might now just to see how quickly it becomes black. Does brake dust get sucked in there?

 

What causes mine to get black is the polluted air in Chicago. When it gets about 10,000 miles on it I hold it up to the sun to determine if I can see through it and at that point I can not. You live in a different part of the country so you may get more mileage out of your's than I do. If a dealer recommended that I change it solely on miles I don't think I would do that. I would replace it according to how dirty it is. Yes, I have checked mine before 10,000 miles. I just checked it when I had it in to Toyota for maintenance. It had about 5,000 miles on it. The mechanic had checked it and put it in with the arrow pointing the wrong way. I had driven it about 1,000 miles and it was black but I could see light through it. I changed it because of the miles I had driven with it installed the wrong way.