any reason not to buy an aftermarket AC filter when genuine part is 6x the price?

The cabin air filters I buy are higher quality than OEM and cost less than $10 on Ebay...

Examining the quality of the build and quality of the material and sizing up if that quality is necessary is way smarter than what OEM vs. Non-OEM absolutists can deal with... There's simply way too many dumb people who get scammed by insisting on OEM without any examination/comparison or basic logic applied to the true valule of their purchase.

As for cabin air filters, the charcoal impregnated ones are better that the white paper ones. Also some material is far more capable of filtration than other materials.

 

It’s about 1% as critical as an engine air filter. You could omit it and muddle through, lol.

 

In high school I had more than one friend who thought an air filter on their engine wasn't needed and as skeptical as I was at the time, they didn't have any problems with that design...

 

Did I come across as dismissing the need for engine filters? Didn’t mean that.

 

Lol... No you didn't... But I appreciate my rant's unintended impression.

All the same arguments anti-maskers make can apply in the debate of if your engine actually needs an air filter. I mean air filters eventually get clogged. But if you don't have an air filter nothing gets clogged. And if this is the rabbit hole you want to go down tonight, here you go: https://www.quora.com/How-long-will-a-car-engine-last-without-an-air-intake-filter

 

Is the 6X price difference REALLY a problem for you ??
I am automatically suspicious of anything that costs less than half of the OEM price.
That is NOT an automatic rejection, just reason for some extra analysis........as in, LOOK at the cheaper one and see if it looks flimsy and cheap.
Penny wise and pound foolish, you know.

 

i gave up on aftermarket, because they never fit well.

if you can find one with quality pleats and fits snigly so air doesn't blow around the edges, go for it

 

See I changed both engine and cabin air filters at 88K kms (October 2020), for first time. Cabin air filter admittedly needed replacement; engine air filter looked practically new. Just got them from dealership. Between our west coast environment and low usage of the car, that's probably it for air filters for this Prius.

 

No problem with aftermarkets in our c.

Be aware some are fancy HEPA filters, others are just plain filters, some have activated charcoal sections for odor control too. Sky's the limit.

Only used a few in our car so far, never the same brand twice and they all fit fine.

 

I prefer OEM engine air filters because they are white so you can easily ID when they are dirty but I've compared with WIXX and they are similar and I'll use WIXX in a pinch. For Prius, WIXX part number is WA1000, easy to remember. (Don't want to drive 10-miles to the dealer) When I do use WIXX, they get changed out more often.
One OEM part I DON'T buy are those cabin air filters....Toyota is VERY proud of those suckers! We like the carbon activated kind and I found them on Amazon. Toyota wants $52 for one yet I can buy TWO for $17 on Amazon. (The brand is "Fun-Driving")

 

In NZ use Ryco RCA164P from Repco.

On my Aqua about 3 months after I purchased it, started to stink slightly [for the 1st kilometer of driving] but all the cabin filters were on 6 weeks back order throughout NZ.
So I pulled mine and left it soaking in a bucket of water with dishwashing detergent [do not disturb it while it is wet]
Then I rinsed it in clean water, and left it to dry thoroughly [3 days]

I re-installed and it has been good ever since.

You can prevent further smells by running the heater to dry the air before switching off everything, but this is a P.I.T.A
You can spray "Glen 20" anti bacterial spray down the vent inlets [under the wipers] every 6-9 months to prevent further smells developing

Toyota Cabin filters are a cess-pool for bacteria and spores because of their placement.

 

Is there really even a need for a cabin air filter? I mean, if you crack the window for fresh air at any point while the AC or heat is running....

 

I say yes, there is a need.

The air conditioning evaporator and the heater core are extremely inaccessible in these cars. If they get clogged up with dust, lint, bugs and what-have-you, it's a major, major labor bill to get in there and clean them out.

If you can prevent them from ever getting dirty with a $10 filter every other year, you're doing great.

 

Get the aftermarket filter. There's no need to pay 6x the going rate unless you like wasting money.

Who do you think makes the filter you buy at the dealer anyway? Yes, the same companies that supply the aftermarket - Denso, FRAM, Mahle, Bosch etc.

Last one I bought was made by Mann...the time before that was a Filtron. Zero issues with fit, filtration, airflow or anything else

 

I drive almost everyday and keep my cabin fan on low. That seems to keep the bacteria and spore growth from forming. The constant air movement keeps the system dry; but in a high humid environment - I'm not sure this is going to work.

 

Asked and answered.

Toyota doesn't manufacture air filters.
They buy them from the lowest bidder.

Do what THEY do....

And.......it's a CABIN air filter.
Frankly you could fix this permanently for about a buck with a surgical mask and a couple of rubber bands.
I mean if they can stop a VIRUS from getting in.......

 

Same. If smelly a/c's a problem I recommend an antibacterial a/c bomb rather than dishwasher detergent

 

The smell is mold, due to water condensation, due to round-the-clock AC use. Workaround: use AC sparingly, and when using it: shut it off a mile or so before destination, leaving the fan running at moderate speed to dissipate the moisture.

 

If you get as far as mold growth, something has been wrong with the condensation drain for a while.

Here in the mid-Atlantic, it gets humid enough that many drivers have the air conditioning on (or auto-HVAC enabled) from May-September without interruption. We use it as much for dehumidification as cooling.

Our cars aren't growing mold, because the drains are good enough. A car that wasn't engineered well enough to sustain round-the-clock AC use would earn a bad reputation quickly around here.