ChristInBen

Hi guys,

So I ended up going to Erin Mills Mazda for my tire swap + alignment, and Frank (the service manager) gave me a great deal, however, he said I should change my air filter, which was $108.00! I asked him to pull it out and inspect it for me, to see if I could wait cuz I didn't wanna spend money on it right now. Anyway, have you guys changed it yet, and if you don't, is it a harm to the car, to could be to yourself due to the air not getting filtered through the vents when you turn the fan and/or the A/C on? Is it absolutely necessary for this to be changed?

Thanks and God bless you guys!

Ben.

shaunv74

check the DIY section. There is some good DIYs on how to change it yourself. Try the search function.

Many people change their own air filter. Also I think you are thinking of two different air filters. One is for the air coming in to the engine. The other is your cabin air filter. You definitely don't need to spend $100 on changing your air filter. You can go to your local auto parts store and get a K&N filter for $45-$50 and put it in yourself with no tools in about 10 minutes. Or if you want to go with a regular replacement filter they are about $10-$15. You just need to look up how to do it.

On a side note I'm dissappointed in your dealership for wanting to charge you $100 to change your filter. It should be $20-$30 with labor and no more.

I might ask them to itemize exactly how much the labor is for a 10 minute job and how much the filter costs and explain why that is $100.

ChristInBen

Sorry dude, I meant cabin air filter. That's what he wanted to change....does that change anything, or no?

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

cabin air filter is cheap, its like 20 sumthin cdn, it just filters the air within the cabin, like stuff comin from the engine bay and so forth, air circulation within cabin, its located behind the glove box, pull out the glove box to change, time spent 10 mins, thers a diy on it, cost of the filter is 28 or sumthin,

thats why we call them stealerships.

ChristInBen

Nice! Thanks bro. My only other concern is to not accidentally damage something that would void my warranty. Cuz I'm still covered under extended bumper-to-bumper warranty. Will this affect it?

expo1

post #5 in https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/needed-how-change-cabin-filter-143699/

shaunv74

Nope. It won't void your warranty. Definitely check the DIY section.

LiTTleRX-8

I actually just changed mine 2 days ago using the DIY. Changed to the better aldehyde filter. I noticed my cabin air was smelly lately, so decided to change it. 43000km on it.

It's very easy to do yourself, however, MAKE SURE u put the side damper back on before you close it. I forgot to, and busted mine. So now I have to order it (10 bucks) and fix it... =[

climacus

I still have the original cabin filter on my 2001 Acura. The last time I pulled it out, it looked like it came out of a BBQ grill.

Toronto roads are nasty dirty.

Smokin_LaLa

^ AHHHH Gross dude!

dozer

iTrader: (3)

i switched to K&N, its about 40usd...definitely A LOT better

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

wrong filter dozer, hes talking cabin not engine intake

To be named later

How often does the cabin air filter need to be replaced?

(Search, DIY threads, Stickies = no luck)

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

That thing is so coarse it only catches the big stuff - leaves, wasps, etc..

I just blow it out and re-use.

Although last year I tried the Mazda Aldehyde filter - seems to cut odours a bit.....

Search 'aldehyde' for all the filter threads, not a word that comes up much.

S

laythor

I've always done cabin filters once a year with a "shake out" every few months. It takes all of 30 seconds to remove the cabin filter, blow it off, and reinstall.

And +1 for using the aldehyde filter, it does seem to keep the odors down compared to stock.

delhi

anyone thought of going to home depot or rona to pickup those large size 3M filters for the home HVACs? I did it once with my 92x Aero and it worked great. Just needed to know the dimensions.

philsbluerx8

yep, its really easy.
I changed mine about a month ago but i think my original one was the worst cuz one of them was already broken. there was a big hole on it.....

To be named later

Wow, I just pulled/cleaned the cabin air filter and that was a very easy task.

A couple leaves, some small debris about the size of coarse ground black pepper, noting major.

A good cleaning with the crevice tool and a shop vac, then a little blowage from the shop vac, it's now pretty clean.

Score 1 for old threads and the search function.

gvoorhis

Thanks for all the information. Just returned from the dealer (El Dorado, McKinney TX) for routine maintenance and they wanted to change my cabin air filter. Quoted me $79.99 which included the air filter cost of $38. I said no because it seemed too expensive. 5 minutes later they came back to me with the filters which had leaves etc. in them and said I needed to change. I asked them what their labor rate was as I was only there about 10 minutes and they had the filter removed already. I was thinking if it was that easy I would do it myself. I said no.
5 minutes later they came back with a price of $29 to install and $38 for the part.
I said you've got to be kidding me. NO. I will check the DIY section and be done with it. I told them I don't know how anyone can trust them with this kind of stuff going on. Not sure if I will ever go back.

dozer

iTrader: (3)

stealerships are expensive...your cabin filter is WAY easy to replace

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

^+1

you can even spray a nice air freshner on the new one to give your car a nice smell

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

I just changed the cabin air filter on my '8 and my daughter's '6; very similar as both behind the glovebox. No tools required. Just check the nicely presented DIY here.

btw: I was glad I did as both had been used as mouse nesting places (exterior side) over the Winter!

btw2: the aldehyde filter is well worth the extra money.

Footman

iTrader: (2)

Buy the upgraded "Aldehyde" filter and do it yourself. it is extremely extremely EXTREMELY easy to do... just involves removing the glovebox which is ridiculously easy.

Jim Sanderbeck

Change the cabin filter or clean it?After a really easy removal,my 2007 gt 8 seemed to have the original cabin filters.I was amazed at how much CRAP-leaves,seeds,bees hair and dust was in it.It filled about half the pleats all the way up.I debated washing(RINSING) the filters and after tapping and picking all the crap out i gently rinsed the filters in the opposit direction of air flow with the garden hose until they were white.Let them dry for a couple hours and reinstalled.To my suprise the air flow increase was substantially better which made the AC sooo much colder.Instead of #3 only a #1 was needed or #2 instead of #4.I would recommmend washing them...at least once or twice.BLK/BLK,2007 22K,REVI,K&N,BORLA CAT BACK,clears...

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

The upgrade aldehyde cabin air filter may be cleaned, as it is a heavier weight material somewhat similar to a K&N engine air filter.

The stock CAF is pretty lightweight/flimsy and can't really be cleaned, unless all you need is a vacuuming.