Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
How to: (GD) Change The Cabin Air Filter
This how to was performed on a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
-As shown by Alin.
***Before we begin this how to, please note that you will have to go to Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, or O'Reilly's Auto Parts and order the cabin air filter. None of these places have them in stock, at least not in my area on the west side of Cleveland. Price varies depending on where you go and what you buy. Autozone has one for around $19, but the one I bought was almost $30 from O'Reilly's because it's "supposedly" better quality and lasts twice as long. (This doesn't matter to me because I change it every year)*** [Figure 1]
Tools that will be needed:
-Phillips Screwdriver [Figure 2]
-Your hands [Figure 3]
Amount of time that will be needed:
-Approximately ten (10) minutes. (Fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes approximately for the first time)
Difficulty:
-On a scale of 1-5, this is going to be a 1. It is one of the easiest things to do.
Procedure:
1) Make sure you park your car in a place where you have adequate room to open your passenger door fully. [Figure 4]
2) Slide the passenger seat as far back is it allows you to in order to have room to work and place items. [Figure 5][Figure 6]
3) Sit down in the passenger seat and locate the glove compartment box. (Hint: It has an opening latch) [Figure 7]
4) Open the glove compartment box using one of your hands. [Figure 8]
5) If you have items in the glove compartment box, move them to a safe location. (I say safe because majority of us have our car registrations in there)[Figure 9][Figure 10]
6) Once the glove compartment is clear of items, you are going to be looking for eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip. These will need to be removed in order to access the cabin air filter.*** [Figure 11][Figure 12][Figure 13]
7) When you have the glove compartment box open, unscrew the nine (9) screws using a phillips screwdriver as shown in the picture. [Figure 16.1]
8) Once those nine (9) screws have been unscrewed, look underneath the glove compartment box and locate the two (2) remaining screws and unscrew them.[Figure 14][Figure 15]
9) Look on the right side of the glove compartment box, locate the clip, unscrew the head off with a phillips screwdriver, and pop it out. [Figure 16]
10) Make sure you place the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip in a safe place where you can't lose them. [Figure 17]
11) Once you have all the screws out [Figure 18], grab the glove compartment box with one hand from the right side and the other hand from underneath. [Figure 19]
12) Pull the glove compartment box GENTLY towards you. There are two (2) clips that are still holding it in place. They should pop out of their sockets easily when applying gentle force. [Figure 19.1]
13) Once you have gotten the glove compartment box loose, place it gently on the passenger footwell in order to make sure the wires don't get yanked off. [Figure 20]
14) Locate the wire that leads to the bottom of the cabin filtering box and pull it out. Then place it somewhere where it is out of the way. [Figure 20.1]
15) Now you can clearly see where the cabin air filter hibernates during the course of it's lifetime. It is hidden behind a rectangular, white cover with two (2) clips. [Figure 20.11]
16) Pull from the bottom of the two (2) clips in order to free the cover that is concealing the cabin air filter. *Note: Sometimes the cover likes to ambush your finger(s) and leave you with a wound! If this happens, please resort to the safety precautions.*
17) Place the cover in the same safe place where you put the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip. [Figure 20.12]
18) Once you have the cabin air filter cover off, you will see the physical filter itself. It might say "Made In China" just like mine did. [Figure 20.2]
19) The best way to remove the cabin air filter is to use your index finger on both hands and grab it from the sides. The sides compress, and you can easily pull it out. [Figure 20.3][Figure 20.4]
20) This is the scariest part of the entire how to. Your cabin air filter might be very filthy and could potentially have the following:
-a rat's nest
-a rat
-a bird
-leaves
-dust, debris, and other dirty substances that will turn your filter black
21) Please place the cabin air filter on the ground and NOT inside your vehicle as it could leave some of the filthy substances in your vehicle. [Figure 21]
22) Now it is time to open the brand new cabin air filter and compare your dirty one with it. [Figure 21.1] (This might leave a shocking look on your face) -This year's cabin air filter was nowhere near as dirty as last year's, thankfully- [Figure 21.2]
23) Now that you have compared your cabin air filter to the brand new, it is time to place the brand new filter inside the vehicle.
24) When placing the brand new cabin air filter in it's location, please make sure you face the "Made In China" towards you with the right side up. (Some cabin air filters might tell you which way the air flows, like mine did) [Figure 22]
25) All you have to do in order to place the new cabin air filter is to push it in. It will automatically slide in with ease. [Figure 22.1]
26) Locate your cabin air filter white cover and put it back in it's place. There are 3 clips that stick out on the top that need to go in first before you clip the bottom two (2) in. [Figure 22.3]
27) Take the wire that you pulled from the cabin air filtering box and place it back in it's spot. [Figure 22.4][Figure 22.41]
28) It is time to finally install the glove compartment box back in it's spot since you're all done with swapping the cabin air filters. Remember the two (2) clips that held it in place? You'll have to align the glove compartment box with it's outlined located and push it in gently so the clips grab their sockets and slide into their secure position. [Figure 23]
29) Now screw in the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip back into their locations to securely fasten the glove compartment back into it's original position so it doesn't become loose and rattle your brains out.
30) Place all of your belongings that you originally took out and put in a safe place back into their spot inside the glove compartment box. [Figure 24]
31) Close the glove compartment box and give a thumbs up because now you are finished!.. Or are you? [Figure 25]
32) Usually, we car enthusiasts, are never fully happy with our cars and always feel like they can be touched up in certain spots. You're still sitting in the passenger seat, so you might as well dust off your dashboard and gauges, right?! [Figure 26]
33) A filthy dashboard is a sad dashboard, so make sure you clean it really well. Would you take a look at that?! That's quite a bit of dust that you cleaned off the dashboard, which now, has become a happy dashboard! [Figure 26.1]
34) Since you are still sitting down in the passenger seat, you might as well push that driver seat up and clean after yourself. If you drink a lot of water, those bottles won't leave your car by themselves. They are going to have a party on the floor! So do your vehicle a favor and toss them out. [Figure 27]
35) You are now entirely finished with changing your cabin air filter! No only did you accomplish one thing today, you accomplished multiple things! (The dashboard dusting and trash picking are optional tasks!)
36) Go out for a drive with the windows up, the air on, and your nose breathing in the beautifully refreshing air that you had no idea existed for the past months! :lol:
Safety Precautions:
-In case of an emergency where the cabin air filter clip has sliced your finger(s) open:
1) Please obtain a band aid. [Figure 28]
2) Open the band aid. [Figure 28.1]
3) Place the band aid on the finger(s) that has(have) been cut. [Figure 28.2][Figure 28.3]
4) You can now go back to work worry-free of leaving blood inside your beautiful vehicle.
*** I took out twelve (13) screws, but only eleven (11) are needed. The two (2) extra are for the glove compartment box's hatch. These are not necessary to remove during the procedure. *** [Figure 29]
This how to was performed on a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
-As shown by Alin.
***Before we begin this how to, please note that you will have to go to Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, or O'Reilly's Auto Parts and order the cabin air filter. None of these places have them in stock, at least not in my area on the west side of Cleveland. Price varies depending on where you go and what you buy. Autozone has one for around $19, but the one I bought was almost $30 from O'Reilly's because it's "supposedly" better quality and lasts twice as long. (This doesn't matter to me because I change it every year)*** [Figure 1]
Tools that will be needed:
-Phillips Screwdriver [Figure 2]
-Your hands [Figure 3]
Amount of time that will be needed:
-Approximately ten (10) minutes. (Fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes approximately for the first time)
Difficulty:
-On a scale of 1-5, this is going to be a 1. It is one of the easiest things to do.
Procedure:
1) Make sure you park your car in a place where you have adequate room to open your passenger door fully. [Figure 4]
2) Slide the passenger seat as far back is it allows you to in order to have room to work and place items. [Figure 5][Figure 6]
3) Sit down in the passenger seat and locate the glove compartment box. (Hint: It has an opening latch) [Figure 7]
4) Open the glove compartment box using one of your hands. [Figure 8]
5) If you have items in the glove compartment box, move them to a safe location. (I say safe because majority of us have our car registrations in there)[Figure 9][Figure 10]
6) Once the glove compartment is clear of items, you are going to be looking for eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip. These will need to be removed in order to access the cabin air filter.*** [Figure 11][Figure 12][Figure 13]
7) When you have the glove compartment box open, unscrew the nine (9) screws using a phillips screwdriver as shown in the picture. [Figure 16.1]
8) Once those nine (9) screws have been unscrewed, look underneath the glove compartment box and locate the two (2) remaining screws and unscrew them.[Figure 14][Figure 15]
9) Look on the right side of the glove compartment box, locate the clip, unscrew the head off with a phillips screwdriver, and pop it out. [Figure 16]
10) Make sure you place the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip in a safe place where you can't lose them. [Figure 17]
11) Once you have all the screws out [Figure 18], grab the glove compartment box with one hand from the right side and the other hand from underneath. [Figure 19]
12) Pull the glove compartment box GENTLY towards you. There are two (2) clips that are still holding it in place. They should pop out of their sockets easily when applying gentle force. [Figure 19.1]
13) Once you have gotten the glove compartment box loose, place it gently on the passenger footwell in order to make sure the wires don't get yanked off. [Figure 20]
14) Locate the wire that leads to the bottom of the cabin filtering box and pull it out. Then place it somewhere where it is out of the way. [Figure 20.1]
15) Now you can clearly see where the cabin air filter hibernates during the course of it's lifetime. It is hidden behind a rectangular, white cover with two (2) clips. [Figure 20.11]
16) Pull from the bottom of the two (2) clips in order to free the cover that is concealing the cabin air filter. *Note: Sometimes the cover likes to ambush your finger(s) and leave you with a wound! If this happens, please resort to the safety precautions.*
17) Place the cover in the same safe place where you put the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip. [Figure 20.12]
18) Once you have the cabin air filter cover off, you will see the physical filter itself. It might say "Made In China" just like mine did. [Figure 20.2]
19) The best way to remove the cabin air filter is to use your index finger on both hands and grab it from the sides. The sides compress, and you can easily pull it out. [Figure 20.3][Figure 20.4]
20) This is the scariest part of the entire how to. Your cabin air filter might be very filthy and could potentially have the following:
-a rat's nest
-a rat
-a bird
-leaves
-dust, debris, and other dirty substances that will turn your filter black
21) Please place the cabin air filter on the ground and NOT inside your vehicle as it could leave some of the filthy substances in your vehicle. [Figure 21]
22) Now it is time to open the brand new cabin air filter and compare your dirty one with it. [Figure 21.1] (This might leave a shocking look on your face) -This year's cabin air filter was nowhere near as dirty as last year's, thankfully- [Figure 21.2]
23) Now that you have compared your cabin air filter to the brand new, it is time to place the brand new filter inside the vehicle.
24) When placing the brand new cabin air filter in it's location, please make sure you face the "Made In China" towards you with the right side up. (Some cabin air filters might tell you which way the air flows, like mine did) [Figure 22]
25) All you have to do in order to place the new cabin air filter is to push it in. It will automatically slide in with ease. [Figure 22.1]
26) Locate your cabin air filter white cover and put it back in it's place. There are 3 clips that stick out on the top that need to go in first before you clip the bottom two (2) in. [Figure 22.3]
27) Take the wire that you pulled from the cabin air filtering box and place it back in it's spot. [Figure 22.4][Figure 22.41]
28) It is time to finally install the glove compartment box back in it's spot since you're all done with swapping the cabin air filters. Remember the two (2) clips that held it in place? You'll have to align the glove compartment box with it's outlined located and push it in gently so the clips grab their sockets and slide into their secure position. [Figure 23]
29) Now screw in the eleven (11) screws and one (1) clip back into their locations to securely fasten the glove compartment back into it's original position so it doesn't become loose and rattle your brains out.
30) Place all of your belongings that you originally took out and put in a safe place back into their spot inside the glove compartment box. [Figure 24]
31) Close the glove compartment box and give a thumbs up because now you are finished!.. Or are you? [Figure 25]
32) Usually, we car enthusiasts, are never fully happy with our cars and always feel like they can be touched up in certain spots. You're still sitting in the passenger seat, so you might as well dust off your dashboard and gauges, right?! [Figure 26]
33) A filthy dashboard is a sad dashboard, so make sure you clean it really well. Would you take a look at that?! That's quite a bit of dust that you cleaned off the dashboard, which now, has become a happy dashboard! [Figure 26.1]
34) Since you are still sitting down in the passenger seat, you might as well push that driver seat up and clean after yourself. If you drink a lot of water, those bottles won't leave your car by themselves. They are going to have a party on the floor! So do your vehicle a favor and toss them out. [Figure 27]
35) You are now entirely finished with changing your cabin air filter! No only did you accomplish one thing today, you accomplished multiple things! (The dashboard dusting and trash picking are optional tasks!)
36) Go out for a drive with the windows up, the air on, and your nose breathing in the beautifully refreshing air that you had no idea existed for the past months! :lol:
Safety Precautions:
-In case of an emergency where the cabin air filter clip has sliced your finger(s) open:
1) Please obtain a band aid. [Figure 28]
2) Open the band aid. [Figure 28.1]
3) Place the band aid on the finger(s) that has(have) been cut. [Figure 28.2][Figure 28.3]
4) You can now go back to work worry-free of leaving blood inside your beautiful vehicle.
*** I took out twelve (13) screws, but only eleven (11) are needed. The two (2) extra are for the glove compartment box's hatch. These are not necessary to remove during the procedure. *** [Figure 29]
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