Some of you might remember that I dropped $44.34 on a new cabin air filter for our 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI at its last service visit
. The manual conservatively suggests replacing it every 7,500 miles or every 12 months (whichever comes first), but some of you called no way on this recommendation.
Well, the new filter is nonrefundable, so I figured I might as well install it, especially since the original one might be kind of gross now after all the fires last month in Southern California.
Naturally, I leapt for joy at the opportunity to RTFM. Read on for a step-by-step photographic account.
First step is to remove the damper shaft.
Easy enough, but then I had to do a little more reading.
So you squeeze the sides of the glovebox to free it from its moorings. OK.
Easier said that done. And in the process I got way too familiar with the cheap, easily scratched plastic Subaru has secreted away back here.
Then, the filter slides out easily.
It's pretty disgusting.
And the new one goes in easily, too, provided you keep the arrow pointing up.
And fortunately, the glovebox snaps back into place with little incident. Total elapsed time? About 20 minutes with photography included (and some light swearing).
And I'm still a fan of our STI. Whenever I get back into it, I appreciate the way it just feels lighter than most cars of similar performance credentials. It weighs less than either of our Evos or our long-term M3, and that's apparent from the driver seat.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 16,803 miles
lazyhater says:
12:07 PM, 12/10/08
DIY for Edmunds, I am shock!
carguy622 says:
12:08 PM, 12/10/08
That's almost the exact same setup in my Acura TSX. I was a little worried about having to go behind the glovebox to do this, but it was easy and I saved a lot of money by doing it myself. I actually found a completely intact leaf on my filter!
s197gt says:
12:16 PM, 12/10/08
not too bad at all. our versa is about the same exact process except the filter is a pain to get out.
changing the filter on my mustang gt is very easy.
the filter price is outrageous. mustang's filter is around $6 and i found the versa's filter for $18 or so on the internet.
joefrompa says:
12:48 PM, 12/10/08
Same setup as my Civic SI.
Without doing any manual reading (I read about it online) it took me about 90 seconds my first time to change it out. No swearing involved.
Joe
subytrojan says:
12:55 PM, 12/10/08
Apparently your memory is being lazy today, too, lazyhater. :o)
Scion xB DIY oil change by Dan "actualsize" Edmunds:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/03/2008-scion-xb-diy-oil-change.html
subytrojan says:
12:56 PM, 12/10/08
Dan (and his wife, f1mom) also replaced a headlight bulb on the 2005 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, too.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/10/2005-volkswagen-jetta-tdi-diesel-headlights.html
lazyhater says:
03:00 PM, 12/10/08
Yeah I know you guys DIY once in a while, I just wanted to give you guys a hard time :-)
7driver says:
03:33 PM, 12/10/08
Just for grins, someone should run some stats on how many times each editor has posted a DIY blog entry. I'm guessing maybe Erin or Dan would lead.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
03:40 PM, 12/10/08
I'm glad Edmunds did this. The '09 Forester has the same heating system and glove box design, and the directions saying "pull out the glove box" are laughably wrong as they imply you should pull the door off, which you cannot do. Squeezing sides makes a whole lot more sense. But as you said, one needs to be careful of scratching the plastics.
As for filter's filth, my former Malibu Maxx, in S. Calif, would crud up its interior air filter (yes, they can have one - Edmunds Maxx forums explain how) within a couple of weeks of replacement, just from driving on I-5 and other freeways.
eriches says:
04:00 PM, 12/10/08
In truth, even squeezing the sides didn't get it. I eventually had to reach in and pry out it out on one side. And I was a little worried the glovebox might not go back in. Fortunately, the box itself is a fairly sturdy thing, even if the panels around it are not. -ER
lazyhater says:
04:43 PM, 12/10/08
On my LS430, there is an access panel inside my glove box to get to the cabin filter so the glove box don't have to be remove to change the filter.
I guess the LS430 is at a different price point to the STi.
My 04' STi has the same arrangement as the new STi.
stovt001 says:
06:10 PM, 12/10/08
I had a way smaller opening to work with on my Cobalt. I have never been so thankful for my freakishly small hands. I had to drive through Tonner Canyon down the 57 every day while the fire was burning in the area. I replaced my filter the next Monday and it was completely blackened. That was not a fun week.
roadburner says:
07:37 PM, 12/10/08
Replacing the cabin filter is a royal pain on my Club Sport and Mazdaspeed, but it's a five minute procedure on the X3. And the Wrangler and '02 lack this exotic feature.
kingkhalas says:
02:17 PM, 12/11/08
where is a good place to get air filters online?
redwoodaggie says:
12:47 PM, 12/17/08
Yeah, that definitely needed replacing. The one in my 3 series is a breeze to replace (did it last month).
actualsize says:
10:15 PM, 12/17/08
Did the same job on my wife's 2003 Odyssey minivan. What a pain!
After removing the glovebox, I had to cut away the lower part of the dash with a hack saw and metal shears - a stringer running along the bottom of the glove box opening apparently helps the dash hold its shape as it is being installed on the assembly line.
But this reinforcement, which blocks access to the filter, is no longer needed once the dash is bolted into the car, a hopefully permananet condition. They intentionally designed this piece to be cut away at the first filter change.
The good news: next time I do this, it'll be a 10 minute swap.
versaowner says:
11:39 AM, 07/ 6/10
We own a 2007 Versa and had to remove screws, etc. to get at the filter. I found how on-line. However, after we had done everything, I found a comment that you can reach the filter from underneath the glove box and don't have to remove it.
The person that put in the filter said it was no harder reaching underneath. Once you know where to look for the filter it is a lot easier. It does take a lot of agility to get to the filter. The Subaru looks a lot easier once you get the glove box off.
jballoregon says:
11:46 AM, 05/29/11
I used two long flat head screw drivers to lever the two back pinch clips open enough so that they would pass the sides of the glove box compartment housing. It turns this job in a 5 minute procedure.