In-Cabin Air Filter replacement WITH photo's!

[Scuba Steve]

You will need to remove the glovebox... 5 phillips screws.

Disconnect the glovebox light

Then you will see the In-Cabin air filter



To remove the filter you have to push it up and pull out, it is a bit stiff but it will move, once you remove the old filter you can't reuse it. Take the new filter and squeeze it like an accordian in the middle and then slide it in the socket, and then snap it shut.

Putting back the glove box:When you removed the glovebox you have to take the metal clips and crimp it back together and then push it back to it's location, otherwise the clips will not stay and you willl have trouble putting the screws in.

And the clip should look like this after you crimp it to it's original state.

And then push or slide it back to it's original locations.It will not move away for the screws.



Modified by Scuba Steve at 2:56 PM 9/8/2008

Modified by Scuba Steve at 2:57 PM 9/8/2008

[Petersen]

Getting the glove box off and locating the filter was easy. But I'll be damned if I can shake the original filter loose. I would think it should just slide in and out, but pulling up and out or any other way (even with pliers), it's not moving. Of course, the owner's manual doesn't even acknowledge the filter's existence at all. Headed back to Meineke.

[randyshemin@comcast.]

I grabbed the tab on the filter with pliers and it came right out when I did ours. No problem whatsoever. Did you wiggle it (the filter tab LOL) a little while pulling outward?

Great photos and tutorial BTW!

[greggie195]

Great pics and how to guide. thanks! I will be using this in the not to far off future.

[MDracer76]

Great stuff!

What is the recommended interval on the filter?

[randyshemin@comcast.]

Great stuff!

What is the recommended interval on the filter?

15,000 miles.

[longo]

Great photo spread, people who are DIY'ers will thank you...the dealerships will hate you. My Stealership wanted $78.00 to change out that filter.

Needless to say I was totally confused by the stupid engineering of the whole process, and it burnt up a few braincells to figure out a better way of removing the OEM filter than those mentioned in the manual.

So, a couple of things , first the falling screw clips issue, I did push them back into shape, but knew that everytime I removed the glove box they would flop out of position or fall to the floor..again. My fix for them was simple, I mixed up a little JB Weld and but a dab on each one and centered them back over the hole. Now they will be there long after I am not.

I had bought a couple of replacement cabin air filters off eBay in advance.

The removal of the old filter was the next little PIA.

To do this and save your sanity, use 2 tools..first a 'trouble light to find that misearable little "tab" they talk about and then, and this is the best part...a pair of Vise Grips to clamp on to it with.

At 15,000 miles my filter had an interesting collection of grim, dirt, a few grasshopers, moths, and other frequent flyers stuck in it. These filters keep all that crap not only out of the air you breath, but also out of the guts of the heating and a/c unit. In an ufiltered system, this will slowly but surely plug up in time and cause a huge expense to have removed, replace or cleaned.

[pfc369]

you can easily replace the cabin filter without removing the glove box. i wonder why the manual recommend to remove the glove box.

[Althalus]

you can easily replace the cabin filter without removing the glove box. i wonder why the manual recommend to remove the glove box.

Care to explain or show pictures?

[Promise Land]

You'll have to lay on your back and look up behind the glovebox to do it. The hand space will be tight, but it's possible. But for the 5 or 6 screws to take the glovebox, that may be a small price to pay for the cuss words your kids would learn watching you do it.

[GFresh]

I replaced mine last night since there was a musty smell coming through the vents. Had some trouble removing the old one, ended up taking a chunk of skin off of my thumb in the process some how. When I finally got it out I saw that the old way was like pitch black so I'm thinking the previous owner never changed it in the 32k miles they had it. Made a world of difference in vent odor though, cheap fix.

[Kingdom934]

Great DIY.

Did mines around 30K~. Mines was a mother father getting the plastic thing out. I had to use a plyer and what not. Pain getting it out. I was basically in upside down in the car (feet touching the roof and head being smash on the floor mat) I was too cheap, so I just cleaned it (water + soap + scrubber).

ALSO, remember to connect the glove light wire. I forgot to connect mines, so I got no light in the glove compartment...not like it really matter since it was so weak anyhow lol.

[the djay]

I grabbed the tab on the filter with pliers and it came right out when I did ours. No problem whatsoever. Did you wiggle it (the filter tab LOL) a little while pulling outward?

Great photos and tutorial BTW!

Bought the air filter and the in-cabin micro filter from NAPA for $33.00 (dealer wanted $75.00 for both) I relayed the info from here to my 12 yr old son and he changed the in-cabin filter for me , he used pliers to wiggle the tab to get the old filter out. Replaced the engine air filter and voila.....done. The dealership charged me $147.00 for the in-cabin replacement last year. I think I saved some cash this time.

[wildhandyman]

I just replaced the interior in-cabin air filter on my '09 Versa at 45,000 miles (the local Nissan dealer's parts counter is only open bankers hours - $33.00) and I had to remove 8 screws, not 5, to remove the glove box. The old filter gave me a little fight, but grabbing the tab with a pair of needle nosed pliers and a little wiggling did the trick. I did not, however, have any drama with the glove box screw clips moving around. Apparently a different type of clip is now being used.

[Jape]

Any one adventure further into the dash? One day this winter i started smelling a foul aroma which very quickly became distinguishable as a dead mouse. For a while before hand I was having blower motor issues that I believe were from chewed up pieces of insulation but it cleared its self out. Anyways, I'd like to clean the components of my air conditioning unit since mouse related damages aren't covered under warranty and wondering if some ones taken a look at their blower motor? I have read through the service manual and comprehend how its done, but I want to know if this is a fools mission? Or I should just pay some one a fraction of the stealership price to attempt it?

[humbut]

"To remove the filter you have to push it up and pull out, it is a bit stiff but it will move"

I followed this procedure and at the moment where the lower tab goes out, I ear a sound (like a peace of plastic that broke). I then reinsert the lower tab into the slot and tried to replace the whole thing in place, but now it's loose and the upper part don't want to stay in place firmily...

Any one can help for this?
If I replace the filter with a new one, will it stay in place correctly?

thanks for the great pictures and tutorial,

thanks.