HowTo: Replace Interior Air Filters

[Ilya]

I'm in the process of performing a ton of routine maintenance on my 2011 M56x. One of the things I'm doing is replacing the cabin air filter and cleaning the seat filters.

*Disclaimer* - I am not liable for anything you do to your car. This is just a basic walkthrough.

Task: Remove and replace the cabin air filter element under the dashboard on the passenger side
Time: 15-20 minutes at most
Tools/Supplies Needed:

• Long phillips screw driver
• Cabin Air Filter - I decided to go with the carbon/charcoal one which has a part number of 27277-1MEOB. This is not the one listed for my car, but from what I can tell it will work.
  
  Here is an image of the filter I got on EBay and a link: Link
  
  

Process:

1) Open glovebox. You will see the following rails. Gently pop the box off the rails.





2) Remove the draw string attached to the glovebox. It just pops off, but will take a little strength due to the tightness of the string.



3) Now remove the bottom trim piece, it's just a couple of clips so gently pull it down.





4) Pop out the side trim piece. I didn't initially, but this will help you remove the large trim piece once the screws are out.



5) Remove the phillips screws using your screw driver. My image is bad, but you'll see them.



6) You will be left with this.



7) Remove the cover over the filter. Pop out the right side and the left will slide out.



8) Remove the filter



9) Re-install the filter making sure the "Up" side is correct



10) Reinstall everything. Reverse of removal. You may have some issues having the glovebox close once you're done, just keep messing with it. Took me about 10 minutes lol.


A comparison of the old filter and new filter:

[Ilya]

Next up is the seat filters. You have two ways to do this:

Option A - Replace the filters completely
Option B - Remove the OEM filters and clean them

I went with option B, but you can do either one and the steps below are the same.

*Disclaimer* - I am not liable for anything you do to your car. This is just a basic walkthrough.

Task: Clean or replace the seat filter covering the blower motor for the climate controlled front seats
Time: 5 minutes
Tools/Supplies Needed:

• If replacing, the seat filter part number seems to be 87383-9N00A according to Google. I cannot confirm this.

Process:

1) Move whichever seat you are working on to the furthest front and up position you can.
2) Look under the seat and you will see something that resembles this:

(image is from Google - not my image and I give credit to whoever took it)


3) Twist the filter and it will come out
4) Now, you can either clean it as I did with some soap and water and dry it (I have an air compressor in the garage so I just blew the water out - you can also just simply air dry it)...or replace it. I chose to clean it because each filter is $80+ which is ridiculous for such a small thing that is not even that complex to build lol.
5) Put the filter back in it's place and move the seats back to how you like them.

Here is a comparison of a dirty and clean filter:

(again, image is from Google - credit goes to George from InfinitiScene.com):

[Debonair]

Oh my that seat filter was pretty nasty, I bet mine are the same or worse. I will be cleaning it them this weekend for sure. Thanks for the write-up!

[Ilya]

Mine was just as bad as well.

[InfinitiAce]

Haha. 80 bucks a piece for those seat filters? That is almost as insane as when the dealer told me the floor mat clips were $26 each.

[Mjkkb2]

I remember early after the Y50 and Y51 forums were split there was someone talking about the seat filter being identical to F150 ventilated seat filters which are only $22. I haven't verified it, but they do look very similar to Nissan's.

[Mjkkb2]

ok this is an add on to my previous post. I just read some reviews on those filters (motorcraft) brand and there are a lot of people upset. Looks like the manufacturer changed the design which removed the 'filtration' part of the unit. Now you just get the plastic ring with holes, and no filtration material.
One of the earlier reviews is by an M owner saying that they are a direct fit, see link:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-FS-104 ... op?ie=UTF8

[Larz]

ok this is an add on to my previous post. I just read some reviews on those filters (motorcraft) brand and there are a lot of people upset. Looks like the manufacturer changed the design which removed the 'filtration' part of the unit. Now you just get the plastic ring with holes, and no filtration material.
One of the earlier reviews is by an M owner saying that they are a direct fit, see link:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-FS-104 ... op?ie=UTF8

You are right. That product also states it has no filter material - just perforated plastic. I reckon you could buy the part in that link and go to Home Depot for one of those air/con filters that is just a sheet with no borders. Just cut it to fit that ring and make sure it's secure. Slap that in place, and Bob's Yer Uncle !

[Ilya]

lol @ Bob's Yer Uncle.

Nothing beats free guys...if you have the time, just wash it and reuse like I did today.

[Ilya]

Updated original post with pictures for the cabin filter. Man that thing was filthy. I'm guessing in the 64,000 miles my car has, it's been changed *maybe* once.

[Larz]

I usually defend dealerships (to a degree) when people call them "stealerships". However, Infinit have gone too far this time! Charging $80 for a seat filter is simply wrong on all levels. And ... why did they change the design to begin with? They could have simply continued to use the same square filters that have worked fine since 2006. I can see it now ... some nerd from the design group presents this to the board, cradles it in his hand, with a smile that rivals The Grinch, saying "And guess what we shall charge to replace these ... mwah hah ha ha !"

[Ilya]

Yep, sounds about right lol.

[pedsemdoc]

Just checked mine and they were both dirty, driver side much dirtier than passenger

These look to be the same as for the M37/56:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mof-f ... aQodmOUPBQ

$21.97 a piece and $5.95 shipping and handling

still not as cheap as washing/drying/reusing, but might buy one so that I can swap it out while I am waiting for the one I just cleaned to dry.

Partsgeek.com also has them as well, but a little more expensive, $24.07/filter and $9.95 S&H (ironically, this is where you can get '06/07 M35/45 seat filters for cheaper than OEM)

Craig

[BlackCat81]

I usually defend dealerships (to a degree) when people call them "stealerships". However, Infinit have gone too far this time! Charging $80 for a seat filter is simply wrong on all levels. And ... why did they change the design to begin with? They could have simply continued to use the same square filters that have worked fine since 2006. I can see it now ... some nerd from the design group presents this to the board, cradles it in his hand, with a smile that rivals The Grinch, saying "And guess what we shall charge to replace these ... mwah hah ha ha !"

Don't blame the dealership for the cost of the filter, blame Infiniti. The only time I've ever replaced a seat filter was on an M35H that had the top teir maintenance plan as part of one of the services. Mine haven't been touched in 208k.
I totally agree with the engineers and designers making things difficult though, we joke about that all the time in the shop. One of the techs just had to replace a catalytic converter/exhaust manifold under warranty on an 11 M56x. The motor had to come out of it, lol.

[Ilya]

I usually defend dealerships (to a degree) when people call them "stealerships". However, Infinit have gone too far this time! Charging $80 for a seat filter is simply wrong on all levels. And ... why did they change the design to begin with? They could have simply continued to use the same square filters that have worked fine since 2006. I can see it now ... some nerd from the design group presents this to the board, cradles it in his hand, with a smile that rivals The Grinch, saying "And guess what we shall charge to replace these ... mwah hah ha ha !"

Don't blame the dealership for the cost of the filter, blame Infiniti. The only time I've ever replaced a seat filter was on an M35H that had the top teir maintenance plan as part of one of the services. Mine haven't been touched in 208k.
I totally agree with the engineers and designers making things difficult though, we joke about that all the time in the shop. One of the techs just had to replace a catalytic converter/exhaust manifold under warranty on an 11 M56x. The motor had to come out of it, lol.

Side bar...why? Is it something that is common to change? Or was it a freak situation. That's insane.

[Altim8M37]

Just wanted to say a quick ty for bumping this. I meant to replace mine when I bought the car and proceeded to go brain neutral. Ordered a carbon TYC off Amazon for $14 and Prime shipping.

[BlackCat81]

Side bar...why? Is it something that is common to change? Or was it a freak situation. That's insane.

Just one of those weird unusual situations. Definitely not common. Had a JX35 towed in a few weeks ago that had somehow managed to crack the entire rear differential in half. No idea how, just a weird random failure.

Another example, I worked on a G37x coupe that would get static out of the radio, only on AM stations, only when going over bumps. Tech line instructed me to replace the audio video unit, which I did. I then had no reception, AM or FM. Tech line said I must've got a faulty reman'd A/V unit and to replace it again. Same thing. I put the original one back in and I'd get reception but lose it over bumps. Engineering finally came out and physically watched me replace the A/V unit to verify my results. Engineering then gave me the authorization to replace the A/V unit with a brand new one, not reman'd, at the cost of $6,000. Still the same issue. I got creative and swapped antenna amps out of known good cars, same issue. Ended up pulling the dash and found an internal break/fray in the antenna feeder cable that runs from back of the A/V unit to the drivers A pillar. The radio had worked fine for over 40,000 miles and then somehow managed to internally break the feeder cable. This was the carnage of trying to diagnose this car.


3 weeks later, 4 reman'd A/V units, one brand new one, roughly 15hrs in labor later and a $23 antenna feeder cable fixed the car. That was my most challenging diagnosis I've had to so far. Just random, uncommon failures that make you rack your brain for days and days at a time really wear on you and definitely have you second guessing your ability to do your job, lol.

[Altim8M37]

The picture reminded me of a dissected frog in high school.

[BlackCat81]

The picture reminded me of a dissected frog in high school.

Hahaha. I LOVE what I do for a living, but sometimes it also drives me absolutely nuts.

[Ilya]

More power to ya. I'd never be able to put that car back together.

[ArmedAviator]

Thanks for the How-To's Ilya.

I replaced my cabin air filter and cleaned my seat filters per your instructions. After some fanangling with getting the glove box door off the hinges ("gently" pry my arse lol), the rest was a piece of cake.

[Ilya]

I f'in hate the glovebox. Every time I have to remove that POS I end up mentally throwing things and punching things. lol.

[biggie]

I don't want to hear that, have to do my incabin filter soon.

Wished they'd done something like my wifes '06 QX56, 2 pins at the bottom of glove box, then a single screw holding the plate over the filters.

[Ilya]

I don't want to hear that, have to do my incabin filter soon.

Wished they'd done something like my wifes '06 QX56, 2 pins at the bottom of glove box, then a single screw holding the plate over the filters.

Yep. It's needlessly complicated. Like how cars used to have full-access headlights and now you need to remove bumpers, etc. to change the assemblies. Sometimes I think they make it more complicated so people are forced to visit the dealer lol.

[Debonair]

Both my current cars that have cabin air filters had them buried behind the glovebox. My 14yo Lexus had a door in the glovebox that opened to reveal the filter. So convenient.

[pedsemdoc]

My 2006 M45's air filter was a whole lot easier to replace - didn't really need tools. Although I struggled the first time with the glove box - but figured it out quick and could replace the thing in about 15 seconds

The M37 is a whole different beast - glovebox seemed to be fighting me every step of the way - wanted to chuck it down the street once I got it off and then getting it to seat correctly was a huge pain.

[Ilya]

Yeah, getting it to seat properly is my biggest issue...all of the other stuff is easy. For some reason, and this is weird, it never quite does. But after a day or two of riding, it 'settles in' and is fine until I take it out again. Weird.

[Debonair]

I finally remembered to pull these filters out while cleaning my car. I bet they have 80K on them from their looks. They seem to be similar in construction to the AC filters found in standing room AC units, and seem like they should be washed and reused rather than replaced. This would justify the crazy replacement cost.

After looking it over I figured a good vacuuming might do the trick. I vacuumed the dirty side out for a bit, and then reversed my Shopvac hose and blew them out from their clean side, then vacuumed the dirty side once more. They came out very clean. Total cost: 5 min @ $0.

[beachbum718]

Im doing this .this weekend.along with the glive box filter.thx for info

[macnorma]

The seat filter is $48.80 each with free shipping at this vendor (infinitipartsusa).
Manual cleaning sounds best to me!