To clean the cabin air filter housing, gently hold the filter and blow the air through it to flush out any dust. Remove the screws from the filter housing using a Phillips screwdriver and lift the lid off to access the filter inside. Pull the old cabin air filter. If the correct replacement is hard to find or you want to save money, simply clean your current filter housing with a vacuum cleaner. Be sure to remove any dust, debris, or leaves.
The cabin air filter helps remove harmful pollutants from the air you breathe within the car, such as pollen and dust. It is often located behind the glovebox and helps trap and eliminate pollutants from the outside air before entering the vehicle’s cabin. It is easy to replace at home within a few minutes.
To clean the old filter, use an air gun to shoot away the dust or use the easier way by wrapping one hand with a cloth and tapping the air filter sideways. Locate and remove the cabin air filter, shake off loose dirt and debris, and use a handheld vacuum cleaner to remove the rest of the dirt. Spray on the new filter and install the glove box.
In summary, changing the cabin air filter involves following these steps: first, safety first, getting to the filter, removing the old filter, installing the new filter, and installing the glove box. Remember not to use compressed air or tap the filter against anything to lessen its effectiveness.
📹 How to Clean K&N Cabin Air Filters | OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Learn how to clean/service your K&N cabin air filter. Find one for your specific vehicle at https://www.knfilters.com/cabin-air-filters …
📹 Cabin Air Filter Arrow Up Or Down Air Flow Direction
In this video I talk about what the arrow means on a cabin air filter. It could mean installation direction, or it could mean air flow …
More effective than using K&N Cabin Air Filter Cleaner or Simple Green or other spray cleaners is soaking the filter in a plastic tub or a sink filled with Dawn and hot water. The Dawn solution will reach into every nook and crevice of the filter and remove particulate matter and grease. Spray cleaners will never match this. I do think the K&N Refresher, which can be purchased separately and sprayed on both sides of the filter, is still the best way to enhance the electrostatic properties of the washed filter.
2018 Tacoma arrow down, that is the airflow direction. My ac fan was running as it should but the air it was pushing was restricted so I had to turn it up almost on high to get cool. Yep cabin filter replacement fixed the problem and now it will blow my hat off and freeze was nose on high. lol. I’m sure a dirty filter is not good for the fan motor and more importantly not good for the air you are breathing. So arrow pointing down! It’s that simple on 3rd generation Tacoma. Hope this helps.
I wasn’t paying attention when removed my cabin filters, so I didn’t know which way the airflow arrow should point. I watched almost 10 articles on this subject and they were ALL garbage. None of them made sense until I got to your article. When you said one side of the old filter will be dirtier than the other side, it all clicked for me. I’ll never get it wrong again. Thanks for that simple observation.
not so fast Todd… 2013 rav4 Manual say arrows should be pointing up. Replacement filter says arrows should be pointed down. Orig. filter had arrows pointed down……????????? Debris on the one taken out was heavy on top so I installed mine with the arrows down….right? Installed Purolator brand…
The cover on most Toyotas have an arrow on it and it says up. This is still not indicating air flow. It’s simply telling you which edge of the cover goes up. Air flow is down. All horizontally mounted cabin air filters with the blower motor mounted below the filter will have downward air flow direction otherwise the blower motor would be full of dirt and debris.
I have a 2020 Toyota Camry, installed a WIX brand cabin air filter . Installed it with arrow pointing up ( towards windshield ) as it said UP . Wix says strangely I think arrow points towards ” airflow ” . I assume I installed it correctly . I don’t care which way the air flows at all . Simply put an arrow and say install UP or DOWN . Don’t confuse customers with any other nonsense
Thanks for the explanation. Started to insert my new STP filter and saw that the writing would be upside down if I pointed it the direction of the airflow arrow which confused me since my original air filter was printed rightside up. Amazing how simple issues can dumbfound logical thinkers. 😂 Thanks for the clarification.
I just purchased an aftermarket replacement cabin filter for my 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The air filter I took out had air flow arrows pointing down, and debris was on the top as I removed it. The new filter has printed instructions that say air flow arrows are supposed to point up.🤷♀️ I followed their instructions at first, but after perusal this article, I just switched it to match the way I had the previous one in. Hopefully it will be right now. Who really knows? And does it really matter? Honestly, thos filter looks the exact same on both sides.
The purolator filter for my 2016 f150 has the arrow pointing the wrong way. You have to install with the arrow going the wrong way for the filter to fit right. And yes it’s the right filter for it. Most of these filters will flow the same either way. You would think the R&D department at purolator would have enough brains to get something this simple right. But then again most engineers have never worked on anything in their life but a computer
Thanks for the excellent article! I bought an after-market filter, there is an arrow but no information whether it is an air flow or installation arrow. My original 2014 Corolla air filter installed with arrow up, but on the original has text says “This side up”. Confuse which one to follow when installing the after-market one. Any thought? Thanks!
I have a Kamoka cabin filter, one side is yellow-ish, the arrows are there but not the words “air flow” next to these arrows. There is no way of knowing if the arrows indicate the air flow or the mounting direction. I know the air in my car flows downwards, because i saw the old filter and debrie was on top. Somebody knows?