Did someone say cabin filter? Time to change 'em!!

[thoots]

And, of course, then you have to post pictures, like this:



Guess which one is the old one??

The new one is from my Toyota dealer parts department -- note the substantial difference in number of pleats compared to the old one. And that's all there is to it -- not much in the way of a "frame" around it, just all one piece of whatever the heck it's made out of....

[ScottFern]

Nice. Are there detailed instructions on how to remove the cabin filter and/or where its located?

[touringcamry]

Just remove your glove box and the filter is behind there.

How much did that filter cost?

I'm wondering if I could just go to the hardware store to get an A/C filter, cut that to size and stick it in there.

I am not cheap, I am frugal

[islandboy57]

Yuck.. I need to change mine too. I have the same cabin filter as you on hand as a replacement, Toyota OEM. I'm going to Checker's next time to get their generic brand. It looks more like the one that came with my car (and I assume yours) which is on the left. Seems like it would do a better job, no?

[netman]

How many miles is that from?

[w203]

The old one is the one on the right. I can see microscopic dust particles.

[tzeshan]

Although the old one looks pretty dirty, it shows no wear or tear. I guess the filtering capability is not lost. May be a cleaning is all it needs.

[ScottFern]

I checked my glove box and didn't see an obvious place where I can remove it? Do I have to unscrew screws, or do I lift it out or something?

[touringcamry]

Did you just open your glove box or did you take it out? The filter is behind the glovebox.

[Boston Redneck]

The filters vary alot depending on where you drive. I have replaced hundreds of them and I have seen ones with 12k on them that were chocking the customer out, while some have gone 30k with no problem. Alot of the issues are that mice crawl up in there and chew holes thru the filter.
As for the picture at the top of the 2 filters, Toyota offers 3 styles of filters that come in different levels of protection and particle stopping capability.

[thoots]

Originally Posted by ScottFern

Nice. Are there detailed instructions on how to remove the cabin filter and/or where its located?

The owner's manual has detailed instuctions. Indeed, you just unhook the glove box holding strut on the right of the glove box, then you push or pull on the top of the box to help pop it down, and then there's a little cover you pop off, behind where the glove box used to be. Take the old filter out, pop the new one in, then put the glove box back where it belongs, and you're done.

My main problem was that I tended to push when I should have pulled while fumbling with the glove box and the filter cover -- both of those seemed to go opposite of the way I expected they would.

As for the other questions:

Mileage -- about 8,900.

Cost -- raped by dealer, as usual -- $28.75 list, though I used my little 10% discount card.

Next time -- I'll look to the aftermarket and try to pay about half that much.

Clean it? -- Heck, even at full price, I'd rather change these things -- maybe even more around 5,000 miles. Uncompromised clean air sounds good to me!

Different quality filters? -- I just asked the parts guy for the cabin filter for my car, and that's what he brought back. I'd be interested in hearing parts numbers for any different filter options!

More about getting back to the filter -- no screws, not that big of a deal to do it. You wind up "dropping the glove box down" while it remains on its back hinges, which gives you access to the filter behind it.

[touringcamry]

This matrix shows that there are indeed 3 grades of filters. I stumbled upon it looking for something else. http://www.toyotaownersonline.com/pu...rfilters06.pdf

I haven't seen or touched my own cabin air filter yet, so I'm not familiar with the setup. However, looking at that chart, it looks like there are several different cases which I assume is what holds the filter cartridge. Then depending on the car, there are different filters and it seems that certain filters only fit certain cases. Some cases are shared by several vehicles.

For example, Celica comes with the 06020 case as does Camry. Now the Celica uses the P-type filter. Camry uses the same case but uses EE or HEE type filter depending on the year, so I don't see why they why it would not fit.

On http://www.napaonline.com the 03 and 06 Camry use the same aftermarket cabin air filter. So judging by that, you should be able to switch between P, EE, and HEE filters as long as the cars have the same case.

[thoots]

Well, my part number was 87139-YZZ08. I've seen another reference to 87139-07010 online.

Oh, and I'm not sure what "case" refers to. What you see in my first picture is what you get -- just a hunk of plastic-type material, folded around with some pleats in the middle. There really isn't any kind of "case" or "frame" to it beyond just the thing itself. There definitely isn't any kind of "additional frame" or anything like that. Perhaps that's why it's not on the list there -- it might be a whole different thing, altogether.

I recommend more research!

[tzeshan]

Originally Posted by thoots

Well, my part number was 87139-YZZ08. I've seen another reference to 87139-07010 online.

Oh, and I'm not sure what "case" refers to. What you see in my first picture is what you get -- just a hunk of plastic-type material, folded around with some pleats in the middle. There really isn't any kind of "case" or "frame" to it beyond just the thing itself. There definitely isn't any kind of "additional frame" or anything like that. Perhaps that's why it's not on the list there -- it might be a whole different thing, altogether.

I recommend more research!

Your new filter looks different from the old one. It has far fewer folds than the old one. Wil this diminish the filtering capability?

[jbishop1557]

Ebay has them for $13 plus $7 shipping. I had to change mine after 15000 miles. Mine looked like his. Maybe Toyota use old ones.