cabin filter
 

I've been hearing alot about cabin filter. What is it? What does it look like? How do you replace it?

Thanks in advance,

Filter is in the Front compartment. Under the plastic cover. Passenger side. First remove battery cover (plastic) then remove the cover infront of the passenger side).

Filters the interior air.

Very easy to replace just pull it out and put the new one in.




Good luck

:cheers:

Hi,

There are two types of Cabin Filters, one a straight paper filter (24.50), the other permeated with Activated Charcoal. The PN# is 996 572 219 01 (Activated Charcoal - $41.00). They differ in price by about $20.

They both filter the Air equally well, but the Charcoal Filter will filter out some odors, but not all. Unless you're driving about 99% of the time with the Top Up or the Hardtop On, the Activated Charcoal Filter is a waste of money.

With the Cabin Open, the Charcoal Filter is just a waste of money as no benefit is derived from it over the straight pleated paper filter. I use only the paper filter and it works just as well. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Here's what they look like - as boring as they come.

http://www.epiqautosport.com/mode/products/prid/202/1143

I agree - the charcoal filter version is a waste of money unless you drive it year round and half the year you have the top up/closed. Not as much for odors but for allergies, if you have them. Nice to have clean air in your small cabin if you drive it closed up, which if you do, is a mortal sin.

Hi,

I disagree about the allergies. This is a common misconception. Both filters filter down to say 30 microns.

Activated Charcoal is Charcoal which is heated in an Oxygen atmosphere. This burns off many inherent gasses which exist between the Carbon Molecules. This results in highly porous Charcoal that has surface areas of 300-2,000 square metres per gram. This so-called active, or Activated, Charcoal is used to adsorb odorous or coloured substances from gases or liquids.

A material adsorbs something, by attaching, or bonding, to it by chemical attraction. The huge surface area of activated charcoal gives it countless bonding sites. When certain chemicals pass next to the carbon surface, they bond to the surface and are trapped.

Activated charcoal is good at trapping other carbon-based impurities (organic chemicals), as well as things like chlorine. Many other chemicals are not attracted to carbon at all -- sodium, nitrates, etc. -- so they pass right through.

This means that an activated charcoal filter will remove certain impurities while ignoring others. It also means that, once all of the bonding sites are filled, an activated charcoal filter stops working. The filter must be replaced at this point.

Many Allergies are usually triggered by irritation of the mucous membranes in the Nose, Sinus and Throat. This is especially true of Pollen Allergies. If you looked at a Pollen Grain under a microscope, you'd see that they usually are rough, spiked, surfaced grains. This spiked surface evolved so that the Pollen Grain can attach itself to an Animal's fur or a Bird's feather to carry it away from the Mother Plant and stick to a Host Plant so that it can pollenate and produce a seed.

When these enter a Nasal Passage or the Throat, these microscopic spikes irritate the mucous membrane and the Body reacts by producing histomines which increases mucuous production so the offending particle can be shrouded in a smooth covering of mucous which also has an effect of breaking down the offender so the Body can remove it.

Consequently, it does not readily Bond Chemically to the Activated Charcoal but rather is usually trapped in the Paper Matrix of the Filter. A straight Paper Filter will yield practically as much Clean Air as one made of Activated Charcoal, though it may not smell as nice. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I think I got trapped in the paper matrix of the filter once. Mr. Smith was in there too and it wasn't pretty.

When I did the 15k maintence a mo or so back I took out the cabin filter and it was just a bit dirty. I had a brand new Porsche filter but I decided to just take some compressed air and spray off the original. Good for another 15k :)

The Porsche price on these filter is silly.

Last year, I did find a decent price on an aftermarket filter online.

Hi,

That's a very good idea, but only if you clean it very well. The thing about a Filter is that the more used it is, the better it filters but the more restricted it is also. The debris you can blow off is usually only on the surface of the Filter and not the stuff captured between the Paper fibres.

The downside to this is that it makes your AC/Heater Blower work harder because it will encounter greater resistance as it tries to suck the Air through the clogged/partially clogged Filter. This can lead to premature Burnout of the Motor or accelerated Bearing wear.

Considering that the Blower (PN# 996 572 903 00) retails for $370.00, this can be a False Economy. You can buy a lot of Filters for $370.00 - Your Call...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

As the air filter becomes blocked, the amps that the blower motor draws drops. I lost a bet with a HVAC repair man over this issue!!!

I wouldn't believe it until he hooked up an amp meter.

I just bought a 2003 S and checked this filter. Two questions? Is the filter exposed or am I missing a top cover? I had to remove the battery cover and the cowling to the left. But then I could see the filter. It seemed like there should be another cover but am not sure.

Also, those little rubber stud on the fender that the torx screws into are snapped in half. I bet that is common but does anyone have a part number? I spent the weekend searching but came up empty.


Thanks,
Tom

Yes that is how the filter sits in the cowl. I replaced mine 13,000 miles ago and it's smelling nasty now. I couldn't source one locally (and didn't want to pay dealer price) so I took it out and carefully washed it out with laundry detergent. Dried it out and reinstalled. Seems to be working fine and smells great.