I've had my 2015 Fit EXL for a year and 7500 miles. I had the oil changed recently and the shop indicated that they inspected the cabin air filter, but did not replace it. I pulled it out and look at it and I can see some dark dust and a few bugs. Sometimes when I first turn on the AC on a hot day after being parked all day, there is a musty smell that quickly goes away. I ordered a K&N VF2033 Cabin Air Filter that's washable to install in the car. I'm wondering if you go only by mileage when it comes to replacing the cabin air filter, or its it like engine oil in that a year is enough already.

 

The cabin air filter is for your comfort, not for the life of the engine. I don't think the replacement schedule really depends on time or milage so much as on HVAC fan usage and the general cleanness of the air where you are. Basically, if it is dirty enough, it ought to be changed (or cleaned in your case).

Last time I changed mine, it was distressingly filthy. I was actually surprised that very much air was able to get through it, although it clearly did as plenty came out the vents.

 

How do you clean the stock air filter?

 

You can't, officially. I would imagine that you could in practice get a good bit of the crud out by tapping and hitting it from the back with a blow gun hooked up to a compressor (outdoors!).

I was thinking of the K&N filter you have on order for the bit about cleaning it. Apparently I wasn't entirely clear at getting my thinking into words...not the first time, and probably not the last.

 

I change it out every other year on daily drivers. So on my wife's GK, I will swap it next summer. I usually just run fram brand filters. I buy through Amazon.

 

A clogged cabin filter will screw up A/C, heat, and defrost performance.

When this occurs, its time to change it.

I do them once a year. Sometimes vacuum the filter out mid-cycle.

 

I either vacuum the cabin filter or replace it every year, just after the springtime pollen season.

 

You know, I never gave this much thought until I saw this thread, so yesterday I went out and pulled the filter. My car has a Jan 2015 born-on date so I wasn't that surprised by the blackish color. But what really got me was all the crap that came out when I beat it against the brick. Stuff I didn't see in the filter -- leaves mostly but twigs, weird fuzzy things and even some sizable bug carcasses -- just kept coming out. It was like the magician's hat, only instead pulling out rabbits or handkerchiefs was an endless flow of crud. I'm getting a new one this week.

 

^^^ In the old days (prior to the fitment of cabin filters), all that junk would have flowed through the ventilation system and hit you in the face, LOL.

Except for leaves...anyone remember getting a leaf stuck in their interior fan? Like a playing card in a bicycle spoke!