yeah, I know. But I thought to myself, how hard can it be?

 

I just gave this a go. It's really not hard, just awkward. I'll recap the process for anyone still on the fence. My dealer wanted $45 to do this.

I bought a replacement filter from 'trustednameautoparts' on EBay for $8.45. It took 3 days to deliver and appears to be an exact match for the OEM filter. No charcoal or the like, just the standard white mesh.

The only tool you might need is an omnidirectional flashlight that you can leave propped in the footwell. To see the right area, you'll have your left side on the door sill with your feet in the air or on a wall. You'll look and feel ridiculous.

There's a small plastic piece about 6" x 1" x 1/4" that covers the filter. You can see the tab where the bottom of it connects in picture 4 above. Press the latch and it'll fall on the floor mat.

You don't need a pull tab or anything to remove the old filter. Just reach in and push it around until you can yank it out.

The replacement filter has two stiff sides and two soft sides. Either stiff side is the part that goes in the hole first. The opening is tight, but the interior section is the right size. Curl the edges in and cram the thing in the hole. Once the second stiff side is slightly inside the plastic opening, you'll feel the filter expand to fill the space.

I didn't have any trouble with the plastic cover. The back/higher/hidden section was clearly visible with the flashlight, so you just line it up and re-latch.

That's all. Much appreciation for the pictures posted earlier.

 

I did mine and it was a pain!!! The hardest one I have ever done on any car. Usually they are behind the glove box. That would have been great. Just took time trying to get your hands in there and work. All is well, glad I won't have to do this again soon

It is doable though! Just prepare yourself...

 

Changing cabin filter was tough in the begin, but after i realized that laying on your back and positioning your myself under the console so that you can visible see where everything goes it was a breeze.
hardest part was finding the right filter at Autozone.
product listed in the book was incorrect.
correct product model is CAF1848P made by STP. also fits 09 Nissan Marano. $15.99 plus tax.

 

Two and a half years and 30,000 miles on the Max and I am changing the cabin filter. I do not usually wait this long but...

Photos of old vs. new and the way I installed it, a different way of getting it in place. I tied the filter as shown and put put one end in the slot and pushed the filter in about half way and pulled the string to the knot inside the housing, I then put the rest of the filter in and pulled the other string untying the other knot. It went in perfectly. I did try out the knot routine on the old filter and it worked on the work bench so I figured it would work in the car.

The filter was $10.99 at O' Rilley's.


Old vs. new


Tied filter prior to inserting.

 

I ordered mine from Advanced Auto Parts and its Puralator brand. It was $15.99.

I just changed it after 25k miles and the old one was pretty bad. I have a noticable increase in airflow. And it smells like new again!

 

when i changed mine it was like black and had bits of leaves all over it, this is a must-do if you like clean smelling interiors lol

 

M at 54k n need to change mine. Where Can I get them from? Dealer charging me $100

 

Found this after I changed mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_654wt_1140

or this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_1221wt_1012

 

Thanks for the link

 

Had my 2010 Maxima SV at Jiffy-Lube today for oil and filter change. They tried to get me to buy a new cabin air filter also. I didn't suck for it, thinking I could easily do that myself. Any suggestions as to how often the cabin air filter should be changed?

 

My dealer is a tool! I scheduled my 15K service with them today and I have their maintence package ( oil changes, tire rotation, fluids) no brakes or filters. They made me aware that I needed a new air filter and cabin filter- I told them not to worry I will do it myself. He then stated make sure you document and have proof that you did it or it can void your warrenty. Hah

I didn't even bother- when on earth does a cabin filter come i play with a warrenty?

 

i wouldnt take the chance. just save all your receipts in a place you wont lose them and bring them with you every service for proof.

 

OMG.. I had the fram filter and after struggling for 45 min to try and get it into place I gave up and put the OEM back in place after cleaning it up. The fram was much too wide and the clearance back there was just too small for me to reach. I also broke off the tab on the door because I pushed down. DON'T PUSH DOWN... lift the tab up. I couldn't find anywhere so far in this thread that said how to get this door off. I guess you live and learn. Now to find a filter that will actually fit. Does anyone have other recommendations?

 

The front console of your car is divided in two sections; front and back in either side, you will be working on the passenger side. Grab the forward section of the console from the bottom and pull out and towards the rear of the car. It will "pop off". The you will be able to see the filter cover way in the back. it is very tight space but your other option is removing the glove box. It took me about 15 minutes to do this and I was taking pictures.
There is a small panel covering the right hand side of the glove box which will pop off if you pry lightly with a standard screwdriver
Then there are eight philips head screws which must be removed. Three are at the bottom of the glove box, three more are inside on the top and two are located inside at the rear top of the glove box. Once these are removed and the glove box is pulled out the filter is accessible, but not very easily seen.
It is located on the far left side and covered by a black plastic cover. You can reach in and push up lightly on the plastic cover removing it.
The opening is smaller than the filter and that makes removal and replacement difficult, but the filter is flexible and the pull tab can be used to extract the old filter. The new one can be squeezed and pushed into place with the air direction arrow towards you (the same orientation as the one removed). Replace the plastic cover and reinstall the glovebox by installing the eight screws and the side cover. If I can find a way to attach the pictures I will do it later.

 

No way, would I do it that way. Just fold over the filter like mentioned in earlier threads.

 

Went to do this earlier and removed glovebox.. But seems in the slot the old filter has moved back (towards engine) and is not in line with the opening to be just pulled out... Anyone had this issue?
Also is the filter size about 11"x11"?

 

Holy crap, i just did mine in 30 minutes last Friday. I am the person least knowledgeable to work on a car, but I did it, and it wasn't that bad. I popped the cover off, yanked the old, dirty, dusty, filthy, clogged filter out by brute force and popped the new filter in. The only problem is when i put the new one in, I put it in upside down. I was able to flip the filter around by using my finger, and once it was correct, it popped into place with a nice popping sound.

Now my cabin air is fresh and beautiful again. I guess i was getting used to the funky, stale air in my car after 3 years of not changing it. And for $22 bucks, compared to $90 for the stealership to do it, i feel really proud of myself and plan to change the filter every spring time to coincide with the pollen that gets released into the environment.

If i could do this, anyone can do this.

 

When you opened the small door did you see the end of the old filter? For some reason I don't see mine but if I put my had in I can feel it inside.. But since it's not in line with the slot I can't seem to remove the old one :S
Any help on this one?
Thx!

 

Nope, but like you, if you reach end and push it with your finger, you will feel it give way. Just reach in, and pull out the best way that you can. Like others stated, it's best to lay on your back.

 

Great write up on removing the glove compartment or the console, suprflyer, but for a smaller person, if you lie on your back you will be able to see and access the filter with out removing anything. A light and a mirror will also be helpful.

To answer the question in the earlier posts on what is the different between the OEM and generic filters, a good quality one is stiffer on the edges that you can be sure it will bounce back to original shape after squeezed thought the small opening. However, you will not too confident it will if using a flimsy filter.

 

In my Accord it was a 2 minute job to replace. Pull the glove compartment box down, yank old filter out, put new one in and return the glove compartment box into place. Nissan goofed with this complicated cabin air filter replacement routine. I wonder what other maintenance nightmares await me. Oh yes, the oil filter is hidden behind a panel, how ingenious. I hope the 8th generation design gets a little more thought towards maintainability. A maintenacne free battery, daytime driving lights and an engine oil life monitor would be a great start.

 

In Honda Pilot they put a horizontal metal bar perpendicular to filter, so you must unbolt and remove a bunch of stuff to get to the filter. So even Honda is not perfect in that respect, but I do agree with both of your points. There are other cars that make this job alot easier. And Nissan did not apply their best engineering for this task.

As far as other maintenance nightmares, I just did rear brakes yesterday.
I noticed that Nissan went with a new type of sliding pin design, which is bolt/sliding pin in one. Because of that and the fact that you got rear suspension in the way, you can not remove bottom sliding pin unless you unbolt the entire brake caliper carrier. Not a problem for me, but it was a little awkward putting everything back together. While under there, I noticed a lot of rust, mainly rear bumper. I have 53k on 4 year old car driven in New England.
Additionally I took the engine cover off to wipe a small oil spill I had during an oil change. The front 3 spark plugs are going to be a 10 min job. The rear 3 plugs will be a B*tch to do, as the air intake manifold is located over
the rear cylinders.
Max

 

I just changed out my filter (how ridiculously frustrating) and unfortunately broke the tab off the plastic cover. Now it will not snap back into place. Anyone know the part number for this piece. My google searches have come up empty. Thanks.

 

Not sure of that part number, you may need to visit the dealership for this.

Yeah, a pain in the a$$ where they located it. Changed mine out and took less than 10 minutes mostly trying to get the cover back on and cut my finger in the process.

 

The dealership has it and it is only $2.89.

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

http://youtu.be/z6Ta7UVl1_s

 

After having to send in my car for the power steering unit the dealership told me i had a service due soon. They mentioned that it involved changing the cabin filter, I told them I would get back to them. I will probably do as most of you and change it myself but after doing some research I registered with K&N for notification of when they develop their own cabin filter for our car. that way i can "change" (read clean) it every year without the added expense. Hopefully I will only have to buy it once from the dealer before K&N has it for my car.
Just my .02

 

If you clean it like the engine air filter wouldn't you re oil it also, thereby sending oil smell throughout the cabin. I'm a paper only user so don't know.

 

Good point! I hadnt thought about that. Unless they develop a paper filter or a different oil other than whats use for the engine air filter. Things to think about.
As a side note, I asked my dealership how much to change the cabin filter and they stated that it would be $57 installed (That's $57 CAD)

 

It only took me 10 minutes to install, the cost of the filter was about 3 bucks at Walmart.

 

Can you please provide a link or model number of which filter you bought from Walmart .. Thanks

 

I used Fram CF11173 from my local walmart store. Cost was about 13 bucks.

 

I put the heavy duty filter in. I think it was a hepa or something.... well anyway.. it was rather rigid and difficult to put in.. i am not looking forward to pulling it out

 

Just an update on this guys. Just bought this part above CAF1848P from autozone for $6.29.

 

So, I went to this again and the filter was pushed in. It's floating around inside the holder area. I can feel it with the fingers of one hand, but can't grab it to pull it out. Pliers can't get a good purchase. No luck with a coat hanger. Any ideas? I'm at the point where I'd gladly take the interior apart.

 

I suggest using needle nose pliers, if you cant reach with those, get double jointed needle nose pliers, which you can get with straight or 45 angle variety.

Nissan engineers sure used a crappy design on this filter. Not a fan of it at all.
Max

 

I did this a few weeks ago, it sure gave me a hard time...especially with my big hands. When I first tried to grab it I pushed it back further like towards the engine, only way I got it out was putting a flat head in at the bottom and working my way up til it caught the filter and was coming out just enough for me to grab onto it. Lots of cuts on my hands later I got it out, putting the new filter in was fairly easy. Squish the middle together, then work the top in and the bottom

 

Just did this yesterday. It is fairly simple, if you push the seat all the way back, have proper illumination and try to lie on your back as best as possible. Took me about 10 min from start to finish. The hardest part was trying to get the old filter out ( having to fish it around until I could get a good hold on it to pull it out).
By the way, I used the CAF1848P made by STP, cost ~ $10. The dealership wanted $50 for the job. Next time around im going to try the Fram filter with the charcoal to see if there is a difference.
Thanks to everyone who did this before me for their input.