Just finished replacing the air filter and the cabin air filter. Dirtiest I have ever seen. We got the car 2 yrs ago w/ 37K miles. Now has 66K miles. The old filters are Honda, so likely they are the originals (shame on me for neglecting this trivial maintenance, but the car is here only one evening a week.)
On the air filter, intake side (bottom) was filthy black. At first I thought it was oil, but it’s dry black dirt. No oil in the plenum (box) in which the filter sits. Is this simply from overdue maint, or should I be looking for something more serious?
Unless the filters are HEPA filters, it’s normal to see some dust on the clean side of the filters if they’re used too long. A true HEPA filter will remove dust particles down to .3 micron. And the filters used in your vehicle aren’t HEPA filters. If they were, they’ld cost $100.00 apiece.
As long as it was pretty clean downstream it’s okay.
Air filters actually filter BETTER as they fill with dirt, just don’t want it to get too restrictive:
This car looks like it was parked outside its entire life in a dirty environment. Or it was driven arournd an industrial accident where there was a sooty fire. Or the car was submerged and covered in mud which was cleaned up except for the cabin air filter. Check other areas and cavities for dirt.
I change cabin air filters every 2 years and it’s nearly clean.
Just search for “genuine honda oem parts” to find a list of people who sell Honda parts online. However, I don’t think you should go through all that trouble. An aftermarket brand, like Fram, Purolator, or whatever brand the auto parts store carries should be fine. I’ve been using non-Honda air filters in my 1998 Civic for as long as I can remember.
A cabin filter as clogged as the one in your photos (is that a dragonfly wing?) could easily slow the airflow down sufficiently to allow dust to collect in the ductwork leading to and, and maybe even to force the air to find a way past the filter and allow who-knows-what to collect on the duct sides beyond it. If t were me, I’d buy somne attachments for the shop vac and clean the ductwork out.
Yeah Google is your friend. I’d have to check my receipts but handa.com and delrayhonda come to mind. Sometimes you have to go to other sites to make sure you get the right part numbers. Filters run about $25. Don’t know what they are at the dealer now.
