Just getting around to changing out my air filter for my CX-7(been awhile, I know; one of those things that slip your mind because it doesn’t get changed every oil change) and was stumped how to get the air box out of the way to change the filter.
Looking in the owner’s manual shows NOTHING on how to change my air filter. It shows me how to change my light bulbs out, my wiper blades, checking and filling fluids, but nothing on the air filter; doesn’t even list it in the appendix or any of the maintenance diagrams.
(thrown in general discussion as it’s not really a question)
I had seen the clips and undone them, but the box did not come all the way out, some stuff was in the way; which is why I consulted the manual about its removal, to see what all I would need to move.
After seeing the video, I think that one wire/cord on top is what I had missed. Mine is a 2010, though, not a 2008. It worked BTW.
I was more making a statement on how we always tell people to look things up in their owner’s manual. The air filter was the one thing they DON’T tell you how in the manual.
On many cars, like mine, changing the air filter is a pretty easy DIY job, even for someone with very limited or no mechanical skills, but looking at that video, the average car owner might want to have the person who changes his oil handle it. Shrouds and filter housings seem to be getting more complicated. Maybe Mazda left it out of the owner’s manual because they think the job is above the average owner’s abilities.
I don’t know about that, Whitey, they included the steps needed to change out the headlight bulbs; you’d probably want a lift or some jackstands to make it easier to do.
If how to change the air filter instructions were in my Corolla’s owners manual, it would be listed under the section “How to be 100% certain to pinch your fingers” … lol …
My only comment would be that its an owners manual not a service manual. It has stuff in it that normally an owner would need to do. A service manual would cover mechanical maintenance and repairs. Owners manuals are very limited but they are better than what they used to be.
@Bing Like I said in my last post; the owner’s manual tells me how to change my light bulbs(something that doesn’t need changed that often), but not the air filter(something you’d wanna change atleast once a year).
Might be that the light bulb is considered more of a safety issue but not so for the filter. All this might be done by the lawyers rather than the engineers. Or, maybe, the editing department hasn’t caught up with the censoring yet and the next edition of the OM would have even less useful information.
I have to check the manual on my CX-9 and see what is there. But I got lucky and have a digital copy of the FSM (for an older model but still the same car) and I rarely look at the OM anymore.
Who knows the total rationale? For my Acura the owners manual has the procedure to reset the oil change monitor. To reset the computer for the changing of the air and cabin filter though, you have to have the dealer hook the computer up and reset it. Considered a maintenance II item. Why who knows. The only place you can get the procedure to change the cabin filter is on youtube or the factory service manual. I decided not to pay the $300 for the service manual but have an older one that has a different cabin filter arrangement. Youtube is quite helpful though.