One of my so-called FREE oil changes on my Highlander the dealer was running a special on air filters. I could have both (engine and cabin) air-filters replaced for $100. The air-filter is literally a 2 minute job. The Cabin air-filter takes me less then 10 minutes. I can buy both wix filters for under $50 (total)…or I can go on-line and buy the Denso (Toyota filters are made by Denso) also under $50.
EXACTLY !!! and you did not need either one yet unless you live on a dirt road.
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But I do. I need to change both filters every 2 months.
While the cabin air filters aren’t real difficult to replace, I would like to see the cabin air filter as easy to replace as my furnace filter. I also think the cost of a cabin air filter could be more reasonable. I purchase high quality 20"x 20" x 1" filters for my home HVAC system for $12. The cabin filter for my Sienna costs twice as much.
Depends on the car…my son’s Mazda 3 was a royal pain. Easily 30 minute job.
Those cheap 1" furnace filters are very easy. I replaced ours years ago with an Aprilaire air filter. Easily filters 1000 times more particles then those 1" filters.
2410-APR - Aprilaire 2410-APR - 16" x 25" Merv 13 Media Air Cleaner (supplyhouse.com)
The hardest part about changing the cabin filter is emptying the glove box, even though there are no gloves in there.
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That’s information I could have used on Friday, lol
Just did my wifes car- paid $28.99 for 1 5 qt jug of Mobile 1 from AutoZone
@MikeInNH The Aprilaire filter is much better than the 1" filters I use in my home HVAC system. My only concern is how much the air flow might be restricted thus putting added strain on the blower motor. When we had our present house built 30 years ago, I had a high efficiency gas furnace installed with an electronic air cleaner. After it gave out, I went to conventional filters. About 10 years ago, the company that made the furnace quit making gas furnaces, so I replaced the furnace and this furnace takes a conventional filter.
The air filter on the Sienna isn’t too hard to change. Since I don’t drive on gravel roads, the filter doesn’t have to be changed very often, so I usually have thedealer replace it. When I retired 10 years ago, I had promised myself to do more automobile and household maintenance and repairs,. However, I got so involved in other activities that I do even less maintenance and repair than when I was working. About all I do with our vehicles is check the oil and tire pressure once a week and add washer fluid if needed.
Sometimes I feel guilty about not doing my own oil changes when I can buy the full synthetic 0W-20 oil for $2.79 a quart, but the guilty feeling doesn’t last very long.
Bingo!
I have no knowledge of the Aprilaire filters, but I have been told by several HVAC repair guys that 3M’s Filtrete filters are too restrictive, and as a result they put a strain on the blower motor. Yes, the Filtrete filters are beneficial for those with allergies, but…
I burned-out one blower motor, and despite the repair guy urging me to stop using Filtrete filters, I continued to use them. After burning out the second blower motor and getting the same advice from a different repair guy, I learned my lesson.
The advice–from three different HVAC repair guys–is to buy the cheapo fiberglass filters, and simply replace them every 30-60 days. By following that advice, I have had no further problems.
@VDCdriver Since I don’t have allergies, I will continue to use my 1" furnace filters.
I do suffer from Geezeritis, which symptom is extreme laziness.
I do have allergies, but because I don’t want to be in the position of–once again–having to replace a blower motor and to be w/o heat for many hours, I will “endure” those allergies, and will continue to use the cheapo 1" fiberglass filters, and replace them often.
Take it from the allergy sufferer: Filtrete is an overkill, but cheapo-filter is way not enough.
When I use MERV 7-8 filters, I can feel how filter improves the situation during the season, and yet they are not as restrictive as Filtrete.
Having cheapo-filter, I have to be on medication and stay at home most of the time.
Using mid-grade filter and putting circulation on, I can cut medication at least in half, sometimes stop using it altogether when staying mostly at home… quite a difference when you consider medication side-effects.
Those filtrete air filters do not put extra strain on your blower motors. Those HVAC technicians who tell you this do not really know. If you look at the higher MERV filters, they have 3-5 times more pleates in them that the lower MERV filters, so they pass as much air. More pleates mean more surface area so you can have the same airflow and better filtration.
But it is ridiculous that a 20x30 home filter with the highest MERV rating costs less than a 6x8 filter with a MERV rating of less than 5.
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Their not restrictive. They have a HUGE surface area (several times larger then the standard 1" filters). We’ve had the Aprilaire filter for over 1 years now. Change it out once a year.
I am a journeyman HVAC service technician with over 15 years of experience. It is correct that 3M Filtrete or other high-MERV filters do not “put extra strain on your blower motor”. It is incorrect however to assume that using these type of filters cannot cause other harm to the system.
The problem with using 3M Filtrete or other high-MERV filters is that these type of filters impose excessive static pressure on the system, which reduces the total airflow which the system can move. If your unit is correctly sized and your duct system is properly designed, you might get away with using this type of filter. However, if your ductwork is undersized–especially on the return side, it is entirely possible that using a high-MERV filter will result in coil freeze-up during cooling mode, and overheating or high head pressure during heating mode.
Conversely, the cheap fiberglass mesh filters are grossly inadequate, and will result in poor indoor air quality as well as a blower motor, blower wheel, and indoor coil packed with dirt.
At the company I work for, we recommend that customers use the basic MERV 8 pleated filters, which are sold at Ace Hardware for $4.99 plus tax. Those are the kind of filters we use, and the only filters I use in my own home. We do not use air filters as a profit vehicle either. We sell these filters to the customer for $6 each, tax included, for a whopping mark-up of about 55 cents.
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I guess I’ve got the Dupont 8500 which is a Merv 11. I think I paid $8 for them. I thought I was helping out but guess I’ll look at the cheaper ones next time. I replaced our blower a couple years ago after 22 years, just because it had a bearing noise, so that’s pretty good. Neighbor just replaced his last week and he built a couple years ahead of us so right on time. I had a spare filter and when we did the tune-up, the technician just put it in and never said anything, though. I guess I don’t change them often enough, just never think of it, plus hard to get in the trash. I wonder how it would work to cut them up for a cabin filter? Just kidding.
I did try a cheapo filter on the garbage can to filter wood chips from the planer. It just blew the thing off so guess it didn’t have much air flow either. Incidentally, the best I’ve found is the “Dust Right” bag attached right to the planer since we’re talking wood working now. Works great with no dust all over the garage.
The consolidated country school I attended that housed grades 1 through 12 had a heating system that didn’t use filters or blower motors. The building was a one story building built in 1924. The steam radiators were along the exterior walls in each classroom. There was a metal jacket around each radiator and there was a fresh air intake for each radiator on the exterior walls. On the opposite side of each classroom was a shaft that went up through the roof. On the roof were rotating vents with vanes that pointed the vent opposite the direction of the wind. At the bottom of the shaft in each classroom was a small steam radiator. This little radiator heated the air and caused it to rise up the shaft. The air that went up the shaft was replaced by the air drawn in through the vents behind the radiators on the exterior walls. The air exchange was great and there were no blowers, so there was no need for air filters. In fact, there weren’t even thermostats–we knew how to turn valves on and off manually. The steam was supplied by a coal fired boiler. Of course, the efficiency of the system was terrible. However, I’ll bet the air exchange rate was better than many of today’s modern buildings. Unfortunately, the building was torn down in 2004.
This was actually a much healthier system than what is being used now. Most schools now are disease incubators with what happens in one room is distributed all over the school. Filters don’t stop viruses.
I did it once, when I could not readily procure the replacement.
Some scissors work and glue and I had MERV8 car filter 
It worked just fine for a couple of years until replaced with a “proper” one for 3x times the cost.
@bing I was chair of the house committee at my church. The front of the sanctuary was always too warm as the air conditioning discharge was at the back. I had seen these split systems made by Mitsubishi where the compressor is outside and the cooling coils aling with a quiet blower are inside. I asked my HVAC technician if it would work in the sanctuary. He said it would. He also said they installed a lot of these units for doctor’s offices in the examination rooms so the diseases wouldn’t be transferred among the examination rooms. We did have the split unit installed in the front of the church and it works great.
When I first started teaching in 1965 our classrooms and offices were in an old, drafty army barracks. A new science building was under construction. The math department where I taught was on the second floor and the chemistry department and labs were on the third and fourth floors. The odors from the chemistry labs was sometimes over powering in our second floor classrooms. I would rather have been in the old drafty barracks.