Our 2009 Ford Focus has an air filter that cannot be changed and is guaranteed to last 100,000 miles. We are at 78,000 miles. To replace this set up will cost $450.00. I am wondering if there is a way to jeri-rig this set up which would allow me to replace it with a normal air filter.
my friend has the same car and is driving me nuts about the same thing, he has over 110k miles on his focus. my ford dealer told me part of the new air box comes with a mass air flow sensorthats about a $100.00 or so. i was told there is an air rexsxtriction meter on the air box. i tried to see if anybody made a cold air intake but no one does at this time.
I’ve seen a replacement filter assembly that has a changeable filter.
I think Dorman makes it and sells through parts places like Auto Zone, O’Reilly’s and such.
Just for comparison;
Add up the price of all the paper air filters you would ever have put into this car up to this point.
Don’t worry about a Focus, just run it as far as it will go. I used to see a lot of cars with really bad air filters. They would still run and a new filter would make no improvement at all. The filters were caked almost solid. Your filter is a lot better than those filters.
What? The filter element can’t be changed? I haven’t seen that since my Vega! Vegas had the elements sealed in steel cans. And man, cutting that can open and removing the filter element and its adhesive was WORK! But once I did that and found a replacement element tha fit, my cost of air filters dropped dramatically…hint, hint!
I hate to ask the obvious, but if the car is still running well, the fuel economy is still spot on, and the power hasn’t gone off to greener pastures, why are you concerned about the non-replacable air filter assembly?
If there was a problem with the air filter being clogged or damaged, as I said, you would have decreased fuel economy, running issues, and lack of power to let you know that there actually is a problem with the car.
Until you have a clue that there is a problem, just let it go.
BC.
This is as completely STUPID as there being NO changeable fuel filters on anything anymore !
Someone can bank a million bucks if they devise a kit to add on a changeable fuel filter to anything.
I think a $100 expense every 100K to change the filter and the sensor ass’y is perfectly reasonable. You’ve already saved close to that amount by not having to replace the air filter every 30K, which is what most car manufacturer’s recommend. To me, this one is a no brainer. Just do it the way Ford says to do it. Me, I’d pony up the $100 and be done with it.
Yeah, but the Vega was only designed to last 15,000 miles before the engine had to be replaced. You’d get a new air filter with the engine.
Ken Green is correct. Rockauto had an article on Dorman coming out with a replacement housing that allows replacement of the filter. I don’t know if they make them for the 09 yet or not but the number for the housing for an 05-07 is Dorman 258519 at Rockauto.com for about $45.
Thanks for the laugh, JT. There’s truth in your words!
the dorman airbox is for cars without pzeo emmisionsso that won’t work
@GeorgeSanJose You missed the point.
The new air filter is $450. $100 is the comparative cost of the mass air flow sensor included with a new filter-in-a-box from Ford. If you want to break it down, the buyer is giving $100 for the MAF and $350 for the air filter.
Is $450 reasonable for something that could have been designed with a replacable element?
It’s not one of Ford’s better ideas.
@jtsanders…depending on how their owners drove them…some Vega’s didn’t even get the chance to see 15K on the clock. I started putting V8’s in them in the mid-seventies because there were so many of them with blown engines. You could buy them very cheaply. My first ones were 327’s which didn’t make them very dependable. I finally started installing the 215 aluminum block engines from Buick, Olds and Pontiacs. It made the Vega a screamer without destroying the driveshaft or rear end like the 327 engines did.
Actually…the harder you ran the little stock 2.3 the longer they lasted. The aluminum shavings in the cylinders collected to a point where they ate away the silicone and destroyed the cylinders from within. If you ran them hard…the shavings were blown out the exhaust. My '73 Vega GT lasted for 130K because it was a 4 speed and I’ve never driven a vehicle without taking it to it’s limits. I raced it nearly every weekend in the ET class at the dragstrip.
Ok, I misunderstood. Yes requiring that the owner pay $350 for the air filter and $100 for the MAF is too much. $100 for the MAF is ok, and if it needs to be replaced every time the air filter is replaced provided the interval is 100K miles, that is within reason, but the $350 air filter I agree is considerably overpriced. I’d like to say this is the first time I’ve missed the point … alas … lol …
I had a Vega too, a '73 GT. I do recall that air filter being a steel encased assembly, but it was still replaceable and not expensive enough to leave a bad memory. Just because it’s not what we expect doesn’t mean it’s always a bad design. I sold mine early but always wanted to put a V8 in it.
I distinctly remember the price…$12. That was a lot of money for an air filter in '72. It’s opinion, but if a manufacturer is selling a vehicle as being inexpennsive to buy and own, that seems to me to be a bad design.
I thought of putting a V8 in mine too. I guess we all did.