wjack33 Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I am new to this site. I have a 2003 Subaru Outback sedan and the dealer is telling my wife that we need to pay $145.00 to replace the HEPA filter. The dealer states that in order to replace the filter the glove box needs to comeout. How difficult is this filter replacement? Will simple home tools get the job done? Thank you for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I am new to this site. I have a 2003 Subaru Outback sedan and the dealer is telling my wife that we need to pay $145.00 to replace the HEPA filter. Sounds like someone has a boat payment due! I can't imagine WHY anyone would need to replace a cabin airfilter on a 2003 car, unless you have severe allergies, or have driven through a mildly radioactive cloud or something. I bet they've got a nasty dirty filter they keep under the mechanics bench to show each customer after they store their car for three hours and charge you $145.00 ... well, they 'might' wash the car too. Quit going to Stealerships and find a good indy. What a crock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smpol19 Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 These things do get dirty quick. The part is about $50 and it took me maybe a little over 30 mins the first time i did it and I could do it in 15 now that i know what i'm doing. The glove box does have to come out but a screwdriver is the only tool you need. There are about 8 screws that hold the glove box up. If you buy the filter from the dealer it comes with pretty decent instructions. The other thing you can do is go to Home Depot and buy a good furnace filter and then take the filter out of your car and use a utility knive to cut the furnace filter to fit into the plastice frame on your filters, you can make about 3 sets of these for less then $20 doing it this way but its a little more time consuming. Either way I would replace it if you have much more then 10,000 miles on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenSisters Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 Cabin air filter? Didn't have'em in '91. It may sound good after I clean a half inch of dust and dirt off my dash, but this sounds like another dealer service opportunity. How much is a Purolator air filter that will go 30-40K and suck in millions of cubic feet (cubic litres whatever) of air during it's lifetime? Buy a screw driver and a furnace filter. Ya a furnace filer, that's the ticket. I'll have to remember that one, Thanks, #19! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 being a service manager at a local shop, i see alot of cabin air filters, lol.. just about every car made has them now.. did you know a ford focus has 2 of them? bet not.. so does the honda accord v6 ex.. some cars you don't have to buy them from the dealer either, you can get them at a local auto parts place.. not sure on subaru's tho.. and just about every maintenance schedule for newish cars says change them every 30k. i do agree that the dealer is askin way to much to change the filter.. at my shop we would charge $32.50 + the cost of the filter to change it for ya, since only the glove box has to come out.. now on a focus i could see gettin a hole $65 in labor since you gotta pull the entire plastic trim right below the windshield off just to even see the damn filters.. look at it this way.. you want your car to breath clean air right? so the motor doesn't get a bunch of dust, etc in it right? bet you want to breath fresh air through those vents this summer with the ac on too huh? so you don't get dust, etc in your lungs huh? just get the filter and take a half hour and stick it in.. just htink it'll save ya some $$ down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 I used to work with HEPA filters in clean rooms where we made optical coatings. They don't seem practical for cars, I'd expect them to plug up pretty quickly in normal dusty air. I've always wondered if they really are HEPA. DOE definition of a HEPA filter: "A throwaway, extended-media, dry type filter with a rigid casing enclosing the full depth of the pleats. The filter shall exhibit a minimum efficiency of 99.97% when tested at an aerosol of 0.3 micrometers diameter." I've lived in places where little piles of dust built up just inside the vents of my car, how could a HEPA filter last a day there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothLegacy Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 I just replaced my cabin filter about 2 months ago. I the original in for 2 years and when i took it out it was nasty. You probably wont be able to cut out and replace the filter mesh and reuse the plastic frame from the old filter. I remember that the plastic became brittle and cracked. Just take out the glove box with a screwdriver, and the plastic trim piece along the center console. There is 1 plastic screw in the foot well. The rest is plastic clips that you can pry the piece off gently. Pretty easy maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danz75 Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 I replaced the filter in my 03 OBW and Accord EX. Both the filters were extremely dirty. I agree that having a HEPA filter in a car is probably not very efficient as the environment in a car is not completely sealed. However, last summer, I had really bad allergies and I drove with my windows up all the time and it sure did make some difference. And so I figured, for $31.16, there's really no harm in having a clean filter. It is a very easy job and only requires a screwdriver. The instructions are included with the filter if you buy the Subaru part and 1stsubaruparts has it for $31.16. Don't let the shop do it for you. Take the time to do it and you'll be able to do it easily the next time. I am new to this site. I have a 2003 Subaru Outback sedan and the dealer is telling my wife that we need to pay $145.00 to replace the HEPA filter. The dealer states that in order to replace the filter the glove box needs to comeout. How difficult is this filter replacement? Will simple home tools get the job done? Thank you for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smpol19 Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 I used to work with HEPA filters in clean rooms where we made optical coatings. They don't seem practical for cars, I'd expect them to plug up pretty quickly in normal dusty air. I've always wondered if they really are HEPA. DOE definition of a HEPA filter: "A throwaway, extended-media, dry type filter with a rigid casing enclosing the full depth of the pleats. The filter shall exhibit a minimum efficiency of 99.97% when tested at an aerosol of 0.3 micrometers diameter." I've lived in places where little piles of dust built up just inside the vents of my car, how could a HEPA filter last a day there? I'm not sure that its actually a HEPA fileter, I think its more of just a pollen filter. If you don't have alegerys or if you drive with the windows down a lot you could probably just pull it out of there and save your money. I have one in my Outback Sport and my girlfried has pretty bad alegerys especualy this time of year and seems to notice a diffrence. I can't really tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer46 Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Does anyone know if it's possible to "adapt" a HEPA type filter to a 98 Outback. My wife and I have some nasty allergies and I'd like to see if there's any way to put a filter into the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Does anyone know if a 2000 Forester L has a cabin filter ? ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danz75 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Does anyone know if a 2000 Forester L has a cabin filter ? ~Howard I'm not sure about your forester but when I bought my 03 OBW, it was an optional part which I believe was about an additional ~$100....... I just bought the part from 1stsubaruparts.com and installed it myself($31.16) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryelamjr Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Does anyone know if a 2000 Forester L has a cabin filter ? ~Howard My 02 Legacy has stickers on the drivers door panel and in the glove box with the last change date for the filter. Look for stickers in the obvious places, and if there is one installed, it should be noted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 My 02 Legacy has stickers on the drivers door panel and in the glove box with the last change date for the filter. Look for stickers in the obvious places, and if there is one installed, it should be noted. Nope....I don't see any stickers. Can I retrofit the Forester ? ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 BUMP ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smpol19 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 yup, go to the dealer and get the cabin air filter kit. Its about $50 I think, there is a small section of the Air box next to the blower that you cut out then you slide thSe filter in, then the kit will come with a cover that you install to hold it in place. Shouldn't take long at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 yup, go to the dealer and get the cabin air filter kit. Its about $50 I think, there is a small section of the Air box next to the blower that you cut out then you slide thSe filter in, then the kit will come with a cover that you install to hold it in place. Shouldn't take long at all. Do you happen to have a part number ? ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danz75 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Do you happen to have a part number ? ~Howard Here's the website http://www.subaruparts.com/cart/?pn=ARFLTRKIT&item_code=303&z=Add+to+Cart Part number:ARFLTRKIT Couldn't find the part on 1stsubaruparts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 Here's the websitehttp://www.subaruparts.com/cart/?pn=ARFLTRKIT&item_code=303&z=Add+to+Cart Part number:ARFLTRKIT Couldn't find the part on 1stsubaruparts The instructions online relate to the '02 model. Would it hold true for the 2000 ? ~Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danz75 Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 The instructions online relate to the '02 model. Would it hold true for the 2000 ? ~Howard Go to parts catalog and select your model year 2000 and model. Somewhere in the middle you will find the part shown there. http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/?section=84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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