Question Regarding replacing Cabin AC filter

[Optimus3000]

Guys,I'm owing a vitz 2017.Recently service centre said the Cabin Air filter should be replaced as it is worn out.Price of it in Toyota lanka  is about 11,000Rs.

But in Laughs and other service centers it is available in the price range of 2000-3500Rs.

If i use the cheaper one, will it harm the Entire AC system of the car?or can i go ahead with cheaper one for few more months?

Need your opinion/expertise regarding this issue

thank you in advance

[Davy]

There's no point in spending 11,000 for a cabin filter. Get a good aftermarket brand and clean it every now and then. Brands like VIC are pretty good. 

And no, using a cheap cabin filter will not destroy the AC. The whole purpose of the cabin filter is to filter out pollen and dust entering the AC system from outside in fresh air mode and to prevent occupants from inhaling them. 

[Optimus3000]

4 minutes ago, Davy said:

There's no point in spending 11,000 for a cabin filter. Get a good aftermarket brand and clean it every now and then. Brands like VIC are pretty good. 

And no, using a cheap cabin filter will not destroy the AC. The whole purpose of the cabin filter is to filter out pollen and dust entering the AC system from outside in fresh air mode and to prevent occupants from inhaling them. 

Thanks a bunch  for your explanation,Mr.Davy.

[gayanath]

53 minutes ago, Optimus3000 said:

Guys,I'm owing a vitz 2017.Recently service centre said the Cabin Air filter should be replaced as it is worn out.Price of it in Toyota lanka  is about 11,000Rs.

But in Laughs and other service centers it is available in the price range of 2000-3500Rs.

If i use the cheaper one, will it harm the Entire AC system of the car?or can i go ahead with cheaper one for few more months?

Need your opinion/expertise regarding this issue

thank you in advance

1. 2017 Vitz means just 1 year and how about the millage?

Normally original cabin filters can be used at-least 20,000 km in Sri Lanka. I used original filter 30,000 km (with full-time air re-circulation mode) without any flow drop. Yaris 2017 manual says replacement in 30,000 miles (48,000 km) or 3 years or in dusty conditions 15,000 miles (24,000 km) or 1.5 years. Do not depend on service center people always.....

2. I have experience with VIC one as well and it will last only 15,000 km. No harm of using it for AC system. and its cost effective. 

Note: my concern is, sometimes you may be replacing your good and healthy original filter for a cheaper aftermarket one before end of its life.  

 

[gayanath]

1 hour ago, Davy said:

Get a good aftermarket brand and clean it every now and then. Brands like VIC are pretty good. 

Below image shows same original cabin filter which available in Vitz 2017. It says "Replace only, Do Not Service". Theoretically you cannot service it, but in our context, yes... it may cost effective. 

[iRage]

3 hours ago, gayanath said:

Below image shows same original cabin filter which available in Vitz 2017. It says "Replace only, Do Not Service". Theoretically you cannot service it, but in our context, yes... it may cost effective. 

 

Well..even in Japan the Toyota dealer cleans it...the general idea is that you can clean it..but once it is time to get thrown out..throw it out, do not try to fix it with filter paper etc...

Toyota dealers in Japan use DENSO filters, I saw a few privateers advertising the DENSO filter brought down from Japan on FB. So that too might be an option. If I remember right it was around 5 or 6 thousand.

But gayanath brings up a good point...usually the cabin filter has a 20-40K life span. How much has your car done for a 1 year old car ?

[Davy]

7 hours ago, gayanath said:

Below image shows same original cabin filter which available in Vitz 2017. It says "Replace only, Do Not Service". Theoretically you cannot service it, but in our context, yes... it may cost effective. 

My point was to clean it during its lifetime and not clean and reuse it when replacement is due.

Since its the cabin filter, it's not advisable to clean it using compressed air or dusting it. What I usually do is carefully take the filter out and use a vacuum cleaner to clean only the outside of the filter.

[Optimus3000]

Gentlemen,Answers to the questions you have posed are as follows:

1.yes its a 2017 model.mileage is about 15,000km

2.i scrutinized the cabin filter once it was taken out at service centre.it has torn out frankly & multiple tears were visible to naked eye

3.Whenever there was fogging of the windshield,most of the time i used to take out side air & set it hit at windshield to defog quickly.i think it may be the reason why the original filter got this plight at 15,00km.

4.please recommend me a place to buy a VIC or denso filter which is compatible for vitz 2017

 

5.Currently i replaced with following one.looks like a fake one despite it mentions genuine Toyota spare parts as its price was 1900/=

 

 

P.S really appreciate all your prompt support/expertise given to a novice like me.thank you

[kmeeg]

For the first time I used a brand called Acdelco and didn’t see/feel any difference from the original one. I used what they called as Carbon cabin air filter. It’s the first time I’m using it. Since carbon filters are black in color I guess it will be little hard to notice when they get dirty. 

Updated -

The reason I posted this one is why not try using Carbon cabin filters?

I guess the main reason for cabin filter to get dirty faster is using 'Fresh air' the whole time while driving in traffic? (I may be wrong, please correct me if i'm wrong.). I only try to use 'Fresh air' mode when there is not much traffic or mostly out station driving.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by kmeeg

[Davy]

8 hours ago, kmeeg said:

 

I guess the main reason for cabin filter to get dirty faster is using 'Fresh air' the whole time while driving in traffic? (I may be wrong, please correct me if i'm wrong.). I only try to use 'Fresh air' mode when there is not much traffic or mostly out station driving.

In a hot and humid country like Sri Lanka, the AC should always be in recirculate mode. This helps the AC do a lot less work to keep the car cool. Fresh mode is meant to be used for colder environments. The only instance I can see where you'd want to use fresh air mode is when it's raining outside and if your windows start to fog up.

If you've parked the car in the hot sun and are about to take off, rolling down the windows for a couple of minutes before letting the AC take over is the way to go IMO. This is much more effective than letting the AC cool the car down at full blast.

Having said all this, in a climate control (automatic) AC, this happens automatically as the car detects the outside temperature and switches between fresh and recirculate. However, I've had to manually switch the mode to recirculate sometimes if there is dust in the air or a vehicle in front is emitting a lot of smoke.