Word up Did a oil change in prep for MITM/MTTS, also took a suggestion I read somewhere to change out the cabin air filter. Augie is at 50K and that filter was NASTY. Came out dark, dark gray when a new one is white. Easy change out, relatively cheap (OEM was approx $20 from local MINI dealer)
The ones that have charcoal embedded in them are dark grey, the ones without are white..........just FYI.
Do you have the auto-climate control? If so the filter does indeed have charcoal in it. I change mine out every other year.
First change One I put in was white and by the construction of the old it appears to be like for like
Once a year for me. What I notice after the change is the fan seems to move a larger volume of air. Guess the filter is being restricted by all of the pollution carp it grabs out of the air.
If you have a first gen car it's on the right behind the glove box. To get to it, stand on your head and..... Well, it almost seems that way! There are four screws on a plate on the bottom of the airbox which resides behind the glovebox - the screws point straight up. There are also 4 clips that hold that same cover on - a lot of cars no longer have the four screws in anymore, and just the clips are holding the cover on. Take off the cover and pull the filter down and out of the box. Notice which way it's facing and slide the new one into it's place. Reinstall the cover - you're done.
I change my oil every 5k and change my cabin air filter every time the service interval on the odometer screen counts down to zero.
I changed mine right after I bought the car (51,000) and there was all KINDS of junk in there! I replaced the carbon one with the paper one because I didn't want to pay the $50 for it. I think putting those foam insert things under the air intake vents by the windshield would really help that thing out, like a pre-filter-filter. I plan to at least check it every year, if not change it. Now if only I could figure out how to remove my furnace filter so I could change THAT...
Where is the filter on the 2nd generation and do you have to stand on your head to change it too? Jim
I'm not sure! On my Clubby, if you open the hatch where the battery hides, you can clearly see the filter......that's how I found out I'd had a critter living in my car - I went to check the battery and saw the nest lying on top of the filter element! I cleaned it out and haven't seen a repeat, but I also haven't looked to see how to change the element yet. I think my rider was a chipmonk, as there weren't any droppings in the nest like mice do, and the nest consisted of some fine white cotton material - I have no idea where he got that from or how he got it into the car!
I put down a knee pad and got to it from just outside the car, not quite stand on your head, just something from the Karma Sutra, sadly a solo action :cornut: