Thursday, November 18, 2010

How common is a missing cabin air filter? Is the shop ripping me off?

I went in for an oil change as I have several times before. Sat in the waiting room eating some fast food, the technician comes in and holds a dirty air filter directly over our food, showing me it needs to be replaced. He then takes me out to my car and shows me my glove box and neighboring parts torn apart and lying in the foot well. Explains that they checked the cabin air filter and it wasn't even there! They recommend replacing it at a cost of $35, because of the labor. Not a huge cost, I almost did it, until I started wondering why they seemed suspicious to me.



Before servicing the car, they never even mentioned checking the cabin air filter or asked permission to open the glove box full of personal information, let alone tear half of the inside of the car apart. Afterward, they went on a story about how they just started carrying the filters in stock, that one of their cars was missing a filter once, and tried to sell me on how they are important for people with asthma or babies, etc. Of course, they had seen me unload our baby from the back seat earlier! They asked if there had been any bad smells, etc. I told them it has never been a problem and we just finished a long trip with the heater on the whole time.



I told them I could not pay $35 for a filter and would go to Autozone to get one and put it in myself. Since leaving, there has been the burning oil smell they asked about. Never smelled that before now!



The fact is, my wife bought the vehicle brand new 8 years ago and has been the only owner. She has never had anyone check the cabin air filter and is sure it has never been serviced or replaced. I檓 quite confident they don檛 sell this vehicle without the filter! Is there any chance they really did just go to check it and it wasn檛 there?! Is that standard procedure for any other shops? Should I report them to the BBB, online reviews, etc?How common is a missing cabin air filter? Is the shop ripping me off?
Your owner manual or a dealer or even you local auto zone can tell you vi the vin number if you vehicle cam equipped with a cabin filter. If so they are usually behind the glove box, but depends on the vehicle. Yep they can be a bit expensive in to 2o-40$ range. To save money I made my own from foam packing that is like an air filter, just had to cut to shape. this way I can remove and wash, no need to buy a new one.How common is a missing cabin air filter? Is the shop ripping me off?
It will eventually clog up the heater core, but besides that it is not that big of a deal.How common is a missing cabin air filter? Is the shop ripping me off?
Your car probably never had the Cabin Air Filter. Before about 1999-2000 they did not even exist. Often (depending on year/make/model) the CAF is an option, not a standard item. The car may be fitted for one, but it may not have been included on the option list of your particular car when it left the factory. If you bought it new and still have the window sticker then it is easy enough to find out. If the car is equipped for but not with a CAF you can certainly install one. People with allergy problems in particular may find the improvement in air quality desireable.



Cabin air filters do need to be replaced periodically, many owners don't even know they have one (and dirty ones can be a health hazard) and NOBODY checks their own. Why do you take your vehicle in for routine services like oil changes? Because you want to maintain it properly, yes? So why are you threatening to call the BBB when a shop tries to do just that? If I may humbly suggest, it would be better if you got your facts straight before you go bats--- crazy over something this minor.How common is a missing cabin air filter? Is the shop ripping me off?
35 dollars is a good price for a cabin filter. What filter was the tech holding over your food? maybe it was yours. Was it the same person who always performs the service on your car? if so 8 years is along time to wait to replace the cabin filter. never seen a cabin filter clog a heater core.
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