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Cheap Yaris Cabin Air Filter

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Mon, 09/21/2009 - 12:32 — Jake von Slatt

Every time I've brought my Toyota Yaris in for it's regular service I was surprised to find a $50 charge for replacing the "cabin air" filter. It always annoyed me, but they assured me it was a pain to change the "special" filter. 

Turns out that's bullshit. It's a cheap paper filter that takes about 30 seconds to replace.  Corporations use proprietary parts and slip through overcharges for simple maintenance to add to their profit, of course. But this is an ultimately dis-honest practice that risks making otherwise satisfied customers, like me, angry and desirous of revenge for being duped.

Well here's my revenge Toyota, a step by step set of directions on how to turn a $5 household furnace filter into two Yaris cabin air filters.  It took me an hour and a half to figure this out and make two filters and another half hour to write this page.  Someone following these direction should be able to make a pair of filters in an hour, saving them (and denying you) $100! 

The filter is accessed by pressing in on the sides of the open glove box, which then swings down out of the way revealing the filter door that opens with a squeeze on it's retaining clip.

The filter just slid out at that point.  Here's a picture of mine, do you notice anything odd about it?  Yeah, it was jammed in 90 degree to the direction it was supposed to be installed and then crushed by the filter door closing.  Not only was I charged $50 to have a $1 filter replaced, the "technician" was not even competent to do the job.

Off to the home center to find a likely candidate for replacement material. I looked for something with pleats that were about the same width as the ones in my filter.  I found this furnace filter for just under five bucks, it's large enough so that I can harvest sufficient material for two Yaris filters.  

It also has a picture of the space shuttle on it!  The company apparently makes filters for the shuttle, which is extra cool because I used to work for a company called Airflow Research & Manufacturing that made the fan that circulates air in the shuttle through it's cabin air filter.   The shuttle has a big filter between decks that is treated to be sticky so that it traps all of the little floating bits of dead skin, dried spittle, and lint that would otherwise be circulating around the cabin.

The Yaris filter is 8 3/8" x 7 1/2" so I laid out two 7 1/4" wide stripes so there would be room for the two 1/8" wide pieces of cardboard I planned to use for the ends.

The Yaris filter has 16 pleats but the furnace filter's pleats are slightly narrower so I trimmed the strips at the 20 pleat mark so that their surface area would be about the same.

Here's a close-up of the Yaris filter's construction.

I made a jig from scrap wood to hold the filter in place while I glued it together, the polyethylene sheet is to ensure I'll be able to lift the filter off even if some glue seeps through.

I placed the filter in the jig and put the two strips of cardboard in place, these are cut to be the same size as the felt pieces on the original Yaris filter.

  I added an additional shim of cardboard to compress the filter material and make a good seal for gluing.

I glued the first with a hot glue gun.

Just in case the hot glue doesn't hold up in the hot car, I glued the second one together with carpenter's glue.

The new filter is in place and seems to perform well!  Next I'll investigate some of the washable filters available to see if I can eliminate the need to buy disposable paper filter material.

Oh! BTW: if you are trying to fix a musty smell in your Toyota Yaris, this page I wrote about cleaning the condensate drain might help you.

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Comments

JuxtaDeus - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 15:00.

Hi Jake,
love your work especially this; they tried to charge me for power steering fluid once in a car with no power steering once, they deserve everything they get.

with i had the time to do even half of what you inspire me to try.

jd

Richie_asg1 - Tue, 02/16/2010 - 11:53.

Love the site and your style !

You don't even need to pleat - but up to you (but you do need edges)
You can use Cooker-hood grease filter, and back it with fabric quilting - It's what they use on industrial fan units.
Add expanded alloy sheeting top and bottom if you want - then just refill it and keep the alloy for the next.

If you want extra high quality - use activated carbon cooker hood filter - should remove odours too!

wolfetrap - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 16:24.

I've worked for auto parts companies for the last twenty years. I always amazed me how the manufacturers can come up with this stuff and charge so much. There were times I felt guilty selling it. Bravo sir...

Bob - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:23.

I was told by a service tech that my cabin air filter needed changing and since he had it in his hand I could see he was right but I nearly chocked when he told me it would be $75 to change it. I politely told him no thank you. A few minutes later he came back to me and told me his manager had authorized him to do it for me at half price. How nice of him, he only wanted to change me $39 now (half?). I still thought that was outrageous. Since he still had my filter in his hand I asked him to show me where it belonged and put it back.

I simply went to my local auto parts store and bought one for $15. It was ridiculously easy to change. Even easier than yours. $15 is still over priced for such a simple filter especially when compared to the amount of filter material you got for $5.

Datamancer - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:25.

Damn The Man!

someguy805 - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:49.

I've had to do the same thing to my car. VW charge $60 to replace it with a super-special carbon filter, but the non-carbon part is available for $5, and lasts three times as long before falling apart.

I also used a scrap of cut-to-fit carbon prefilter that's meant for furnaces. It works great, and I've put a sticker on the access panel to keep the people at VW from doing the repair again without telling me.

Waterbug - Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:12.

Thanks for the info. I recently traded in my steampunked Passport for a 2008 Yaris, cash for clunkers. So this info is very useful to me.

The first thing I did was remove the passenger seats, front and back. That allows me to get 8' pieces inside with the hatch down.

On my todo list is some wood trim on the outside of the door panels. Too large a flat area for my tastes and I think it would be a ding breeding ground.

I'd also like to beef up the suspension maybe for carrying more weight, like rock and concrete. Maybe an extension bed out the back for carrying large objects. Or a small 5th wheel type trailer. The back "axle" is almost at the back bumper. The biggest issue is the hatch door. Rig it to stay open, or remove it and fashion a wood cabin door on the inside.

At the risk of being pummeled, I can see the "need" for charging such high fees. The cost of manufacturing 20 million furnace filters a month is much different than a few thousand Yaris filters. It is consumers that demand so many different model cars and therefore so many special parts. Installing it backwards, well that's just typical. One reason I got this Yaris is it didn't have power locks and power windows. Less to break the better.

Punkerpan - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 04:48.

good show! will see if i can do this to my gf's honda civic. btw, she recently accidentally bumped a tiny button on her dash that changed her speedo and odometer from mph to kph. freaked her out till we figured it out. pays to read the manual. beware tiny buttons!

jpkalishek - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 04:49.

I used to sell filters and what not.
Your dealer or service center was raping you on that. We sold cabin filters for a few bucks (back then, not many cars had them, and still the most expensive common one was less than $10 our sell cost, the shops add to that of course, but $50??).
Not to mention the cabin filter isn't usually replaced every service interval. Most go two to three, unless in heavy dust, or the owner tools around with cats and dogs in the car at all times.
Your filter is cheap, but you add your time to it and it likely is about what a cheap replacement is($9 for one at an autoparts place retail).
Like you though, my time is cheap to me, and I've been known to rebuild relays, water pumps (well, I also could not find the correct one until after I reworked mine) starter switches, and the like, so two for $5 is up my alley. I like the Reusable idea, and likely would have gone that route. I use those already in the house, and have almost enough for one your size left over from fitting my oddball sized housing.
The Big Dollar Fram filter is flipping $21 at the parts house. Fram air filters are ok, but a bit over priced. . well, more than a bit. . . now oil filters is even more so. Fram charges the most for the cheapest filter.
The Fram filter for a common vehicle (say a Ford Truck) is $4.
give that very same filter a yellow paint job, label it Pennzoil, and we sold them for $1.29.
There are 4 manufacturers that make filters in the USA.
Fram, Wix, Champion Labs, and Purolator.
Purolator has the best filter for the price(basic no frills filter). Standard Mobil, Group 7, used to be Quaker State, and some of the other no name filters were made by Puro.
Champion has the next best, and actually equal if all you do is street driving(I used to race, so the Puro was better for me) and they make (last time I checked) Tech2000(walmart) Lee(pepboys used to carry this, and sometimes they are Purolator) Duetsch(the made in USA AutoZone used to sell) STP, AC Delco, and Mopar. They also make Motorcraft but that is a totally different design. All four manufacturers make Motorcraft, but it is a proprietary design that only is used as Ford's. It is one of the best designs over all, but the price is a bit high.

Toyota has one of, if not the, best oil filter design. Like motorcraft, it is proprietary, and fits more filter medium into the space available than any of the others. If I was able, and Toyota had a cross fit, I'd use a Toyota filter and Mobil One oil.Even if I was in something other than a Toy.
Everything I own leaks too much right now, or has no cross fit.

dcorley - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 10:15.

Jake,

Great job on the retrofit!

Before you pound on Toyota too hard, I think it would be good to note that this is probably the dealer hitting you up for over-inflated service charges rather than Toyota itself. My Highlander manual states that while the cabin air filter can be replaced, you probably won't ever need to for the life of the vehicle! I avoid dealerships like the plague for service and repair... they tend to tack crazy stuff to your regular service interval like scrubbing your battery terminals with water and baking soda for a mere $29.99!!! What a deal. :)

Anyway, I check my own fluids, change my own oil and filters, then take my vehicles to a competent local shop for big service items (i.e. timing belt/water pump/oil seal/etc).

Carry on!

~ D

meta - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 11:45.

The Prius air filter comes in a handy white plastic container frame, so I just cut the home AC filter to size and then fit it into the frame from the old filter. I use the 2'x1' 3M filters, each of which will make two cabin air filters.

lysol - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 15:01.

I'm not seeing a lot of cleverness in this hack. You chopped up a more-expensive furnace filter when you could've picked up a cheap Fram one the next time you near any sort of store of any kind, and it would've taken less time than cutting it up and gluing it together. Color me "not impressed".

Figures, coming from a site where people glue fake brass from Hobby Lobby to their laptops and make everyone look at the ugly thing as if they added any real function.

Jake von Slatt - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 17:30.

 Derek, dude! You Rickroll'd me! Hehee it's been a while.

Punkerpan - Tue, 09/22/2009 - 23:16.

whats a jerk like you doing looking at this site in the first place?

Jake von Slatt - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 06:49.

Oh he's just trolling, it's a fine ole Internet passtime.

Clutch - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 16:20.

I love the idea of doing it yourself. I worked at an independent garage for 10 years and got to see a lot of dealership lists of required services from people looking for a second opinion. A lot of what was on the lists were not necessary. I was also amazed at what they would charge for really simple services. Its great if this article inspires others to come up with there own solution to problems. I loved the fuel vapor canister repair too.

craig - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 09:53.

I had a co-worker with a BMW that also had shady service. He was told his wipers needed replacing and they were special $27 BMW wipers... no, I looked at them and they would have clicked into standard $4 replacements. Then on a work trip, his computer was telling him his milage estimate was 17MPG when it should have been 26 highway. We stopped and popped the hood, and while the tech was running tests, left 2 or 3 vaccuum hoses off, one still temporarily plugged with a screwdriver with HIS NAME ON IT!!! We reconnected the hoses where they were supposed to go, got back in and milage was back up @ 26. He never went back to complain! I would have had the dealership manager and Technician Mike-missing-a-screwdriver reimbursing every dime I spent just because a scheduled maintainance light came on.

Astalavista - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 17:04.

Well, even though this hack is brilliant it lacks the carbon filter that is included in your original Toyota filter. Personally I like the carbon filter because it eliminates some odors.

craig - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 23:22.

Hey Jake, Go dumpster diving at your local Hot Spring spa dealer. They have had a run of defective PWK30 spa filters that quickly cracked on the plastic ends. Fairly new, one could be made into a washable filter. Ok, I know spa filters aren't meant for air, but dry they do 'fluf up' because you are supposed to dry them after chemical cleanings to get them fluffed from a matted state. Worth a try especially if you can get one for free.

CQ - Mon, 10/05/2009 - 15:06.

The electrostatic filters would do wonders for you. A bit of polycarbonate for the two side walls(or four if you'd prefer). Then simply take some Gorilla (or equivalent polyurethane) glue. Spread it on with an old Popsicle stick, set it gently into your jig, and let the glue expand to fill the gap. Should take you under 15 minutes to make a permanent filter. An hour or two later it will be ready to go.

Best of luck,
Captain Quinlin Hopkins

RocketDad - Fri, 10/30/2009 - 19:57.

My Sienna has one of these atrocities. I priced them from Toyota - they want $50. I looked online and saw them for 10 or 20. I bought one locally for somewhere between those prices, and didn't need to wait for shipping.

As I was installing it, I wondered how many 15 dollar filters I could cut out of the $10 furnace filters I buy. I think I could get 4 out of one.

Thanks for showing pictures of the gluing jig for this. Best part, I can make a handful of them at a session and keep them around to change out regularly.

Saavik256 - Mon, 12/07/2009 - 05:59.

I have been trying to explain to both my sister and her boyfriend that they are getting ripped off at dealerships like that, but to no avail. Maybe showing this page to her boyfriend will change that. (And they both drive a Yaris.)

mmmmna - Tue, 03/16/2010 - 07:46.

I just don't think I'll be demanding that cabin air filtration must be installed in any vehicle I'll own. For myself, I'd tell a dealer service department to go teabag in a french fry machine if they approached me with a bill for this filter. Not trying to be sarcastic at the honorable deed posted here - nothing I like more than giving senseless expenses the boot. Instead, let my sarcasm point (as I intend it to) towards automakers: car owners lived without such filters in vehicles until the new century arrived (nearly 100 years without such filters)... so, PERSONALLY, I feel that just because car makers added cabin air filters, that doesn't mean my warranty is voided nor do I believe every occupants health will be instantly degraded when I omit a cabin air filter. Yes, yes, yes, I know that some people would like to continue using a cabin air filtration system, and I certainly agree this steampunk post is a great idea for those who prefer to continue to use cabin air filters. Yes, indeed, there are locations on this planet (and situations) where a cabin air filter also might be considered necessary equipment. Please, be harmless to me as I am not making any comment implying those situations being without merit. No troll, me; I DO see some sense in the cabin air filter idea. Just saying I'm not liking the costs incurred for something I've not asked automakers to include.

craig - Sun, 09/19/2010 - 18:20.

I just discovered my tabletop bedroom filter replacement 6X6 filters is not available anymore. Even if it was, I think they were $7-$8 for two in a package. The highest quality 20X25 $17 furnace filter will get me 9 of them. I just made the rack, construction of the custom 9 pack starts tonight after dinner.

Richie_asg1 - Mon, 09/20/2010 - 13:31.

As I'm about to swap an engine - I thought about the main air filter. - Standard paper screen - that gets clogged up.
I think I'm going to rescue a broken Dyson, or variant, and use "cyclone technology" to my advantage. - It will at least make the paper filter last longer if most of the debris is centrifuged out first. Those things filter down to 8 micron or something like that.