So, with 10,000 miles coming up, it's time to start considering a Cabin/Pollen filter replacement. I usually do the first at 10,000 to see how nasty they are and then every 10-20k after that. I can't find any reference in the Owners Manual about where it's located and how to replace it, anyone know? I know that on certain Lexus vehicles, failing to place the A/C in a certain mode results in damage to the A/C system when you change the filter...do we have any such worries?
Cabin/Pollen Filter location and replacement
AlfaCrisis
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I just did this install today without removing the glove box.
It took me about 20 minutes with lying on my back.
The only things I removed was the side plastic triangle and the "tray" under the glove box that is held on by five T25 screws. You can manipulate the foam air duct out of the way to get the door to the filter housing off and move that out of the way as well. I also moved the passenger seat all the way back.
If you have trouble getting the filter in, you can use a long flat head screwdriver to guide it gently into position by the edges.
I know there are much easier ways of changing this, especially on other cars, but as bad as people make it out to be on this thread, this really isn't that bad if you take your time and get comfortable. Worth it to do it yourself imo.
I got the filter on Amazon: Premium Guard Pureflow Cabin filter PC99492x for about $20. Has pollen protectant and baking soda built into it.
It took me about 20 minutes with lying on my back.
The only things I removed was the side plastic triangle and the "tray" under the glove box that is held on by five T25 screws. You can manipulate the foam air duct out of the way to get the door to the filter housing off and move that out of the way as well. I also moved the passenger seat all the way back.
If you have trouble getting the filter in, you can use a long flat head screwdriver to guide it gently into position by the edges.
I know there are much easier ways of changing this, especially on other cars, but as bad as people make it out to be on this thread, this really isn't that bad if you take your time and get comfortable. Worth it to do it yourself imo.
I got the filter on Amazon: Premium Guard Pureflow Cabin filter PC99492x for about $20. Has pollen protectant and baking soda built into it.
If you had removed the air bag's 4 bolts it would be easier still. I agree it's not necessary to remove the glove box.
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Yikes, definitely don't disconnect the HVAC duct from underneath. I don't know how in the world they expect someone to reconnect that spongy foam thing to the hard plastic without further disassembling either the glove box or airbag.
Edit: Which I will be definitely be doing tomorrow. This is one of those jobs that, yes, is not terrible, but is also worse than it should be and a real pain in the ass unless you already know all the tricks to do it first.
Edit the second: Even better when you have a glove box cooling duct. What a pain.
Edit: Which I will be definitely be doing tomorrow. This is one of those jobs that, yes, is not terrible, but is also worse than it should be and a real pain in the ass unless you already know all the tricks to do it first.
Edit the second: Even better when you have a glove box cooling duct. What a pain.
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I did this Saturday. Tried to do with only taking out the bottom trim piece. Didn't work for me, so I took out the glove compartment. This is way easier as it gives you more room to work with.
I have a 2019 Giulia Quadrifoglio, I just had my second servicing, with only 8600 miles but three years in time, at an upscale dealership that sells exotic sports cars in addition to Alfa Romeo. Anyway, I specifically told them, as I do all dealer service advisors, that I want absolutely no fragrances or cleaners used in the interior of the car, as I have fragrance and chemical sensitivity. He assured he would see to it. When I got my car back it had a strong chemical cedar wood like smell coming from the AC. I looked at my invoice, and in addition to the cabin filter being replaced, there was an item for AC Cabin Refreshener. The service advisor said that was part of the package. My car had absolutely no odors before this. Plus they charged me $30.76 dollars not including tax. On the way home my nose was stuffy and I had difficulty breathing and I called him and asked him what they did, he said he would ask the tech, and he called me back. He said they sprayed an antimicrobial in the AC box where are the cabin air filter goes, and they text said to Open the air vent, which I almost always keep open anyway and it had been open, including my windows at times trying to air it out. I told him I would need to bring them back and they would have to clean it out with isopropyl alcohol. I will also insist that they replace the cabin air filter again with another new one. This guy didn't know his job. When I told him it smelled like cedar wood, he tried to deny it and I told hm I know what I'm smelling. He implies he would take care of it on Monday although I can't make it Monday. I should talk today Service manager.
Something similar happened nine years ago when I had a Hyundai Genesis. The dealer I bought it from fixed one or two new car problems but said to wait a few months until the Hyundai rep came down to deal with the other issues. I took it to another Hyundai dealer nearby that I hadn't been aware of before, and I talked to the service manager, and they took my car gave me a loaner for two days, and addressed every issue--I think it only took one day. I also at told him I didn't want any fragrances or cleaners used in the car, but in his exuberance to go the extra mile, he had sent it detailing, where they spread the floor mats (with overspray on the carpet) with some chemical that smelled like Ajax but worse. I thought I might have to get rid of the car, as numerous times washing the mats and carpet around them only changed the smell to something different. I took the car back and asked for an got new floor mats and a new cabin air filter (it was a new car). I think this high-end Italian car dealership should at least do that. Should I asked for a refund of the $30+ also?
By the way, although I told the techs not to overfill the oil, as happened on the first oil change elsewhere, I see that the oil is actually about a third of a quart low, so I'll have to ask him to top it off.
Something similar happened nine years ago when I had a Hyundai Genesis. The dealer I bought it from fixed one or two new car problems but said to wait a few months until the Hyundai rep came down to deal with the other issues. I took it to another Hyundai dealer nearby that I hadn't been aware of before, and I talked to the service manager, and they took my car gave me a loaner for two days, and addressed every issue--I think it only took one day. I also at told him I didn't want any fragrances or cleaners used in the car, but in his exuberance to go the extra mile, he had sent it detailing, where they spread the floor mats (with overspray on the carpet) with some chemical that smelled like Ajax but worse. I thought I might have to get rid of the car, as numerous times washing the mats and carpet around them only changed the smell to something different. I took the car back and asked for an got new floor mats and a new cabin air filter (it was a new car). I think this high-end Italian car dealership should at least do that. Should I asked for a refund of the $30+ also?
By the way, although I told the techs not to overfill the oil, as happened on the first oil change elsewhere, I see that the oil is actually about a third of a quart low, so I'll have to ask him to top it off.
Based on my experience, take what you can get and call it lucky lol
I think cleaning the AC box out is going to be really difficult and may end up damaging something. Tell them to give you a credit and keep the windows open for a few days to air it out. As far as the oil change, the factory fill is not 100% on the dip stick so they filled it accordingly as well.
I sort of remember that when I got the car new that the oil wasn't up to the top, maybe a little higher than it is now, like 1/4 or 1/5 from the top. Is it okay if it's 1/3 down from the top? They said they put 6 quarts in it. As far as the AC box, I haven't driven it a lot but I'm very sensitive to it. Maybe I won't have them clean the AC box out, but I'm going to have them change the air filter again because that picks up fragrances. They have agreed to do that. If they can slide damp cloth in the AC box to wipe it out without pressure I'll see if they can do that.
On another issue, the service advisor seems reluctant to refund the $30.76. They have other things that don't seem necessary like Fuel System Treatment, $42.32, Premium Engine Treatment, $30.76 (same price as the A/C Cabin Refreshener), Multi-Clean Engine Cleaner, $39.44. I may not Press for the refund if they replace the cabin air filter again.
You can't get your hand in there really to clean anything as you can barely get your hand in there to install the filter. I would like to know, as yourself, what all of these 'treatments' are they too seem to be money grabs. Tell them to bring out the bottles of the various cleaners. If they can't reproduce them then demand a refund as they didn't do anything and are ripping you off.
Good idea to ask them to show me what they use for those things. When I asked for refund for the A/C cabin refreshener, he said is included in the total price. I said but there's a charge for it specifically, and he said it is itemized, but I agreed to the package or something. However I specifically said I didn't want any fragrance or cleaners used in the car, and he didn't even know enough to stop them from doing that, and then they tried to tell me there was no smell to it, but there was quite a strong woodlike smell-- I suspect it had a wood fragrance, I've seen some online like that. I'm going to ask him to see the bottle or can myself. I think I'm going to call Afa Romeo corporate also and ask them if these things are normal to pad their bill. However, I've usually found that corporate defers to the dealers, except for approving repairs under warranty. I'd like to know if most dealers add this stuff in--I've heard for a few years that people get charged $1000 for their second servicing, although I've also read others that only pay a few hundred. Maybe this dealer feels that people buying their Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Mercedes don't worry about such charges, but it is similar in price to what two other dealers in the area quoted me, at least it was similar to the price before tax and shop fee at this dealer, I don't know if the others' price included tax and shop fees or not--that's another con, they give me a certain price and then it turns out to be $200 more because they didn't give me the final price after the inflated tax and their $99 shop fee. This dealer says their actual price is like $1300 something, but they discount it to about $835. However the tax is on the full $1300+ price. I wonder if anyone audits what they do.
I can just add to what has already been said. This job is absolutely not worth the pain in the ass. I did it on my own when the dealer told me the price to do it at 20,000 miles. "Eff that, it's just a cabin filter. 5 minutes of work. How hard can it be?" They need to be charging more. I broke the door tab, contorted all kinds of ways, crushed the filter getting it in - the most unsatisfying bit of work I've ever done on a car in 25 years of working on cars. This includes working on mid engine cars through an access hatch. Pulling out boxer engines to replace head gaskets. Timing belt replacements on cars where you have to damn near remove the engine or remove the entire front of the car. This is more frustrating than trying to break suspension bolts on a midwest car that are so rusted, the head shears off before the bolt frees. Changing a clutch in a parking lot with some rope and 2x4's. The amount of effort, for the amount of gain - man. 40K service - I happily paid the dealer to do it and had them replace the door I broke by looking at it cockeyed.
Well, I took it in Friday afternoon even though I couldn't reach the service department by phone, and talked to the service advisor and the service manager, who said they could do it but I might have to wait a little. On the way out there was very little smell left and I was wondering whether I should bother, but I thought it might do something. That also was a mistake. It didn't take long and they assigned a young thin tech to do it, and I watched him--it took about a half an hour and he needed to get on his back and take the glove box out and everything. It does seem very awkward to get to. I asked him so let me see the filter when he removed it to see if it picked up any smell, and when he gave it to me it was a bit crumpled, he said that was from taking it out, although I wonder with your problem if they crumple it when they put it in too, but then it wouldn't really do that much, so I assume he knew how to put it in without damaging it. As it turns out it didn't have any smell I could detect, so it was probably unnecessary to replace it. What they did was they sprayed the stuff without the filter and it went through the AC unit but the filter gets the return air. I also looked at what they sprayed in there, and contrary to what they said about it having no fragrance, it said right on the bottle, Mild Fresh Scent (coming out of air conditiong it has strong cedar smell). After he was done, I see him wiping the leather around the glovebox. I ask what he's using on that and he said leather cleaner. They just don't get it--I told the service advisor and the manager again I wanted no cleansers in the car, so either they didn't tell him or he just didn't understand. He said he wanted to make sure there're no fingerprints or dirt from handling the leather. Well, it put a sort of shoe polish smell in the car in that area and I asked the advisor if they had in any isopropyl alcohol but apparently they didnt. He poured something on a cloth and came over and let me smell it--it had a horrible chlorine/deodorizer smell, and I said that would make it worse, and who knows what it would do the leather. I said just use water, so he got a number of wet cloths and went over it. Then I remembered I had a canister alcohol wipes on the seat so he used a few of those, but I realized they have a certain funny smell to them also sort of mild in another fragrance, something maybe from the fiber material. Anyway when I got home I wiped it again with alcohol from a bottle with paper towels and I think it was gone the next day. But there is still a slight fragrance when I start up the air-conditioning from the refresherner which dissipates quickly, but imagine that will fade over next few weeks.
Here's something interesting though; after the car was ready and I asked them to adjust the tire pressure, I went to look for my own tire pressure gauges--I had a mechanical dial with tube in the pocket of the back door and in the glove box I had two different brands of digital pressure gauges, one of them a Craftsman, that is ergonomic and works quite well, although I prefer the analog dial. I also had a tubular pen type mechanical one in the glove box compartment, all of them under the owner manual folder. But when I want to get them all that was there was the pen gauge. The manager looked and felt in the glovebox also and they weren't there. So they backed it up to the work area where the air filter was done, to do the tire pressure and, the manager asked the technician if he saw the gauges, at one point he said he did have to take the glove box out. So we looked on the seat the tech looked under the seat, I said it was possible I think my car might've been unlocked overnight in my driveway because when I went to open it I think it was unlocked, and I might have forgotten the lock it after getting something from it the previous evening, and it is possible someone opened the door and took the gauges out of the glovebox, but why would they only take that. Nine years ago I had something more valuable taken from the car when I had unlocked it to wash it one morning, and when I went to open it two later the fob locked it, but I just threw that out as a possibility so as not to accuse the tech. After the tech looked under the seat he went away for a minute, and came back, opened the glove box put his hand in the glove box and lo and behold he handed me the gauges. I said where were they and he said in the front of the glove compartment. Now you know that glove box compartment is only about 9 x 6" and 1 inch deep, and I had swiped it several times by hand as did the manager and also visually checked it several times and they were not there. On the way home, I got a paper towel from the glove box and I repositione the manual when I realized those gauges took up most of the compartment there's no way they were there before he found them. I hesitated, but I called the service manager and explain that to him, and he said that the tech hands were empty when we went back into the car it, was a magician? I pointed out that he would have had them in his pocket, he's not going to flash them before discovering them. He said the usual, that he wouldn't jeopardize his job for that, and he trusts his technicians. I said okay it doesn't matter to me, I have them now, but I'm just telling you if something happens again... and he said thank you. Amazing that he denies his own verification that the box was empty. If the tech had not returnerd them I would have questions about what happened, but when he pretended to find them and return them to me, I knew he had taken them. Except for another missing, analog, gauge from the car door when I left it at a body shop the dealer used for a couple hours to buff the fender a couple of years ago, that was missing afterwards, and only one person worked on it although the car was sitting unlocked in the front of the garage with people around when I left, I never had anything missing from a dealer after service before. And they were not missing after I had the full servicing done the week before. But now that I think about it I usually take the manual with my registration and stuff and anything the value out when I leave a car for service, well, especially when I leave in several days, but I forgot when I was waiting for it for about 3 1/2 hours the week before, but for this cabin air filter replacement I was watching him do it from about 30 feet away. But apparently that's not close enough to prevent such things. It probably didn't even need that cabin filter replaced to begin with because the car had only 8600 miles on it, although three years since I bought it, and had no odor, but they want to do their whole package. I wonder if they have a line item service where they just do things you want them to do.
When I asked about the oil level, the manager said that that it shouldn't be filled all the way to the top because it expands when it's hot, and anywhere from halfway up to below the fill line is okay, so I left the oil level as it was about the third of the way down.
Just to give you an indication of the impossibility of those gauges hiding in the glove box after I checked and the manager checked several times, here's a photo of it;
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IIRC, I was told 2 hours of labor by my local dealer, so around $300
I think they charge are least an hour and an hour at dealer is close to 200
They did it for free after they sprayed the fragrance in there, although the filter they took out had no smell on it, so it wasn't necessary, apparently, as the spray was done before they put the filter back and was drawn into the AC unit--the air filter goes in front of the air inlet to the AC. I think on the invoice for the full job they listed the cabin air filter as costing $78, but that's probably just the price not including labor, taxes etc. I don't know how much they would charge for labor if it was done separately as it was all bundled in the full package, but when they replaced the new air filter after the spray, it took the technician about half an hour--so two hours is a greatly inflated labor cost. Still, it is something that most people wouldn't want to do themselves, as someone else reported--I don't know why they make it so hard in this car. They have to remove the glove compartment and the thin technician had to be on his back a good portion of the time. They also charged $30 product/parts/material for the "refreshener" spray, from a 6 or 7 inch can that probably only cost a few dollars for the whole can.
I would classify you as a difficult customer. You have way above average smelling capacity from what I can tell as these smells wouldn't bother most people. It's their fault not following through and not telling the tech, as the service writer could careless to provide him your instructions.
Many years ago, coming back from a morning soccer game, my young son barfed his breakfast waffles with peanut butter on them. Ever after, when using the heater in my VW Golf, at first there was the smell for peanut butter for a few minutes. Somehow, some got into the HVAC system. Could be worse, my dad once told me that in the '40's, he hit a skunk in his car, and the carcass was flung up around the exhaust. He smelled that deceased varmint ever after when in that car. NV
I am a difficult customer when it comes to chemical and fragrant sensitivities and some people have those. If I couldn't get rid of the smell I would have had to get rid of the car--it's not a trivial matter for me and a good number of other people. Many people smoke or wear perfume and don't notice these things, or don't have allergies or sensitivities. But a good proportion of people do--there's a whole industry for fragrance-free products. I just noticed the eye Institute to where I go now has something from Purell called healthy soap, and it has no fragrance. Only once before did I encounter a fragrance-free hand soap in a public restroom, although the fragrances used lately have been a little less persistent and the ones that smell like almond I don't mind as it's a food smell I like but it washes completely off the hands. When the air cabin refreshener was first put in it was not a mild smell, it was quite strong and smelled like cedar coming out of the air conditioning.
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