Do cabin filters actually get changed?

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NotAnInterestingName
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Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by NotAnInterestingName »

I know how much of a pain it is to change the pollen/cabin filter on many Peugeot/Citroen/DS cars and vans, due to the way you have to post it in two halves through a tiny slot that's jammed behind the steering column.

Just done mine today - bought car recently, 6 years old, 67k miles, main dealer service history until 46k. This is the filter I removed...
IMG_20220601_104114.jpg
This was in addition to the many bits that fell into the footwell as I removed it. I suppose it could be legitimately 3 years if it wasn't due on the last service. I don't have any invoices, just the stamps in the book so I don't know what they charged for. Its service last year was just an oil and oil filter change at an indie garage. I'll have everything that's due done in the autumn, including the engine air filter that I'll leave for now.

I'm seriously wondering if it's the original one though - do they really get changed?!

Yuck. This is what you're breathing through.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by Armidillo »

I can see it has some leaves etc. in it, but I've changed worse! I agree - seems real service centers don't change them - only we home tinkerers...
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by NotAnInterestingName »

You can't really see that well on the photos, but some of the pleats are full to the brim, presumably in the area where the air comes into the box. Lots showered out too, I tried to hoover out the box but couldn't manoeuvre the nozzle fully in. Will have to make a flexi nozzle next time, the new one was really tight to get the second section in, so it's likely that it's sitting on some rubbish in the bottom, hopefully this won't find its way into the system.

Whoever designed this housing should have been sent back to the drawing board. Perhaps it's less ridiculous on LHD cars where there's no steering column. I really don't see the need for having it in two sections, surely they could have made the slot twice as tall. The new filter had just enough strength to push in without buckling, but it was a bit tricky at times.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by Steve Walsh »

Always do My C5X7 and the Wifes C4 at least once a year and always pull it out and check when servicing
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Quite easy to do on the X7.

They will change these depending on which scheduled service is being undertaken. In the case of your DS5, it is every 40k miles or 2 years.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by DeuxChevaux »

I think you said it with 'main dealer'. Much of what they do is visual inspection, and they can 'inspect' the brakes without removing the wheels. DS gave my wife a service for free as a sorry for some bad advice. Done at our nearest main dealer which is over 30 miles away although they did give me a new C4 1.2 Eat8 couresy car (very impressed with it). We got a nice video of a walk round from under the car. When I got the car back I had the wheels off and checked the brakes, all were binding. So stripped them down, cleaned all the sliding parts and put back together and all was well. No invoice so no idea what was replaced but I am pretty sure the pollen filter and air filter were not and I'm not really sure about oil and filter either. Due to Covid the car had done less than 2000 miles since the year before and the oil was cleanish anyway so I couldn't be sure.
Another main dealer in Newcastle serviced my fathers car over several years and I had it at 80,000 miles. I did a service and found the air filter very clogged. Checked all the service invoices and found over the years he had never been billed for an air filter!
I would much rather go for a local independant brand speciallist that does the job properly, actually inspects things to see if change is needed and relies on their reputation.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by NotAnInterestingName »

I'm going to return to what I did in the past, which is to pay a garage for doing anything oily and do the air and pollen filters myself. The main reason not being to save a few quid but just so I know it's been done and done carefully.

From the intervals then it would have got a new filter two years ago, when it was its fourth birthday. I can't say for sure, but this looks like more than two years / 20k miles worth of muck. More like 4 years or even the 6 since the car was built.

I've previously taken one out of the Berlingo (same filter/housing) that had been stuffed in carelessly so it buckled, with the result that it had a gap where the air could go straight past it. Not good for the air con system.

Will definitely find a way of hoovering out the bottom of the box the next time, if the slot was full height you could just scrape it out but the bonkers design means that's not possible. This design of filter housing needs a lot of care, the curve required to get around the obstructions is just at the limit of what the filter can take before it folds up.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

On the DS5, I believe there are a pair of 2 filters and these are on the right hand side of the car (UK Driver's side), where on the X7 they are on the passenger side and there is only one large one.

@DeuxChevaux: Yes a dealer will only do what is required at the specific scheduled service and newer cars don't have everything changed at each service. - so the diesel fuel filter is only changed at a particular service interval / time frame, as is the pollen and air filters. Brake fluid is usually every 2 years.

Of course you can do anything you want at anytime, but for newer cars and those under extended warranty, the specific servicing operations at the specified intervals have to be done to validate any warranty - whether that is with a dealer or elsewhere. If going independent, then you must be able to show evidence of the service and that the specific items have been completed as per the manufacturer's schedule.

So yes, I was really referring to those who want to know what the official main servicing items are and when they need doing.

There are of course some bad apples in the barrel, like there are everywhere. It's a matter of getting a dealer you trust and sticking with them in many cases or to a trusted independent of course.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by Dormouse »

When we bought our 3008 from a main Peugeot dealer it had a fully stamped service book for it's 5 years/ 50 odd k it had on the clock - it had a pollen cabin filter just like yours. I bought a Suzuki SX4 with a full service history (mostly and lastly by local Suzuki agents) and its cabin filter was a similar disgrace despite needing less than 5 minutes to change without gymnastics abilities.
I fully serviced both cars the minute I bought them. Never, ever rely on service book stamps - get the invoices. You would be amazed (shocked) by what constitutes a "Service" legally.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by aspire_helen »

Oil filters, engine air filters, fuel filters, cabin filters...... I dont understand why owners dont do all of them themselves (beyond the warranty period). Its not rocket science. They are easy. Why would you pay someone else to do them?
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I think many of us do, but some can be difficult - as fuel filter replacement often means priming the fuel system and cabin filters can be very awkward to access for some. But I think the original question was do they ever get changed at routine service, and I mentioned that it depends on which (official scheduled) service is being undertaken as to whether they are changed or not. Once you know the schedule, you can decide if you want to replace it before the recommended change.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by NotAnInterestingName »

aspire_helen wrote: 04 Jun 2022, 23:11 They are easy. Why would you pay someone else to do them?
Have you changed the cabin filter on a Berlingo/DS5/C4 etc? They're utterly stupid to do. You have to pretty much stand on your head in the footwell while threading the thing in two halves through a gap that doesn't exist!

My point is that they're so annoying to do that I suspect that garages just aren't doing them. Also they know that it's almost impossible for the average consumer to check whether they have.

Ironically, the fact that it's difficult is the reason why I'm going to do it myself - just so I know that it actually gets done.

I've changed a diesel filter before. The biggest problem I had was the pint of dirty diesel and water I was left with from the filter housing. I took it to the council tip, they told me it wasn't "oil" so they didn't want it. In the end I put it in a strong pop bottle in the wheely bin. Not a good solution, but I didn't have an alternative and it may have ended up bursting in the truck, I don't know. I suspect that lots of these problem fluids end up getting lobbed down the drain and contaminating the environment when DIYing.
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by MattBLancs »

Not a criticism, more a tip for a future occasion: diesel is a pretty good degreaser, save (and label so you know what's in the mystery pop bottle of murky liquid!) It for future use, old rag and or old toothbrushes = excellent for loosening grease and grime. Waste not, want not!

Note: keep it off your skin, like most harsh chemicals. And it does leave a bit of a residue, so it's no substitute for say brake cleaner where nothing left behind is paramount.

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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by myglaren »

Small quantities can be dumped on waste ground where it won't kill off vegetation, bacteria will take care of it in a while.
I had some intransigent thorn bushes. Covered them in old diesel and set fire to them, job done :)
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Re: Do cabin filters actually get changed?

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

When I change the fuel filter it will be during a service, so any diesel will end up in the waste oil container. Then I can take it down to the council tip and get rid of it.
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