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Brought my car into the dealer's service department for an oil change. In looking at the write-up of this service, one of the things that was noted was that the cabin air filter needs to be replaced in the very near future. When I got home, I pulled out the invoice from the last time that the car was serviced there...and sure enough, just as I thought, the cabin air filter was supposedly replaced in July. So---eleven weeks and less than 5,000 miles later, can it really be that it needs replacing?
I called my "service advisor" about it. He said that he has heard of them needing to be replaced every 6 months. When I asked how it could possibly be that it was at "code yellow" for needing replacing, he said that maybe the technician had made a mistake!
I could bring it in and have them look at it with my there (I'm no expert, but I've been shown a dirty filter), but I think I will just bring it in to a regular, nondealer service shop and get their opinion.
Anyone have any similar experiences? I've completely lost faith in the dealer's service shop (but will have to go there for warranty work).
Cabin air filters are usually in a "box" behind the glove box. Open the door and see what your filter looks like. On a difficulty scale of 1-10. this is a .2
Honda/Acuras are very easy to change. Its behind the glove box and takes about a min. to install. I use K&N air filters on my cars and its funny when you take them in for an oil change and they say you need to replace your air filter. I just laugh at them and say "have you not ever seen a reusable air filter before?"
IMO unless you have allergies or live in an extremely dusty or dirty area, I would not replace it as often as the dealer recommends. We never replaced it in our Explorer, and I've only replaced it once in my Pontiac Vibe, right after I bought it used with 36,000 miles on it. It was dirty as the prior owner lived in the country and it sucked up leaves and stuff apparently. It has 66K on it now, and last time I looked, it was still pretty clean. It is a real money maker for the shops as the filters are pretty cheap compared to what they charge. I found mine on ebay for $6 each, vs $16 at Autozone, and probably $25 at the dealer.
FWIW, I would look into replacing it yourself, if it is easily accessible. Look in the owners manual to see if it shows how. It may be as simple as dropping the glove box and opening up a flap in the AC housing behind the dash. It is literally a 2 min job in our Vibes.
Exactly as others have said - change it yourself and I am reasonably sure if it was replaced last time you won't need to change it. Dealers - It is quite possible if you put a new one in and drive there tomorrow for something else they are going to ask you about this again saying this needs to be replaced I think cabin filter is biggest scam of all in the sense it takes about 2 minutes to replace and they want something like $80 for this while you can buy one for $10 and the funny thing is sometimes they will advertise that you get $30 off for cabin filter replacement Engine air filter is even easier.
The dealer is full of crap. Your filter on the other hand is probably not full of crap (yet).
Recommending that you change it is just a way for them to make $50 in profit. Change it yourself in two years for $15.
Note for comment about about Hondas. Not all Hondas are super easy. Our 2006 Pilot had to have a plastic brace cut out that is in the way. Once that was removed it was easy. Still no reason to pay a dealer to do it.
For the OP - this is a clue about the integrity of your dealer's service department. More than likely they will soon recommend a transmission flush for $125. Honda does not require nor recommend that. Go by the maintenance minder on the dash and the owners manual, not what your dealer says.
I believe the recommended interval for my Volkswagen is every 30k miles.
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I think cabin filter is biggest scam of all in the sense it takes about 2 minutes to replace and they want something like $80 for this while you can buy one for $10 and the funny thing is sometimes they will advertise that you get $30 off for cabin filter replacement 
