How to Change the Cabin Air Filter in a Toyota

Many automobile makers are putting cabin air filters in later models of their cars and trucks. A cabin air filter removes dust and other debris, such as pollen, from air passing through the vents. Toyota has made changing the cabin air filter a fairly quick and painless process.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Open the glove box and remove any papers and other items you might keep stored there. Locate the small screw on the lower right side to which the stop arm of the glove box is attached. Remove the screw.
2. Slip the loop of the arm off the cylinder after the screw is removed. This will free the entire glove box. Squeeze each side of the glove box to allow it to be pulled past the tabs and remove the entire compartment.
3. Locate the cabin air filter housing behind the glove box. Squeeze tabs on the plastic cover toward each other and pull off. Pull the filter frame straight out. Keep the filter face up to prevent any debris caught in the filter from dropping onto the floor or the seat of the vehicle.
4. Take out the old filter from the filter frame and insert the new filter. Make sure the UP arrow is facing up toward you, and that the sides of the filter are slipped under the tabs on either side of the frame.
5. Snap the plastic cover back onto the filter frame. Hook the glove box back onto its hinges. Squeeze the sides again and push the box back into place until the tabs catch behind the dash. Reattach the loop of the stop arm onto the cylinder and replace the screw.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are changing the cabin air filter on a Toyota Highlander, you can remove the loop of the stop arm from the cylinder without removing the screw.
• Make sure your Toyota model and year is equipped with a cabin air filter and that you have purchased the correct replacement filter before going through the work of removing the glove box.
• Replace cabin air filters every 15,000 miles or so. Remove the filter and shake it out often to clean debris between replacements.
• On late-model Toyota Highlanders (2006 and after), the glove box drops out of the way after the stop arm is detached to allow access to the cabin filter frame without removing the entire compartment.