Also some emails have asked me to explain how to replace the cabin air filter. This too is easy. For anyone who is interested, therese are the steps:

(1) purchase a new cabin air filter. You can get this at ipdusa.com. They're about 30 dollars.

(2) remove the old CAF. This is located under the glove box near the footwell light. You can get to the filter by removing the plastic covering under the glove box. This is held in by 2 torx screws. Remove this, and you've reached the CAF.

(3) slide out the old CAF.

(4) slide in the new one. Really, there's nothing more than that.

You'll notice cleaner air almost immediately. It's definetly worth it. I would change the CAF every 5th or 6th oil change.

 

will a dirty one have an effect on the a/c unit?

 

Makes it smell, and if it gets really bad, can be a mold trap.

 

There is one more step to taking out the air filter. You can't just pull it out after removing the trim.

You have to remove the four torx head screws which are holding the cover onto the filter compartment. The compartment is a whitish color and the cover is black. The torx head size for these four screws is same size as the one used to remove the two holding on the trim.