Cabin Air Filter

[acdii]

The filter gets dirty, just like that for the engine so it takes longer to move air through the cabin when it gets dirty. You will know for sure you need to change it when the Evaporator for the AC ices up from lack of air flow! In My Hyundai Veracruz, i know it is time to change it now because the auto damper which blocks out exhaust fumes has stopped working. I just cant find one!!!! I cant find one for the Fusion either, whatsupwidat?

[akirby]

You are very knowledgable about the Fusion. Do you own a Fusion Hybrid? Did you look in your Fusion Hybrid Owner's Manual on pages 310 - 315 of the 1st printing? That is what I got with my vehicle. NO SEPARATE Maintenance Guide!!

 

You will notice that these pages are the same format as the traditional "Ford Maintenance Guide" provided with MOST other Ford vehicles. I am quite familiar with them, as I have owned several Fords in the past.

 

The Ford Fusion Hybrid does not come with a separate "Ford Maintenance Guide" since it's maintenance schedule is, in fact, QUITE DIFFERENT from a standard Ford Fusion.

 

My Scheduled Maintenance Guide, which is found on pages 310 - 315 of the 2010 Fusion Hybrid Owner's Manual (You do have a copy which came with your Hybrid, right?_) you will see that after the first 5000 mile service which is only a tire inspection and rotation, the interval is every 10,000 miles. Nothing in between. NO MENTION OF THE CABIN AIR FILTER. Just an oil change and a bunch of "Inspect level" etc. Change oil, rotate tires, inspect..... until 100,000 where you also change the coolant and plugs. CHECK YOU COPY OF THE HYBRID MANUAL.

 

No need to shout. bbf2530 does not own a FFH but I heard he slept at a Holiday Inn Express once so that might explain it.

 

On all other vehicles there is a separate Maintenance guide with the owner's manual and warranty booklet. It appears that in the case of the FFH they have included it in the owner's manual. This is different than all other Ford vehicles. If you go here you can see that it lists the normal maintenance guide that applies to the non hybrids. This is where it lists the cabin air filter to be changed every 15K miles:

 

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/default.asp

 

But your FFH manual DOES list the cabin air filter - it's on page 315 under Special Operating Conditions and just says to change it as required.

[rpreuss]

No need to shout. bbf2530 does not own a FFH but I heard he slept at a Holiday Inn Express once so that might explain it.

 

On all other vehicles there is a separate Maintenance guide with the owner's manual and warranty booklet. It appears that in the case of the FFH they have included it in the owner's manual. This is different than all other Ford vehicles. If you go here you can see that it lists the normal maintenance guide that applies to the non hybrids. This is where it lists the cabin air filter to be changed every 15K miles:

 

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/default.asp

 

But your FFH manual DOES list the cabin air filter - it's on page 315 under Special Operating Conditions and just says to change it as required.

 

I didn't mean to shout. That was the easy version of using bold.

 

And your last sentence is what I originally said a couple of day ago.

[bbf2530]

You are very knowledgable about the Fusion. Do you own a Fusion Hybrid? Did you look in your Fusion Hybrid Owner's Manual on pages 310 - 315 of the 1st printing? That is what I got with my vehicle. NO SEPARATE Maintenance Guide!!

 

You will notice that these pages are the same format as the traditional "Ford Maintenance Guide" provided with MOST other Ford vehicles. I am quite familiar with them, as I have owned several Fords in the past.

 

The Ford Fusion Hybrid does not come with a separate "Ford Maintenance Guide" since it's maintenance schedule is, in fact, QUITE DIFFERENT from a standard Ford Fusion.

 

My Scheduled Maintenance Guide, which is found on pages 310 - 315 of the 2010 Fusion Hybrid Owner's Manual (You do have a copy which came with your Hybrid, right?_) you will see that after the first 5000 mile service which is only a tire inspection and rotation, the interval is every 10,000 miles. Nothing in between. NO MENTION OF THE CABIN AIR FILTER. Just an oil change and a bunch of "Inspect level" etc. Change oil, rotate tires, inspect..... until 100,000 where you also change the coolant and plugs. CHECK YOU COPY OF THE HYBRID MANUAL.

 

Hi rpreuss. Gee, I commended you for being polite (and humorous) in your last reply and was polite (and tried to be humorous ) in return, not sure why the sudden change. If you wish to win an argument concerning Maintenance Schedule errors, you can consider yourself the winner. However, I am trying to answer the question concerning what is the recommended change interval for the cabin air filter in the Fusion Hybrid. And the fact is that the recommended service change interval for the cabin air filter is still the same for all Fusion and Fusion Hybrid models. That is 15,000 miles for Normal Service, and here is why:

 

I am correctly answering a simple question asked by another forum member. Since it is not mentioned in the Normal Maintenance Schedule for the Hybrid, what would be the alternative? The average vehicle owner does not even check his tires and oil regularly, let alone take apart the glove compartment to check a cabin air filter. Being realistic, most Fusions (any model) will be lucky if their owners even change at 15,000, let alone disassemble the glove compartment monthly (or any other interval) to check the filter.

 

Just as tire rotations remain the same for the Fusion and Fusion Hybrids, 5,000 or 7,500 miles (adjusted to save on maintenance visits to coincide with the halfway point and each oil change for the Hybrid, every oil change for the non-hybrids), so does the cabin air filter change interval of 15,000 miles. Hybrid or not, the tires still have to roll and the occupants of the car still have to breathe

 

It is quite obvious that the Hybrid Normal Maintenance Schedule inadvertently left out the cabin air filter change interval. It happens. However, there is a change interval and it is 15,000 miles. So, if anyone can come up with any verifiable printed information from Ford to the contrary (there is none), please feel free to post a ink and we will all be happy to read it.

 

All discussions about Manuals errors aside, the recommended service interval to change the cabin air filter in all Fusions (hybrid included) is 15,000 miles.

 

In "Severe Duty" and "Dusty Conditions" it is advised that it should be checked more often and changed as necessary (likely much sooner than 15,000 miles), since there are then too may variables to apply a standard "Severe Duty" interval to everybody. In fact, if you look at the regular. non-hybrid Fusion Maintenance Schedule, you will see that it makes the same "Special Operating" and "Dusty Operating" condition recommendations. Check often and change as necessary.

 

So simply put, while it never hurts to check the filter periodically (or frequently), under "Normal Operating Conditions", the recommendation is to change at 15,000 miles max, no matter what.

 

And as anyone should know, ownership does not equal knowledge. An individual can be knowledgeable about a vehicle they do not own. Just as an individual can know nothing about a vehicle they do own. Does a Master Tech/Mechanic own every vehicle he must work on? Of course not, so let's be sensible.

 

The "cabin filter change recommendation" question has been answered, so hopefully we can drop the Owners Manual/Maintenance Schedule subject and move on to helping people.

 

Good luck. :D

Edited February 14, 2010 by bbf2530

[akirby]

I didn't mean to shout. That was the easy version of using bold.

 

And your last sentence is what I originally said a couple of day ago.

 

What bbf2530 was trying to say is that it would be the same as the REGULAR Fusion and then he gave you the link where you can download and read the REGULAR Fusion maintenance guide. He was trying to solve the problem for FFH owners and show them where to get the information that was missing from the owner's manual. Why the hostility?

[dogo88]

Hi Dan. :D You are welcome.

 

Let us know how you make out.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

 

Well I took a look at it yesterday. The pdf looks real easy, but the first statement of removing glove box door looks not at all simple. There is a retraction cable and it's housing bolted in front of the access door that the picture doesn't show. Plus opening up the glove box looks to require you to bend the rubber bumpers on each side to get past the stops. I guess a heavy hand could break them. I do have some time before the recommend replacement time since I have 8600 miles on it.

 

Dan

[deo1929]

Speaking of the glove box...has anyone figured out what the opening that goes to nowhere on the lower right side of the glovebox opening is for on the 2010 Fusion? Even the salesperson didn't know and couldn't figure it out. I'm just curious.

 

Also, if you park anywhere dry leaves or pine needles, etc. fall on the cowl, check your cabin air filter every 60 days or so. I had a filter plug up with dried leaf fragments because of where the car was parked in that time. FYI.

Edited February 22, 2010 by deo1929

[fsb99]

Speaking of the glove box...has anyone figured out what the opening that goes to nowhere on the lower right side of the glovebox opening is for on the 2010 Fusion? Even the salesperson didn't know and couldn't figure it out. I'm just curious.

 

Also, if you park anywhere dry leaves or pine needles, etc. fall on the cowl, check your cabin air filter every 60 days or so. I had a filter plug up with dried leaf fragments because of where the car was parked in that time. FYI.

 

Are you asking about the vertical slot on the right? That's supposed to hold cd jewel cases, I think.

[lrymal]

Speaking of the glove box...has anyone figured out what the opening that goes to nowhere on the lower right side of the glovebox opening is for on the 2010 Fusion? Even the salesperson didn't know and couldn't figure it out. I'm just curious.

Definitely for storing CDs. If you use the envelopes rather than jewel cases, you can store quite a few there. Works great.

[Chevy Guy]

I changed the cabin air filter in my 2010 SEL today. Accessing the filter housing wasn't too bad - exactly like the picture a few posts back. The problem started when I tried to get the old filter out with that bleepin' glove box door damper in the way. It certainly looks like it was installed AFTER the filter. I determined that it would be impossible to remove the old filter with tearing it up, not such a big deal but putting the new one would be equally destructive, and that would be counter-productive. I ended up removing the damper - a lesson in patience since it is bolted in from the back side - and then the filter change took 10 seconds. The old filter was pretty dirty (12K km) and needed changing. I would classify it a novice job if it were not for the requirement to remove the damper. Still not a hard job with the damper, but it definitely requires the patience of Job (and a 7mm wrench).

[lolder]

I changed the cabin air filter in my 2010 SEL today. Accessing the filter housing wasn't too bad - exactly like the picture a few posts back. The problem started when I tried to get the old filter out with that bleepin' glove box door damper in the way. It certainly looks like it was installed AFTER the filter. I determined that it would be impossible to remove the old filter with tearing it up, not such a big deal but putting the new one would be equally destructive, and that would be counter-productive. I ended up removing the damper - a lesson in patience since it is bolted in from the back side - and then the filter change took 10 seconds. The old filter was pretty dirty (12K km) and needed changing. I would classify it a novice job if it were not for the requirement to remove the damper. Still not a hard job with the damper, but it definitely requires the patience of Job (and a 7mm wrench).

You don't need to remove the damper. You can slide the filter out with a little downward pressure to squeeze it under the damper. Mine was dirty and vacuumed quite clean and I re-installed it the same way. My car was made in May '09.

Edited July 24, 2011 by lolder

[drolds1]

You don't need to remove the damper. You can slide the filter out with a little downward pressure to squeeze it under the damper. Mine was dirty and vacuumed quite clean and I re-installed it the same way. My car was made in May '09.

 

Exactly. All you need to do is bend the paper flap over to remove the filter and reverse the procedure to install the new one. The old one was not torn up on the way out and putting in the new one was not destructive at all. In fact, it went in easier than the old one came out. This isn't the most user friendly design on the planet but it's certainly doable with a little patience. Since a cabin filter was apparently an afterthought in these cars, it's a bit of a pain to get to.

Edited July 24, 2011 by drolds1

[dennisw]

 

There is no need to remove the damper to change the filter, and this filter is much easier to change than most vehicles with such filters. You don’t remove the glove box door; it is just lowered after moving the movable tabs inward and lowered. The tether is a little more troublesome but it can be done by anyone that can reach the glove box door. The filter just requires a slight bend downward on one end to clear the damper and this does not break the filter in anyway just bend it and slide it out, the filter is made without hard edging just so it can be bent without breaking.

 

Installing the old or new filter is easier yet, just start by placing it in the opening make sure it is positioned with the side tabs as shown in this diagram.

 

A plugged filter can cause more damage than just restricting air flow. If the air flow is restricted it causes the blower motors operating temperature to rise and can and does cause blower motor failure due to extreme operating conditions. So take it as you wish if you don't change the cabin air filter you are destined to have a failed blower motor. I have changed many blower motors due to this condition so take it from someone who knows. A restriction in this area can and will cause HVAC failure also. Air conditioning is dependent on air flow and without air flow you will have problems.

 

And do not remove the filter it does more than just trap particles that you will breathe. It serves two functions it also keeps the evaporative coil from becoming clogged. You will be out much more cash if you run without the filter or with a damaged filter that allows air to bypass the filter.

 

Check it once a year and you should be fine even in the dustiest conditions. Just make sure you check at least once a year and change as required. For those that don't maintain their vehicles, buy a BIKE, you don't deserve a car. And I get tired of people blaming the manufacturer for their own ignorance.

Edited July 24, 2011 by dennisw

[lolder]

I cleaned the filter again today at 28,000 miles for the second time. When you pull the filter out and the right side hits the damper, push down while pulling and use a small screwdriver to bend the tab over towards the center. Once you get the tab folded and under the damper, the filter pulls out easily. I didn't disconnect the damper cord, only squeezed the door stops inward to lower the door a little more. Just avoid the cord when working there. It's easier done than said ! I used a narrow vacuum upholstery nozzle to clean into the depths of each fold to remove lint and dirt. The filter paper appears to have a mottled gray texture so it doesn't clean to white ( unless that is dirt but it looks too uniformly shaded.) Time was 5 minutes in and out and 15 minutes to vacuum.

Edited July 24, 2011 by lolder

[Chevy Guy]

I can't imagine that my car is any different from yours, but I could not see any way to remove / replace that filter without significantly deforming it to clear the damper. Even with the damper removed, it still got caught up in the bracket (I was able to bend the paper enough clear the bracket). Maybe next time I need to change it (next year?), I'll give it the old college try to get it out and back in without tearing it to pieces.

 

Either way, it's done.

 

Cheers!

[Chevy Guy]

I cleaned the filter again today at 28,000 miles for the second time. When you pull the filter out and the right side hits the damper, push down while pulling and use a small screwdriver to bend the tab over towards the center. Once you get the tab folded and under the damper, the filter pulls out easily. I didn't disconnect the damper cord, only squeezed the door stops inward to lower the door a little more. Just avoid the cord when working there. It's easier done than said ! I used a narrow vacuum upholstery nozzle to clean into the depths of each fold to remove lint and dirt. The filter paper appears to have a mottled gray texture so it doesn't clean to white ( unless that is dirt but it looks too uniformly shaded.) Time was 5 minutes in and out and 15 minutes to vacuum.

 

You just vacuum out the filter? It is clearly a disposable filter. If you're just cleaning out the big chunks, your filter is still dirty and air flow is compromised. That "mottled grey texture" is the fine dust and dirt - a new filter is white.

 

I will try your technique to change it without unbolting the damper, though... next time.

 

Thanks.

[dennisw]

A clean filter is bright white not gray. It only takes seconds to remove the filter, it is flexible and easily passes past the damper or anything else that you may feel is in it's way. I can do the whole job start to finish including opening and closing the passenger door in less than two minutes and this is at a normal pace not trying to race. Add three minutes and I can vacuum the passenger foot rest area and be out of there in five minutes easily.