Spark plugs replaced, check. Oil and filter changed, check. Air filter, yup. That's pretty much how most people approach their tune-ups. But what about your cabin air -- pollen -- filter? This filter, which Honda recommends should be replaced every 15,000 miles, is concealed behind your glove box in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit. The most notable symptoms of a clogged cabin filter include a persistent musty odor or a noticeable decrease in the AC's performance. Replacing the filter will require some disassembly of the dashboard, but nothing you can't accomplish yourself.
Open the passenger door and slide the passenger seat as far back as possible. Reach under the passenger side of the dashboard and grasp the rear of the dashboard undercover -- the plastic trim panel below the glove box. Pull down on the undercover to release it from the dashboard, then pull it forward to disengage the pins along the front of the undercover. Set the undercover aside.
Look under the glove box and remove the two glove box mounting bolts, using a ratchet and a socket. Open the glove box halfway and push in the sides of the glove box to free the glove box stops. Open the glove box completely and let it hand from its hinges.
Unhook the catches on both sides of the cabin air filter, which appears as a long, semi-rectangular cover on the HVAC unit. Grasp the filter housing and pull it out of the HVAC unit. Remove the filter element from the filter housing.
Place a new filter element into the filter housing, facing the marked edge of the element outward. Slide the filter housing into the HVAC unit and press firmly until the catches lock into place.
Push in the sides of the glove box and close the glove box to seat the glove box catches. Screw the two glove box bolts snugly into place. Push the pins along the front of the undercover into the dashboard, then push the rear of the under into place.
