Having a cabin air filter replaced by a mechanic can cost more than $100, but you can do it yourself in less than an hour. A fresh cabin air filter can cut down on allergens inside the passenger compartment and allow you to enjoy fresher-smelling air and get better performance out of your vents.
Open the glove compartment and take everything out.
Squeeze the two plastic clips on the left and right inside walls of the glove compartment to loosen the glove compartment interior from the larger dash assembly. Pull the glove compartment interior forward. It is mounted to the underside of the dash with hinged arms, so you can just pull it forward a few inches and push it down out of your way.
Look at the left side of the glove compartment cavity--the largest plastic component is the evaporator, and it has a long, narrow removable panel in the middle. Push down on the panel's lever to loosen it from the evaporator, slide it above the metal bar blocking the bottom of it and set it aside.
Remove the old cabin air filter from the evaporator; it is the filter sitting at the bottom of the opening in the evaporator, and it should slide right out.
Slide the new cabin air filter into place. Make sure that the arrow on the filter and the arrow on the evaporator, which indicate the direction of air flow, are pointing in the same direction.
Replace the hatch on the evaporator and push the glove compartment interior back in place until you hear it click.
Replace the contents of the glove box and close the glove box door.
