2005 Ac Filter

I changed my AC filter today for the first time since buying my car last year and I figure I've only used the AC off and on for about 4 summer months. I work nights, so it can't be that many hours. I took a picture of the new and the old and what a difference, not including the few moths that fell out when I changed it. I know the thing is expensive and maybe a home-made replacement can be made. Also, I could do it again now in less than two minutes. That filter now has my vote.

 

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It is not an AC filter, it is a cabin air filter. Anytime you run the heat, AC or vent and don't have recirculate on, you are pulling air through that filter. That is why it got so dirty in such a short period of time. You can make your own by cutting up a furnace filter, which is much less expensive and you can get two or three cabin filters out of 1 furnace filter.

The process to change it is pretty easy, provided you have a screwdriver and can follow the somewhat cryptic instructions provided in the owner's manual. I checked mine a couple of months ago and it was barely dirty. My car is 19 months old BTW.

Yes, I know the part number "88568-02020" is referred to as a "cabin filter", but on page 292 of my manual, it calls it an "air conditioning filter".....page 158. Actually on the package itself, it's called "air filter". I don't know why Toyota has so many descriptions of it.Thanks on the advice on the "recirculate" as that explains why mine is so dirty. Now I don't know which is better....recirculating air from everyone in the vehicle and changing the filter more often or breathing in the same old air? I'll definately make sure I have the recirculation on while travelling by myself from now on.

 

Whatever happened to cars with a vent that actually brought fresh air into the vehicle?? My old van had AC aftermarket and I really loved the vents that I could open for fresh air.

I know Toyota calls it so many things, and that is stupid on their part. It is actually a cabin air filter, and obviously it does it's job. BTW, I was not advocating driving around with recirculate on a lot. This isn't good with multiple people in the car, it is ok for one person though.

I don't ever use recirculate unless I need really hot air or really cold AC. Then I cycle it on and off as needed to produce the temperature air I want. My filter isn't dirty because I drive with my windows and sunroof open every chance I get, and when I do that I don't have the climate control on. I think of the 19k on the car right now it has had less than 5k traveled with the heat/AC or vent on.

Wow - looks a lot like my filter I pulled from the Matrix - ran it for about a year and it was pretty nasty when I finially came around to pull it out.

In the 7th gen corollas, how does the outside air get filtered when recirculate isn't turned on since it has no cabin filter?

It doesn't get filtered at all, so you're breathing in any crap you drive through.