I could not find a recommendation for a cabin air filter. I went to the dealer, but the greater than $30 price tag sent me looking elsewhere.
This is the filter I purchased Wix 49270 cabin air filter. I hope this helps for anyone searching for this information. This one looks exactly like the original one that I removed. It has a tab on the plastic casing that assures you put it in the correct way. Just looking at the filter, I can't tell a difference in the plastic or number of pleats or anything when compared to the original. In the engine compartment, there are just 4 clips to remove and the top of the air box easily comes off. The filter goes in real easy and snaps right back into place. I cleaned out the box before I put in the new filter.
OK, the reason I changed the filter was because of my recent trip to the dealership for an oil change. It was cheaper than doing it myself.
The dealer uses a bulk drum blend of 0W 20. The service manager and the tech said never to use pure synthetic as it is "rough" on the engine. I can't stand this dealership! At the time of the oil change, they pulled out both my cabin air filter and engine air filter to show me how dirty they were. They also told me my new tires on the front (1000 miles old) were wearing by 1/10 when compared to the rear. I think they wanted me to pay for a rotation? I took the car back to the tire place right after the oil change and they were pretty pissed at the dealer saying the depth difference was insignificant.
I don't believe that just because there is some caked on dirt in spots that the filter is not good anymore. Just because the outside has some dirt does not mean the inside is not working fine. However, based on miles, I knew I had to change it.
After I drove away from the oil change my mileage went from 48 mpg down to 40 mpg (over 300 miles after the oil change). I have no idea what happened. I don't know if it had to do with taking out the filters and putting them back or if they had used the wrong oil? The tech reset the whole computer, not just the oil, so I lost my documentation of the mileage I was tracking for my new defender tires. Nevertheless, they reset my computer to 0 after the oil change, so the mileage on the dash showed about 40 mpg over the 300 miles. I know I was getting 48 mpg before they did the oil change, but I cannot show them as they cleared the computer. My complaint to the dealership was met with nonsensical excuses. "Don't trust the mileage on the dash." "Do you reset your mileage after each fill up?" They wanted to charge me to fill my car up with gas and have them drive it for an hour to check my real mileage. I just asked them to document my issue and I quickly left.
My mileage is slowly increasing. I'm back up to almost 45 mpg after another 300 miles. I did a search on the internet about this phenomena. There are similar complaints that can be found, but no real reason for the drop in mileage. I can tell you that my dipstick showed no overfill. I believe that my old gen 1 had a rolling lifetime average mpg. I'm not sure the gen ii has this same lifetime average. This makes it hard to compare how you are doing now vs a true lifetime mileage.
I have not noticed that putting in the new engine filter has affected the mileage. Mileage is now increasing, but I can't honestly attribute it to the new filter. I think these cars prefer less air anyway. Having driven these Insights since 2000, I have found that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to the mileage of these cars sometimes. The only thing that works consistently for me is pumping up the tires. I am now tracking on "gas tracker" and hope to compare the readings of the dash.
This is the filter I purchased Wix 49270 cabin air filter. I hope this helps for anyone searching for this information. This one looks exactly like the original one that I removed. It has a tab on the plastic casing that assures you put it in the correct way. Just looking at the filter, I can't tell a difference in the plastic or number of pleats or anything when compared to the original. In the engine compartment, there are just 4 clips to remove and the top of the air box easily comes off. The filter goes in real easy and snaps right back into place. I cleaned out the box before I put in the new filter.
OK, the reason I changed the filter was because of my recent trip to the dealership for an oil change. It was cheaper than doing it myself.
The dealer uses a bulk drum blend of 0W 20. The service manager and the tech said never to use pure synthetic as it is "rough" on the engine. I can't stand this dealership! At the time of the oil change, they pulled out both my cabin air filter and engine air filter to show me how dirty they were. They also told me my new tires on the front (1000 miles old) were wearing by 1/10 when compared to the rear. I think they wanted me to pay for a rotation? I took the car back to the tire place right after the oil change and they were pretty pissed at the dealer saying the depth difference was insignificant.
I don't believe that just because there is some caked on dirt in spots that the filter is not good anymore. Just because the outside has some dirt does not mean the inside is not working fine. However, based on miles, I knew I had to change it.
After I drove away from the oil change my mileage went from 48 mpg down to 40 mpg (over 300 miles after the oil change). I have no idea what happened. I don't know if it had to do with taking out the filters and putting them back or if they had used the wrong oil? The tech reset the whole computer, not just the oil, so I lost my documentation of the mileage I was tracking for my new defender tires. Nevertheless, they reset my computer to 0 after the oil change, so the mileage on the dash showed about 40 mpg over the 300 miles. I know I was getting 48 mpg before they did the oil change, but I cannot show them as they cleared the computer. My complaint to the dealership was met with nonsensical excuses. "Don't trust the mileage on the dash." "Do you reset your mileage after each fill up?" They wanted to charge me to fill my car up with gas and have them drive it for an hour to check my real mileage. I just asked them to document my issue and I quickly left.
My mileage is slowly increasing. I'm back up to almost 45 mpg after another 300 miles. I did a search on the internet about this phenomena. There are similar complaints that can be found, but no real reason for the drop in mileage. I can tell you that my dipstick showed no overfill. I believe that my old gen 1 had a rolling lifetime average mpg. I'm not sure the gen ii has this same lifetime average. This makes it hard to compare how you are doing now vs a true lifetime mileage.
I have not noticed that putting in the new engine filter has affected the mileage. Mileage is now increasing, but I can't honestly attribute it to the new filter. I think these cars prefer less air anyway. Having driven these Insights since 2000, I have found that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to the mileage of these cars sometimes. The only thing that works consistently for me is pumping up the tires. I am now tracking on "gas tracker" and hope to compare the readings of the dash.
