Cabin Air Filter on my 2008 Mazda 3 (Same instructions for 2004 - 2009)

[Jbirk]

I removed the battery box cover:


I removed the Negative Battery Terminal:


I removed the side trim panel, and the trim over the glove box screws, and the glove box, and a panel under the fuse box:
Here is a wiring harness for the fuse panel & the reason I disconnected the battery terminal.


Bracket and Carpet removed to make room:


Here are the filter elements and all the leaves that got in there!:



This took me about 1.5 hours because I was VERY careful especially when handling the fuse box considering about 40+ circuits go through there and if I have ANY problems fixing it will be ... Should ANYTHING go wrong with a wiring harness like that, I would think it would be time to buy a new car.


Suffice it to say 1) Some Japanese Engineer thought it was a funny joke to put the cabin air filters where they are in this car, and 2) there is a reason Mazda Dealer's charge around $139 to change the cabin air filter... I saved about $100 and everything works perfect.


Best of all, I no longer hear leaves blowing around and stuff rustling inside the dash when I turn on the AC not to mention I have increased airflow through all the vents!

[Detailing by M]

Re: Cabin Air Filter on my 2008 Mazda 3 (Same instructions for 2004 - 2009)

yea that's not very accessible.
good job though.

[mswerb]

Re: Cabin Air Filter on my 2008 Mazda 3 (Same instructions for 2004 - 2009)

This is why I am glad my wife traded her Mazda in. She had a CX-7 that I hated from day 1. To change the headlamps you have to remove the inner fender and remove about 8 clips on each side. I almost had to take the wheels off to do it.

[Jbirk]

Re: Cabin Air Filter on my 2008 Mazda 3 (Same instructions for 2004 - 2009)

The headlams were hard to do. I upgraded mine to the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra