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Why Should You Change Your Cabin Air Filter?

Your vehicle's cabin air filter is responsible for cleaning the air that comes into your cabin through the vehicle's ventilation system. The filter is designed to trap pollen, dust, pet hair and other pollutants, so you don't breathe in dirty air.

When your cabin air filter gets clogged, it prevents clean air from getting inside the cabin. So not only are you not getting clean, filtered air, but and it also limits the airflow for your heating and air conditioning. That means that even if you have your heat turned to full blast, it's blowing dirty air and will take longer to defrost as the fan is not blowing at full capacity.

If you leave your air filter clogged without replacing it for an extended period of time, this can have a negative impact on your ventilation components.

  • Reduces the chance of air leak
  • Lessen wear and tear on HVAC system
  • Allows you to breath in clean air
  • Keeps interior of your vehicle cleaner

3 Types of Cabin Air Filters


clean vs dirty cabin air filter

Cabin Air Filter - regular pollen filterPollen Filter (P)
This is a standard filter designed to catch pollutants such as pollen, dust and other allergens.

Cabin Air filter - ElectrostaticElectrostatic Filter (EE)
This performs like the pollen filter, but holds a static charge to help capture finer dist particles.

Cabin Air Filter CharcoalCharcoal Filter (C)
This is a premium filter that captures all of the above but also contains a layer of activated charcoal to help absorb unwanted odors.

How Often Should You Change the Cabin Air Filter?

Toyota recommends that you should change your cabin air filter every 1 year, or 20,000KM. It's just like the filter in your furnace! We recommend checking the cabin air filter during every service to make sure that it's not getting too bad, depending on how often you drive you may have to change these more than once a year.