This time around on Jill of All Trades, I show you how to change a couple of filters on your vehicle.  One of them, you may not even know exists.

Let’s start with the air filter under the hood.  Obviously, you’re going to need to pop the hood and raise it.  The compartment that holds the air filter will be easy to find, and easy to access.  Mine was square and right near the driver’s side front corner of the engine compartment.

For my vehicle (a Jeep Grand Cherokee), that compartment is tightly fastened by a couple of clips.  They’re a little bit of a challenge to unfasten, but not horrible.  Worse come to worse, you may have to employ the use of a flat-head screwdriver to pry them open. Once they’re unfastened, you should be able to pull the top off the compartment.  It may take a bit of wiggling to get it open. 

The way the hoses are connected, it may be a bit difficult to get the top of the compartment all the way open.  I didn’t need to, though.  I just opened mine enough to slide my hand in and pull the filter out.  I slid the new filter in the same way. 

After that, all I had to do was snap the clips back on.  It can be a little tough, but you should be able to muscle them back on.  If not, the help of a screwdriver to pry them back into place should do it.

Now, let’s talk about the filter that you might not even know exists… the cabin filter.  It is the filter that cleans the air inside the car.  Ideally, it should be changed every year or so.  I never used to change mine.  Now, I know how to do it. 

Like many vehicles, my cabin filter is behind the glovebox, on the passenger’s side of the dashboard. To access it, I have to open the glovebox and remove the door to it.  I do that by first releasing the dampener cord.  That is a little cord that is spring-loaded.  It keeps the glovebox door from dropping open too fast. The end of it has a little peg that fits into a slot.  Release it slowly so that it doesn’t spring back into the dash where you can’t access it again.

Next, release the glove box by squeezing in the sides, in the back.  You’ll see that it is being held in by two tabs.  You’ll have to flex the sides of the glovebox enough, so that those tabs come out of their slots.  Once those are free, the glovebox will drop down.  You may have to wiggle it a bit to get it off the hinge at the bottom.

Now, you’re ready to replace the cabin filter.  It will be at the top of the space that the glove box fits into.  It should come out easily and the new one should slide in easily, as well.  Make sure you pay attention to which edge should be in the front and which side of the filter should be up.  It will all be printed on the filter.

With the new filter installed, the glovebox should go together easily. Start by setting it on the hinge.  It should fit right into place without much effort.  Push it back into the dashboard, so that the tabs re-engage in their slots.  It may take a pretty good push to get them to go into place.  Then, re-attach the dampener cord and close the glovebox door.  You should have everything back together now.

If your car interior smells bad, if you smoke in your vehicle, if you have allergies, if you live somewhere with lots of smog, or if you drive lots of dirt roads, you likely need to change your cabin filter.  It’s a relatively inexpensive and easy fix to reduce smells and make the air inside your vehicle cleaner. 

If your vehicle has the cabin filter in a different place, check your owner’s manual or search online for instructions to find and change yours.