All the usual disclaimers apply . . in short, do this at your own risk, blah blah blah. Also, people have different methods of doing this job, and I have mine.
It's recommended that you replace the cabin microfilter yearly. Accumulated dust and debris can lower your climate control's efficiency. Some people find this somewhat difficult to do, but it's not rocket science. Part of the problem is that you need good pictures to describe the operation, and hopefully this writeup will address this.
I'll start with something no one ever shows- you can actually remove the passenger side air vent grilles! This makes it easier to deal with the screws in the vent. Tilt the vent down, then grab it at the top (left photo), and pull out till you feel it snap. Then tilt it up straight (middle photo), and pull straight back. It'll pop right out, as in the right photo:
Now let's head down to the underside of the glovebox, and remove the two screws as shown here:
Once you get those off, open the glovebox door and remove the six screws as shown below. Close the vent ducts before removing the top screws, so they don't fall in accidentally. The middle set of screws have a cover over them; just pry them off to reveal the fasteners. Pull the glovebox straight out. There are a couple of wires connected to it; just unplug them as needed and set the whole thing on the floor.
Next, you must remove the vent ductwork. Disconnect it off the main duct behind the center console; it just pulls apart. The only thing left holding the duct in place is one plastic rivet. The photo shows me
carefully loosening it with a flatblade screwdriver. The inset photo shows the rivet after disconnecting the duct.
Next thing to get out of the way is this plastic electrical junction box (not sure what it's called). The arrow in the photo shows a locking tab which you must push in the same direction as the arrow, and the whole box will slide right up and off the bracket. Inset photo shows it off and in my hand.
Now look directly behind the center console and you'll see a knob as shown in the photo below. This is the cover for the microfilter. Turn the knob counter-clockwise about a quarter turn, and the cover will come out.
This photo shows the cover removed:
If you could see back there, this is what you'd find:
You can see the filter positioned vertically, and a tab attached to it (arrow in photo above). Grab that tab, push it toward the front of the car, and slide the filter out. If the filter had ever been replaced before, it will bend in two places, because that's the only way it'll go in or out of the slot with all the crap in the way. Photo below shows what I mean.
Here below is a photo of the new filter next to the old . . yuck. You'll see thin break points on the frame, where you can snap the thing into 3 sections, just like the old one.
Now feed the new filter in through the slot, bending at the snap points as needed to get it in. Seat the filter by pushing the tab toward the rear of the car. If you don't do this, the cover will not go on properly and you won't be able to lock it on with the knob.
Putting everything back together is simply the reverse of removal. Don't forget any wire harnesses you may have disconnected off the glovebox. Changing this filter will loosen dirt and other crap that was in there, so stand back when you turn the blower on for the first time . . stuff will fly out of the vents! Now take a long drive and enjoy the fresh air
