Although it’s not as worrisome as a knocking noise under the hood, when the inside of your Honda Accord starts to smell like gas and burned rubber, it’s probably time to swap out your Honda Accords cabin air filter.
What’s the best cabin air filter for a Honda Accord?
An OEM Honda Accord cabin filter costs about $15 to $20 from HondaPartsNow. Another option is an aftermarket air filter from AutoZone, but the prices are about the same.
How and When to Replace Your Cabin Air Filter
Your owner’s manual will tell you to replace your cabin filter every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. You could also replace it any time prior to this if the air in your car starts to smell unpleasant.
As for replacing it, you don’t even need to pop the hood of your car.
- Open your glove box and empty it.
- Pop the arm on the side of the glovebox by pressing it forward with your thumb.
- Release the clamps on the side of the box by pressing them in. Now the glove box will drop right down.
- You’ll find a plastic cover with two tabs on the sides. Press those in, and there’ll be a box you can pull right out. That’s what’s holding your filter in place.
- Swap that dusty old filter out with a new one and put everything back together.
This is such a simple job that there’s really no reason to let your mechanic handle it.
Can You Clean the Cabin Air Filter, Instead?
You could take your old cabin air filter out, spray it down with a hose, and then pop it back in. But all that dirt and grime still will have torn away at the fibers of the air filter.
So by the time it’s dirty enough to replace, it’s probably too worn and soiled to be of much use. Not to mention, if you trap any moisture in the filter before putting it back in, that’s likely going to cause mildew.
If you intend to clean your air filter instead of replacing it, you may as well not put one in at all. This is fine and won’t hurt your car, but an evergreen-scented air freshener will not be enough to mask the road odor.
