Cabin Air Filter

[mugen1]

Honda wants anywhere from $50 to $60 for an in cabin air filter up here in Canada. That's a little steep for me. Anyway, I posted a couple of questions on this board hoping for a little help. No luck. Not a single response. I know I'm not the most popular guy on this board, so I was not surprised by the lack of responses (zero). I decided to delete the post. I asked if the Ridgeline filter was unique or was it one that was shared with other models of Hondas and Acuras. As it turns out, it is. It's common with about a dozen or so other Honda / Acura models. I also asked if I could find a filter that was bigger so I could cut it to fit the Ridgeline, because I have a source that can sell me aftermarket stuff for cost.

According to other auto related boards, people have used filters from all kinds of other sources. Charcoal activated filters from home furnace? Seems like a neat idea.

One person said, "Save money and clean the filter by washing it......"

I found a couple of sources on eBay. One retailer had a filter for an Acura TL for 13 bucks and $5 shipping! $10 bucks shipping to Canada. The part number is the same.

Then I thought, why not try phoning around locally for cabin filters for the other models (2004-2005 Acura TL, MDX, RL, TSX, Accord, Accord Hybrid, Civic Hybrid, Odyssey, etc.)? Sure enough, plenty of places had aftermarket filters. 30 - 35 bucks range.... still cheaper than 50 - 60 bucks. I then found a place that had an in cabin air filter for 19.95 Canadian. The filter, btw, is made by Micronaire. That's like 1/3 the cost of a Honda one.

Before I give out any more info, I will order a couple of these filters. If it fits and I get it for the quoted price, I will let you guys know. It takes 3 to 4 days for the distributor to get these things.

Same place I got the American International Kit for under 20 bucks Canadian. See, things are as cheap here in Canada if you look hard enough. Did I mention I got me a Magnaflow exhaust system for just a hair over 400 bucks Canadian? It pays to shop.

[Honda5forus]

Mugen1,
Saw your post yesterday, I thought my 2005 Accord was supposed to have the same filter size as the Ridgeline but I couldn't find the thread I had read that in to verify. Having never replaced one myself I will certainly be interested in what you find for a source locally. I have only about 8000km on the Ridge but many of them have been on some extremely dusty dry roads in the south western corner of Alberta. (less then 1 cm of rain since early July)
Speaking of dust, thanks for explaining with the picture what the cab vent looks like in a previous posting. Made it easier to understand how a little negative pressure could bring dust in through it.
-Honda5forus

[mugen1]

Sent you pm on the $19.95 deal, but I just found one for $9.95 US, plus $4.95 shipping to Canada. It's a WIX.


Edit: If any other Canadians want to know more about where to order these filters, please pm me. I do not want to cause trouble with the commercial sponsors of this board - even though they do not ship to Canada.

[Andy-Montreal]

Originally Posted by mugen1

Honda wants anywhere from $50 to $60 for an in cabin air filter up here in Canada. That's a little steep for me. Anyway, I posted a couple of questions on this board hoping for a little help. No luck. Not a single response. I know I'm not the most popular guy on this board, so I was not surprised by the lack of responses (zero).


Did I mention I got me a Magnaflow exhaust system for just a hair over 400 bucks Canadian? It pays to shop.

Mugen....buddy....fellow Canadian & patriot....you didn't leave your post up long enough so that someone could respond to it! Had I seen it, I would have definitely responded. You know that!.....SORRY man!!

This subject was previously discussed in-depth on this thread: Clean or replace your own cabin filter, improve air flow & save a bundle

I already got conned into paying the big bucks for mine at my dealer and I'm IN the HVAC business! As far as washing/cleaning the filter, I don't recommend washing it as the result will be a "smelly sock" pungent odour. Blowing the filter out will not renew it's efficiency and will defeat the purpose of having a filter in the first place.

I can vouch that fan performance as well as cooling/heating output will be enhanced greatly once this filter is replaced.

[ssg]

Mugen1, that's a pretty decent deal. I think I got mine on rockauto.com. Now it has WIX listed as cross referencing for the RL, but in the past there was a Micronaire / Corteco filter that was on the site that fit just fine.

The filter was still a Filtech, which IIRC was the same as OEM. The filter model did transplant to a few other models, I believe one was the 2003 Accord.

WIX Part # 24815 $14.02
ATP Part # HA6 $16.38

I believe it cross references to:
Honda # 80292SDAA01

edit:
It is used in these vehicles:
Acura TL, Honda Accord, Odyssey, Ridgeline (03-07)


Sorry I didn't see your post sooner, I don't visit here much anymore but good luck with your quest. It's ordering time for me again soon, so I'd be interested if the 10$ filters pan out (if they're a quality filter).

I believe of all the above I'd probably go with the Wix if not the OE. They use some type of bioshield now to reduce mold which I'd assume is a good thing.

[mugen1]

The two cabin air filters I ordered a couple of days ago, arrived today at my local Canadian Tire. I took one and I returned the other. I found out that NAPA has the WIX filters for 21 dollars Canadian. The local NAPA store had a few in stock, so I picked one up. Comparing the two of them, they are pretty much identical - same number of pleats and the thickness of the material was the same. One is whiter than the other. The NAPA filter comes in a cardboard box with NAPA Gold plastered on it. The inside flap has the WIX logo on it and the part number is 4815.

The filter from Canadian Tire ($19.95) is a Micron Aire product. Part Number HN03104P. Canadian Tire part Number 23-3833-6.

Believe it or not, even though the NAPA box has the WIX logo (Gastonia, NC ISO 9001 - 2000 Certified), the filter itself has "Made in Poland" stamped on it. The Micron Air filter has "Made in U. S. A." stamped on it.

As for the cabin filter I found on eBay, here's the link.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Looks like they send filters to Canada quite often and know what they're doing. $17.78 Canadian shipped to your door is not bad at all. This includes brokerage, taxes, and shipping.

[blueridge33]

I am using the WIX purchased from O'Reilly auto parts and compared it to the Honda filter and really couldn't tell the difference - especially I could'nt find the $25 or so worth of difference. The WIX looked to be good construction product.