Dealers!

Had my '07 Accord which is going off warranty later this month in to the
local dealer this morning for routine maintenance (A-1 level according
to the dash display indicator). After declining all the specially
formulated lotions, potions and additives they "strongly recommend", I
settled into a chair in the customer lounge for the advertised 45
minutes or less.

The service adviser/weasel came in after about 25 minutes, sat down
gently beside me and in a serious voice, asked when was the last time I
changed the cabin air filter. His tone was similar to my doctor
inquiring last week about the date of my last colonoscopy and prostate
exam.

I sheepishly admitted the filter had never been changed and he mentioned
that they were running a springtime special of only $89 to change it. I
said that seemed a lot of money to change a filter and he explained that
it was a special filter in a very difficult location that took a lot of
technician time.

Skeptic that I am, I declined the service. Besides which, the cabin
ventilation is just fine in my car anyway.

While they finished up the car, I went online on my smart phone and
found a YouTube video of a 13 year old kid showing how to change the
Accord filter yourself in less than 5 minutes with no tools.

So on the way home, I picked up a high quality name brand (Purolator)
cabin filter for $11 at the AutoZone and popped it in. Took me about two
minutes.

Dealers!

 

Many dealer techs have larger hands and slower wits than a 13 year old.

 

And it doesn't help one bit that your Owner's Manual (from Honda, not the
dealer) tells you to bring the car in to a dealer for that item to be
replaced.

Honda!

 

News, wrote the following at or about 5/5/2010 1:34 PM:

Then they obviously remove the battery in the Accord in order to replace
the lower beam headlamp<g>

 

Doesn't everyone (who works on the clock)?

 

News, wrote the following at or about 5/5/2010 2:06 PM:

Ah, read back on my thread on changing out the low beam on the 2006
Accord. Big mitts (and sharp OR dull mind) don't mesh well with Honda's
instructions. Battery removal is the only way to go in IMHO.<g>

 

'04 is no easier.....

 

yeah, well, not too long ago it WAS a difficult procedure. Over $100,
and is a big pain in the ass in my Odyssey (similar for the same gen
Accord).

I bought a Purolator filter for $20 and, next time I was in for
something, threw it at my tech with a twenty for his trouble. Problem
solved.

 

And it doesn't help one bit that your Owner's Manual (from Honda, not the
dealer) tells you to bring the car in to a dealer for that item to be
replaced.[/QUOTE]

Whereas the Prius owner's manual tells you exactly how to do it
yourself--and it's correct.

Not only is it correct, the Prius design makes my 02 Odyssey design look
like it was developed by blind monkeys.

Honda!

 

Whereas the Prius owner's manual tells you exactly how to do it
yourself--and it's correct.

Not only is it correct, the Prius design makes my 02 Odyssey design
look like it was developed by blind monkeys.

Honda!
[/QUOTE]


It works both ways. Honda's shop manuals are wonderfully detailed compared
to Toyota's. Toyota has a tendency to leave you to fumble through a lot of
things, providing almost no information other than sort-of where a system
or part is located.

 

I just replaced the cabin filter in my Sisters RAV4. The job is easy.
The filter even had instructions in the box. Her filter was obviously
dirty. BUT....are these filters really worth a damn? I had one in my
Frontier, yet the inside of the cabin was alway coated with dust.
Everytime I drove through a particular swampy area during the spring
my eyes would water like heck (pollen allergy). I can't see where the
filters did anything except collect small items that never caused me
any problem in the past. Seem like another wonderful Japanese
innovation that is bogus - sounds good in practice, worhtless in
reality. More crap that sounds good in the ads, but just ends up
costing you money without any pay back. I had to laugh about the
Frontier. A neighbor had a newer model and asked me to help him
replace the filters (the dealer wanted a fortune to do it, like in the
original post). His truck was like mine EXCEPT it came form the
factory without the filters installed. It had the compartment and the
filters fit fine, so we installed them. He had the base model while I
had teh SE. I guess only suckers have to pay for the filters. My
Fusion doesn't have a cabin filter, but it has no more dust inside the
cabin than my Sister's RAV4 and a heck of a lot less than my old
Frontier. I really don't see why I'd want one, except I guess it
sounds good. Probably all new cars will have to have them....more
profit for dealers and/or Purolater I guess. I'd love to run a blind
test with anyone who thinks they are useful.

Ed

 

cabin filters are /extremely/ useful - they stop the crud accumulation
in the evaporator that breeds "air conditioner stink".

 

jim beam, wrote the following at or about 5/6/2010 9:43 AM:

While obviously not 100% or anything near it, I think that pulling one
of the cabin filters after ~15K - 20K miles should tell even a blind man
that they are somewhat effective. If they weren't in there the crap
you're looking at on the used filter would be in the passenger
compartment or your lungs. If you're blind, just lick it instead<g>

 

Don't they know it too.

I called the local Honda dealer's parts desk for a price on the cabin
filters for the '06 CRV (also requires no tools and about 5 minutes to
change). They quoted $69 EACH for the two filter elements. Thinking they
were somehow giving me the price of something else, I called another dealer:
$73 EACH!. Looked at Majestic Honda website: $7.70 each.

So much of this business is based on customer ignorance that its just scary.

 

How's this for a rip....
I got an email from my Honda dealer offering a great deal on checking my
battery for only $20.
Normally a $30 service.
They claim a properly operating battery is crucial to the electrical system
of my vehicle.
Maybe they'll top up my head lamp fluid while they are at it.

 

Some people will pay it.

It's hilarious to watch idiots spout the line, "If you can't afford the
service, then you can't afford the car." They use that line to justify
their wasting $150 at the Lexus dealer for the same oil change that the
Toyota dealer across the street does for $30 on the same engine.

Some people think that their public exhibition of spending somehow
validates their existence and puts them on a higher plane. Yeah, right.

Anyway, those filters are about $20 total aftermarket.

 

And overpriced at that, no doubt. Just bought/installed another Fram
(with the Arm & Hammer treatment) for the Odyssey for $17 at the local
Farm & Fleet store. Last Fall, the one I bought for the Accord was $20<g>

 

Then there's the issue of aftermarket vs. OEM stuff. The Purolator cabin
filter I bought appeared identical to the OEM one I replaced. I guess it
may not have filtered as well but it's just cabin air-- nothing going
into the engine.

I also picked up a Fram engine air filter. When I removed the factory
filter from the car, it was about twice as thick and had a very
different type of construction than the Fram-- though the outer
dimensions werte the same so the Fram would have dropped-in fine.

I decided not to use the Fram ($13.67) however and bought an OEM from
the local Honda dealer paying over twice as much. I figured saving $15
on the Fram probably wasn't smart money.

 

Did Honda include a cabin air filter on the 1995 Accords? I have never
seen it, but have also never looked for it.