Check your Pollen/Cabin Filter

A

A2Z

A2OC Donor
On Sunday afternoon I checked the Cabin Filter on my fixer upper, (located under the glove box in case someone else doesn't know it's there) to see it's condition although I had been told by the previous owner that the car had recently had a 'full' service, and to my shock and horror the attached photo was what I found! ?

Now I know from past experience that many people seem to forget about the pollen or Cabin Filter on the A2 (along with the fuel filter too) but this has got to be the worst one I have ever seen and it cannot have been changed for many, many years if ever!

It was completely blocked and I believe is the probably the single biggest cause of heater/air conditioning problems on the A2, let alone potentially being seriously bad for your health.

So anyway, I just thought I would share this as a reminder to everyone to change their Cabin Filter every two years like I do regardless of mileage.

Oil and filter every year, all the other filters every other year ?
 

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While the cabin filter is out an ideal chance to check the blower motor. Check it spins, is not damp or got debris in the blades. Difficult to get a good view using a torch or preferably an endoscope, but at least if you spot something obvious you know you will have to drop the blower motor out to repair it before it fails.
 
The term "full service" is meaningless. Only valid when followed by "... to manufacturers spec ..."
or something similar, such as "... oil, all filters ..."
Ideally, tell the mechanic exactly what you want done, and check the invoice, to be sure that is what has been done.
Mac.
 
PlasticMac said:
The term "full service" is meaningless. Only valid when followed by "... to manufacturers spec ..."
or something similar, such as "... oil, all filters ..."
Ideally, tell the mechanic exactly what you want done, and check the invoice, to be sure that is what has been done.
Mac.
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Or even better, do it yourself if you can so you know it's done right!

I take anything I'm told with a pinch of salt nowadays as I don't even trust a main dealer to do things right and to have done what they say they have. Cynical I know but I replace all of the usual serviceable items immediately when I buy a car, especially the oil so I know it's right for peace of mind.

There are some great mechanics out there and it's great when you find one you can trust that is not only competent but you know won't rip you off.

My problem with national chains and even main dealers is that you don't know and can't choose who is working on your car and I don't like that ?
 
There are many of us who can't , or dont want to DIY (I'm a can't sadly) . My solution is to use a local VAG Independent, who I trust. Not as costly as an Audi dealership, but more expensive than a Jack of all Trades. They service to Audi spec, as far as oil and filters etc, and offer extras, like AC, brake fluid change etc for me to decide. They do the MoT before the service. I keep a close eye on the car. throughout the year, including VCDS scans regularly.
Mac
 
Thanks for the heads up. I just removed the cabin filter from my "serviced" car and it was filthy :(
New filter ordered, will fit ASAP. Really easy job too thanks to clear instructions (as ever) on this forum
Nice one!
 
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XRF said:
Thanks for the heads up. I just removed the cabin filter from my "serviced" car and it was filthy :(
New filter ordered, will fit ASAP. Really easy job too thanks to clear instructions (as ever) on this forum
Nice one!
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Be sure to wear a mask and gloves when handling the old filter as there are some pretty nasty bacteria that can be present and can be pretty bad to your health.

It's a good idea to put the fan on high speed when the old filter is removed to make sure everything else that shouldn't be in there gets blown out before fitting the new one.

I always give the fan a good workout too by changing the air flow between the various settings (windscreen, dash vents and floor) as it does it good as a lot of cars just get left on auto in one position and things can start to stick and seize if left too long ?
 
I've always rather prided myself on my own car maintenance regime.

Last week did the AC on the Passat and noticed, to my horror, the cabin filter was in a horrendous state. Thinking 'that's not lasted very long' looked for the date: 2014 :rolleyes:

How time flies. Now changed naturally. Happily the A2 was done with its big service the other month.
 
I've found this issue on my A2 and many other cars I've owned. I never believe what people tell me when it comes to servicing so I always do the lot regardless. Glad you got yours sorted though and a good thread to boot.
 
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I always keep a piece of folded card in the sun visor ( the A2 has a great spot for it) where I make a note of the date mileage and what has been done by who. I always leave a copy of it on the passenger seat at mot time too.
 
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A2Z said:
Be sure to wear a mask and gloves when handling the old filter as there are some pretty nasty bacteria that can be present and can be pretty bad to your health.

It's a good idea to put the fan on high speed when the old filter is removed to make sure everything else that shouldn't be in there gets blown out before fitting the new one.

I always give the fan a good workout too by changing the air flow between the various settings (windscreen, dash vents and floor) as it does it good as a lot of cars just get left on auto in one position and things can start to stick and seize if left too long ?
Click to expand...
Did mine this afternoon quite mucky and lots of grass seeds ..let the fan run and once finished hoovered out ..? .i had forgotten on this one oops ..
 
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After reading this I checked mine last night as I hadn’t seen it on any of the paperwork when I bought the car. Not as bad as @A2Z images but had plenty of broken up leaves in it. One on order to pick up today, another tick off my list and one to addd to my sun visor sheet.
Also ran the fan on full for a minute with it out which cleared more small leaf litter.
 
Just thought I would update this a little as when I checked my service book this morning I found it's almost a year since I did an oil and filter change and nearly two years since I replaced the rest of the filters, which I do every two years so thought I would take a look at my own pollen filter.

Although not terrible there was still a lot of debris that came out, bits of leaves and seeds and quite dirty. I would say the filter was 25% partially blocked so I gave it a good clean out, ran the fan on full then a quick vac (which it really needed anyway) before getting on the phone and ordering a full set of Bosch filters that I now tend to only use.

Below is a photo of the old one that I had to refit until the new one arrives Monday morning.

Strangely the Bosch Carbon one I removed was part number 1 987 432 357 and although tight, fits in the original plastic holder correctly but when I checked the one I was being supplied was told it ended 057 rather than 357? I decided to stick with what I know fits and ordered the same as I fit two years ago rather than take a risk on the 057 not fitting.

Also note from the photo (which will help with fitting as I know some people have nightmares with the pollen filter replacement) the plastic tray has to be on the right side when you install the filter back into it's housing with the flow arrows pointing towards the centre vents so from left to right.

It will only go in correctly this way and when you insert it you get a nice positive click when it locates properly which is nice and reassuring.

So the moral of the story is to replace no later than every two years if you care what you and your loved ones are breathing in, possibly even annually if want to be really careful?
 
A2Z said:
Android
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Sod's law, both of the other two I could have helped with, sorry. I guess you need to download a resize app, a quick google 'android free photo resize app' gives lots of choice. You need to get photos below 3 Mb to upload here. Might be some way native to what you have but others would have to help.

Andy
 
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Andrew said:
Sod's law, both of the other two I could have helped with, sorry. I guess you need to download a resize app, a quick google 'android free photo resize app' gives lots of choice. You need to get photos below 3 Mb to upload here. Might be some way native to what you have but others would have to help.

Andy
Click to expand...
I used to be able to resize photos easily but now after changing my phone and worse still a couple of software updates for the life of me can't find a way now. Why does everything always seem to be changed for the worse ?
 
Just fit my new filter and the new one fit perfectly but having done dozens they are still fiddly and require zero force and a little patience, in fact I reckon 95% of Cabin filters when replaced are fit incorrectly.

The one I used is below to help others buy the correct one.

This is the middle of the range Carbon filter and should cost around £10.

It also is the correct original size that fits in the original plastic holder supplied with the car when new ?
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