My tC has around 14,000 miles and I seem to remember that during my last maintenence, they "suggested" replacing a filter, and I asked how much and they said something ridiculous like $100... Could they have been talking about the air filter, and should I be replacing the air filter by now? (obviously ill save the money and do it myself).

 

Air filter? $100? WTH?

You could replace it... but I'd say just open the airbox up and take a look at it. If it's awful and disgusting, go pick up a new one. If not, leave it be.

 

could be ur cabin filter. but still 100 bucks is ridiculous

 

Air filter is only change at around 20K-25k miles...also depends on your car environment. The best way is to open the air filter box and check inside when it gets near to 20K miles. It's very easy to do on a tC.

 

That's a good point. If you find yourself driving on dirt (or just dirty) roads quite a bit, it would likely not last as long as someone who only drives on clean pavement.

 

Isnt the filter like a couple of bucks? lol

 

get a cleanable type filter like a k&n.. you can get a cleaning kit for 15$ at any auto parts store, and never have to buy a new filter again..

 

a little bit more than a couple of bucks, but yea theyre cheap. The high price tag was probably "installation fees", kinda like how Best Buy charges $50-$100 to install RAM into a computer (not counting the cost of the RAM itself) despite how simple a task it is.

 

Yea, I think my dealer wanted like $55 for the engine air filter and like $45 for cabin.

 

I paid $15 for my last air filter. I even changed in the dealer parking lot and tossed the old one in their trash. Paying for labor is a freaking rip off. You can also clean it a little with some compressed air. Just make sure you put the nozzle on the clean side. You want to drive the dirt back out, not push it further in. Still, changing it is best.

 

My tC has 15,500 miles, is 3yrs 3mos old and still running the original air filter. I took it out at 5k, 10k & 15k, didn't look bad, so I just did a quick cleaning by hitting it on the driveway to dislodge any dirt I could, then reinstalled it.

Inspect, clean & replace as needed, regardless of mileage, and never take your car to a dealer that wants to charge people $100 for a tC air filter. They should be reprimanded for attempting to charge so much, and anyone that pays it isn't smart enough to be driving.

 

they're probably charing $100 dollars for the freakin' "labor" that it'll take for the replacement of a $10-15 filter. that's ridiculous, all you do is pop to clips, take out the old, pop in the new, and you're done.

 

I'll cut you a deal. $75 and I'll give you an ice cold soda while you wait.