I was just in today at Scott Scion and along with getting my oil changed I tried to buy a cabin filter for my 2006 TC.

The first guy I talked to tried to charge me $60. I said I thought they were only $20 and he said yeah. So I asked where the other $40 was coming from and he said labor. I told him no way.

The second guy I talked to at the dealership looked up the part number for the cabin filter and said that Scion says that one isn't required (or reccommended) because of some cooling thing.

so basically Im wondering if this is true or not. Please only people with 2006's give me your experience. Because the guy said the 05 and 06 have different cabin filters.

 

I just got my 15k done a few weeks ago...they tried making me buy one...I needed to 'replace' it along w/ my air filter.

I said one didn't come with it when I bought it, so what is there to replace? He just walked away...I was very disgusted that day because on top of that, I had made an appt 3 weeks prior to have the recall done and they didn't have the laminate! I was fuming...

 

Save a lot of money by going to Home Depot and buy yourself a large 3M "Filtreat" (12 bucks max,) filter element that's made for home furnace units. You can cut up the filter to get yourself up to eight filters for you car. I've done it, and it works very well. You should see how black the filter gets after a couple of months of use.
Do a search for "cabin filters" and you should see what it's all about.

Chombi
05 FM tC - Clean cabin air edition

 

it's looks like both of you didn't read me entire post. If you look closely, the dealer parts person told me NOT to put a cabin filter in my 2006 because he said Toyota says it will interfere with the cooling system.

That is why when he looked up the part number for the 2006 cabin filter there wasn't one listed. Only a warning to not install one. Any ideas?

 

The cabin filter you need is the Rav4 cabin filter. Same exact filter, it costs 12 bucks. It will lower the amount of air that comes out of the vents. If you live in extremely hot places, or its very hot for a number of days just take it out. During the winter it is a non issue. Also, there is no reason to pay to have it installed. You just need to pop the glove box down by pushing in the tabs on each side and then sliding the filter into the box. It should take you no more then 5 minutes, that is if you never have done something like this before.

 

well, I live in phoenix arizona where it stays about 115*F for 3 months during the summer.

Will the cabin filter really help very much? Or is it just something nice to have?

 

Let's just say that the air is filthy! My car's air filter needs to be replaced every other month.

It is just a personal choice to have one... not required by any means.

 

this reminds me, i got to change mine. mine was filthy last time too...

 

stupid salesman

 

i would recommend doing everything yourself... there is no difference between an '05 and '06 with regards to this filter... it will not interfere with anything (no cooling sytem or crap..) and you will see how black the filter gets if you do install one.... imagine that crap flying into your car.... umm.. yeah.. air filter filters air... anyway... for those who are deficient in DIY's.... here's one to follow:
http://www.clubsciontc.com/modules.p...ewtopic&t=1137

 

There is an entire thread regarding doing this for the xB and tC with instructions, which filter to buy etc.. do a few searches and you should find it.

The WebAbsorber brand at home depot works great and does NOT restrict air flow at all. It is not quite as an agressive filter as the Toytota one, but does plenty well without reducing air flow a bit. You will notice no effects on cooling in the summer. Plus, you can get about 6 filters out of one peice, so it runs about $1.50 per filter. It also has an activated carbon peice as well to remove odors.

I love the $40 labor. It takes less than 2 minutes to install. Push in on the sides of the glovebox while open, the glovebox pops out of its catches and opens further. Then reach in, pull out the tray, lay the filter in the tray, pop the tray in and pop the glovebox in. No tools required.. my 9 year old could do it. dont pay anythign to have it done.

 

Mine actually looks pretty good even after months of use (about 5 months I think). It will depend on where you live though. Minneapolis is a very clean city air-wise.. so mine last quite a while. I have seen some pics of ones used in the LA area.... completely black after just a few months!

 

That parts person does not know what he's talking about!. I went through the summer with no problems with cooling even on the hottest days. Maybe they were instructed not to sell tC owners filters till TRD comes out with the proper race version that they will sell to us for 40 bucks a pop! :eyebrow: Reminds me how irritated I've been lately knowing that we can't get sattelite radio added to our tC unless we fork out $300+ dollars for the Toyota unit, which is the only one that will directly plug in to the OEM HU.
I really don't like those add-on units sold out there with a bunch of wires going all over the place!

Chombi
05 FM tC....with no sattelite radio :tap:

 

I have actually heard that they did not reccommend one.. but I popped on in anyway (the websorber) and it works great. Keep in mind that it is not as dense of a fileter as the stock ones, but it does a good job without affecting performance... but $40 to install is just ridiculous.

 

As the cabin filter. Just got a K&N dropin air filter installed. Did it myself. 5 min. and all that time was getting that cabin closed again. lol Really nice. You can hear the car more/gas is better if you dont ride it hard. All in all great filter. Cleaning wise.. Just take it out ever 1,000 miles and oil it up. Its good for 1MILLION miles. Got it at my discount auto parts. =)

PS. If your taking the car back to the dealer for what ever reason, just keep the old filter and if anything replace it when your going back. No problem. AH one last thing. As per performance goes.. You get better gas if you dont ride it hard and a better pick up. Like 6+ hp. Cheers.

 

Thats an air filter. The cabin filter is located in a tray behind the glovebox and is used to clean the air entering the passenger compartment (cabin)

 

im stupid disreguard my post. =( lol

 

i was actually talking to scion about my xa and they told me they dont recomend putting one in a tc because there blower motors are not strong enough and the filter will restrict air flow causing poor cooling and heating