I can think of at least one really good reason not to include cabin air filters in cars, but instead to only provide a place to put them.

Those who actually care enough to install a filter just might actually replace them before the heating/cooling system completely fails to pass air.

I cannot begin to tell you how many of the folks right here on ScionLife (and these are people who generally are more focused on their vehicles than most) have FINALLY looked into the filter drawer and found that there is no filter - after owning the vehicle 2, 3, 4 years.

How many others here on ScionLife do you suspect have never even THOUGHT of looking at the filter? What percentage of owners do you suspect would just complain about their heater or air conditioner no longer working right as their pre-installed filters got totally clogged?

How many defrosters would you expect to have quit defrosting - and how many accidents because of that?

Those filters should be inspected every six months, and changed at least every 12.

At least by not installing them Scion/Toyota has eliminated the massive future problem of thousands of unhappy customers who's cabin air handler no longer handles air, who's defrosters no longer defrost.

Only recently have cars even HAD a place to put cabin air filters - for most of automotive history the system has been simply a direct feed of air - just like the Scions are with no filter.

(As to the red herring of getting the connector for an iPOD with an iPOD capable Pioneer radio, blame that on paying for a radio that comes with it. That's right, the cable isn't free, it's part of the head unit. Even if it appears the head unit came "free" with the car, think again - you PAID for that radio - and cable - in the price of the vehicle. TANSTAAFL.)

Like I said, want a filter, put one in. Remember to check it every 6 months and change every 12 or sooner.

 

being an unhappy customer because a filter in your car is clogged is just bad car-ownership. if my engine seizes up because i never changed the oil filter, i dont think i would be allowed to be an unhappy customer.

and i may have paid for that radio to come with a cable, but i also paid for a car that should have all included filters.

 

Ever hear of this wonderful and magical thing called Recirculate?

If you honestly think that not having a cabin air filter in your cheap vehicle is detrimental to your health, then I don't want to know what you do when you just walk outside.

Btw, if you think some dust/salt is bad, try driving behind my tC for more than 10 seconds.

 

The iPod cable is useless to you. Sell it and buy a filter.

The iPod feature helps sell cars, inclusion of the filter apparently does not.

 

but it does in puerto rico?

not sure where you read me saying it was bad for my health... either way, thats not my point. im not sure how reciculate rids the car of dust either besides coat the insides of the ducts and fan with nasty crap. but, obviously its too complicated for some people to understand, so ill go ahead and say that my car was inexpensive because they left out the cabin air filter to make you all happy

 

Right here.

 

considering what the cost of the audio cabled cost? I use my ipod connector, but the coin holder/mp3 holder I didn't need. then again, all those lighting options from the past are also gone. oh well. guess I'll have to get slick and make another filter somehow.

 

the subject of that sentence is the enviromental system, not my health. the adjectives 'longer' and 'healthier' are describing the condition of the enviromental system.

i really dont know how to make it any simpler for you.

 

well I like having the iPod cable but they could make it optional for the people that don’t need it and for the cabin air filter I don’t mind it not being there but they could let you know that the car dose not come with one. If not for scionlife I would have never known till after a year of owning the car while checking to see if it needs replacing. Not everyone who buys an xd comes to this site.

 

exactly... if my car sits more than a week, a bunch of dust spews out when you first turn on the fan. i personally dont enjoy it, but most people probably wont know its because a filter was never even installed unless they come on here or call their dealer to ask what the issue is. i dont have it with me right now, but is there anything in the owners manual about it? im assuming there is.

 

Sorry, I must have read it wrong then. I read it as being 'outside' of the environmental system. Your grammar isn't exactly spot-on.

Regardless, you bought a car with a sticker price of $14,500. A car loaded with amenities that you generally wouldn't see in a car that cheap. Maybe next time you should do some more research instead of trying to blame the manufacturer.

Like Tomas pointed out, you made the decision to buy the iPod cable and not buy the cabin air filter.

 

Agreed.

Go buy a filter - problem solved - thread dies.

 

well, then for the benefit of all of us, please correct my grammer to the form you would consider appropriate for everyone's english level. if you go back to page 1 (1 page previous to this one), the original argument was that cheap cars dont include things such as a cabin air filter, when this is not true. and like tomas pointed out, it would be nice if scion or at least the dealer let you know there is a place for a filter but none included. still not sure how you would consider a filter an amenity or 'useless.' is an oil filter an amenity? no, it protects the oil system from crud. a cabin air filter protects the enviromental system from getting crap built up in it as well... same exact principle. some people just fail to grasp the concept.

 

Please remember that the cabin air systems on cars have come without air filters for over 100 years, and that cabin air filters are the exception rather than the rule in automotive history.

Oil filters are a necessity, and have been recognized as such since near the beginning of automotive history.

The previously mentioned windshield wipers are not only considered a necessity, but are even required by federal regulation.

Eventually, when cabin air filters are on the majority of cars and trucks on the road, cabin air filters will probably be considered common to include on all vehicles. Until that time, some will come with, some without.

To just mention some other items that like cabin air filters are not necessary to the functioning of a vehicle that have changed over time...

Most cars these days come with carpeting (floor mats to protect the installed carpeting are optional extras, though). Prior to that most cars came with a rubber or rubber-like floor covering, with carpet being an extra cost item. Even earlier, even the rubber mat was an extra cost option, and the floors came bare.

In the fairly recent past (recent enough for me to remember new cars coming this way) even heaters were optional in some cars, and cost extra if you wanted some way to heat the interior.

Scions come with radios included in the purchase price, in the recent past ANY car radio was an extra cost option. (No speakers or antennas were standard, either...)

Over time many, many optional extras have become expected standard includes.

In my first brand new car, air conditioning was a costly extra, as were carpets, trunk liner, tinted windows, radio, cloth covered seats, etc., and it was a top-of-the-line car, not an econo-box.

Times, and expectations, change.

 

...which brings us back to the original argument. why are things like the cup holder tray or the fancy owners manual case included when items such as the filter are not? but obviously everyones view of what is useful and/or necessary is different, so ill leave it at that.

 

because....its a scion.


makes sense to some. not so much to others.

 

oh yeah i just put in the trdsparks cabin filter (~$20) earlier today

getting behind the glove box is a pita. but the rest is a breeze.

 

did it reduce the airflow much or does it still blow just as hard?

 

I blows as if one had just added a filter - geez! Why don't you pay the $15 and move on!

 

i think weve run into this problem before with you. i stated earlier that i was done debating this, so im not sure why you are having trouble moving on yourself. i didnt know you would be doing the blowing either, so ill probably want a filter now for sure. is this thread locked yet or what?