It's probably the same dumb***** that designed the oil filter location and drains on the 5.0! F-ing morons.

 

10 minutes to replace the filter.

 

... takes 2min in a GMC Terrain.... unhook glove compartment ; pop filter cover open, swap filter, close, rehook glove compartment.....

having to unscrew and remove whole sections, pry out wood trim pieces to access screws, disconnect cables is laughable... Ford fail on that end

I'm still not convinced that dealerships do that - they might have a unique tool to close filter door despite the upper plastic piece being there.... just makes it more complicated for Joe Blow to swap filter himself

 

When I replaced my filter I seem to recall there was only 2 maybe 3 inches of clearance max between the filter door opening and the upper glovebox section. I actually thought about trying to do the replacement without taking the upper glovebox section out but it looked like there was no way to do it without having to bend the new filter all out of shape to get it back in the slot. I'm not doubting you were able to do it just saying I don't see how without bending the filter out of shape.

 

just took mine out sunday and cleaned it with compressor and soaked it in febreze. you cannot get that filter out without removing the upper compartment piece. also compared to my 2013 edge that had a paper thin factory filte, this in our trucks looks like a frameless intake filter in size and thickness.tight pleating as well.

 

odd .... i took mine out without removing the upper compartment piece.

is it tight? yes. does the filter go in/out with minimal bending? sure it does.

i'd much rather bend a $10 paper filter a tiny bit when removing/installing vs. unscrewing / removing a compartment piece and prying out wood trim multiple times over the life of the vehicle...

 

That's what I'll be trying when I change mine. I thought I'd be able to do it without breaking any tabs though?

 

for me it was impossible to get the top latches of the filter cover to connect with the upper compartment piece in place. there's not enough space (at least for me) to put the filter cover back in and get all tabs to connect... the side tabs click in just fine but after trying and wiggling for 20min i could never get the top latches to connect as well....

the filter itself goes in/out with minimal bending - really not that hard ... just pull it out and put it carefully back in... the bending is so minimal it wont damage the filter.

 

My dealership refuses to acknowledge that the cabin air filter exists...

 

hahaha. to be fair - given how hard it is to swap the filter (especially if you do it the intrusive way with unscrewing top piece and prying out trim piece) ... I'd rather prefer dealership not touching it / doing filter check while servicing and let me swap filter every 10k-15k miles...