A Breath of Fresh Air

Changing the cabin air filter in your pickup may not be a typical around-the-campfire conversation subject, but neglecting this important maintenance procedure can taint the air you breathe while traveling down the highway.

Keeping the air clean in my tow vehicle cab is one of those subjects that gets little attention in my repertoire of maintenance items. As a matter of fact, my Ram is the first truck I’ve owned that even has a cabin air filter designed to keep pollen and dust from infiltrating the air we breathe. Not all trucks have one of these pollution removers tied into the air-conditioning/heating system — as a matter of fact, lower trim level Ram trucks don’t even have provision for such a filter.

Since “real men” don’t have a propensity to read owner’s manuals, I only learned about a cabin air filter from a friend with the same truck — and consequently verified that he was right by perusing the manual while looking up other maintenance schedules. I discovered that the cabin filter must be changed after 40,000 miles and that it’s a very simple thing to do. There are easy to find videos online that will show you how to do it.

I purchased a good quality carbon-activated, cabin air filter on Amazon for $11.62 (Spearhead Odor Defense Breathe Easy AC + Heater Cabin Filter BE-671) rather than get a cheap paper filter that might get damp or even deteriorate quickly. The one I opted for is made of industrial strength electrostatic media that’s touted to last 25% longer.

After researching cabin air filters, I settled on a brand that features activated charcoal said to be 25% more effective in controlling pollen, dust and exhaust fumes. It’s just a few dollars more but is much more robust than the paper counterparts.

So, where is this cabin air filter anyway? In the Ram, it’s tucked away in the glove compartment cavity and easy to access.

Armed with the good quality drop light, I removed the spring-loaded cable that is attached to the side of the glove box. Doing so allowed the glove box to slowly open without extending it too far. I couldn’t see where the other end of the cable was located, but the video I watched showed that I could let it go without a problem and it would snap back — which it did. The next step was to pinch the sides of the glove box — so that the two little “fingers” sticking out could clear the opening — and the glove box fell right out. The hardest part was getting my big hands into a spot where they didn’t fit and releasing the tabs by feel that held the door shut on either side of the rectangular box for the filter.

The door to the cabin-air-filter box is opened by pushing the tab on each side outward. There’s not a lot of room for two big hands at the same time, which block vision to the tabs. You’ll have fiddle around to get it open by feel; the door is spring loaded but that makes it possible to remove the filter.

With the filter box flipped up, I was able to easily grab hold of the filter and pull it out. I was horrified how dirty it was, filled with grease, dirt and oil; a whole bunch of the leaves and stuff fell onto the floor before I could even get it all the way out. One thing for sure: That dirty filter showed it had removed all that stuff rather than having the crud get stuck in the evaporator and, of course, my lungs.

It may seem like the old filter was pretty clean at first, but once it was completely removed you can see all the crud that has built up over time. This filter did the job, which not only kept cab air clean but prevented the evaporator from plugging and decreasing efficiency. The new filter will work even better.

Before replacing the glove box, the cable with the clip was pulled out and held to the side while holding glove box with your other hand. There’s not much to hold on to, so know that it might get away from you a few times, as it did during this project.

I noticed that there was an arrow on the new filter that pointed downward, so I was able to slip it in the holder by feel once oriented properly. The glove box was reassembled, and the job was done. Interestingly, the Ram owner’s manual suggests replacing the cabin air filter at 40,000 miles while the product description on the new one suggests that it be changed every 15,000 miles. After seeing the original cabin air filter, I was convinced the product pitch was not hype.

The whole job took maybe 10 minutes, and a reminder was added to my phone app to check the filter annually. If your truck doesn’t have a chamber for the filter, you may find instructions online or via YouTube to fabricate a provision for one.