vs
Cabin filter Fram or Wix
I use WIX for every car I've owned for the past 10 years. Good quality, and not overly expensive
Pros: good quality, inexpensive
I’ve had good results with FRAM fresh breeze cabin air filters. They block out quite a bit of exterior smells.
Pros: blocks smells well
At 23k miles I figured a cheap fix would be the cabin filter. Swapped in a Wix WP10159 charcoal filter and the smell is gone.
Pros: smell is gone
Cons: musty/old/damp smell
Mileage: 37015 km
Part number: WP10159
I have been a fan of the Fram Freshbreeze or Pureflow filters. Not as good as the Bosch HEPA for other cars, but seem pretty good at least for filtering allergens and some particulates.
Pros: filtering allergens, particulates
Cons: not as good as Bosch
Vehicle:
Nissan Leaf
I use a charcoal Wix filter. It works really nice, even for filtering out smells a bit. And I drive a lot on dirt roads and it helps clean that up too.
Pros: filters out smells
Can confirm I bought the CF11811 for my 2018 and it was the correct size!
Pros: correct size
Vehicle:
Mazda 3
Part number: CF11811
Some of the reviews are iffy like for the Fram one. Ended up ordering the Fram Fresh Breeze let's see if that works it's been smelly turning on my AC lately
Cons: iffy reviews
Vehicle:
Toyota
Go to Part Source. Take your filter in and see if it matches the CF11819 FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter for $30 dollars. Note, some of the filters on Amazon do not have the same amount of pleats as the OEM or the FRAM.
Pros: cheap alternative available
Cons: fewer pleats than OEM
Vehicle:
Hyundai Santa Fe
Part number: CF11819
The aftermarket ones like Fram with charcoal have noticeably restricted airflow for me. As I understand it, using the thick ones that restrict airflow can cause issues with the blower motor and resistor overheating and failing since there's not enough airflow to keep them cool (similar to operating with clogged filter).
Cons: noticeably restricted airflow
Just remember, you get what you pay for. I don't recommend buying aftermarket filters on Amazon or eBay even if it is the OEM or a name brand. The quality is spotty at best and some of the reportedly "OEM" and brand name items are likely counterfeit. I've bought some really sketchy filters from Amazon and eBay that made my 18 Elantra's AC sound like an airplane especially when on low settings. The Amazon one came with thousands of positive reviews and the eBay one claimed to be OEM, but both suffered the same problem. I swapped the last one out with FRAM cabin air filter from Advance Auto Parts and no more jet engine sound.
Pros: no jet engine sound
Cons: spotty quality, counterfeit items
Vehicle:
Hyundai Elantra
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