Replacing the cabin filter

What is the procedure for replacing the cabin filter, aside from paying the local dealer a significant amount of money for this maintenance item? I searched the site, but did not locate any previous threads that discussed how this is accomplished. Thanks

If you are having your windshield replaced and the timings right, I would suggest picking up a filter and having it slipped in while it's all apart. Sorry I don't have the step-by-step...yet.

I've seen it done but can't fully remember. 1) Open truck 2) On the passenger side near where the hood joins the car, undo the plastic top screws. 3) The filter is wedges in there and you just pull it out I think and slip a new one in. Not 100% sure on this part.

See my article on installing Navigation and how I had to take the plastic at the bottom of the windshield off to do so. If you do this you can easily change the filter. I'm not sure you can get it out otherwise.

I think the engine and transaxle need to come out. Then it's a 10 minute job. No but seriously why do manufacturers make those air filters so hard to get at. Oh wait, I know the answer $$$$$$$$$$$. My wife's old 5 series BMW was a monster at getting to that stupid filter. And things go bad if you let it go too long. First the blower won't move enough air through the filter as it gets clogged. Then the dryer starts freezing because air is not flowing good through the condensor. Then the compressor hydraulic's because the system is frozen. Then you buy a new ac compressor and replace the clogged cabin filter. It's a bad chain of events. And just think about all those years that cars didn't even have cabin filters. How did we survive without that filtered air? Cabin filters in cars are a bad idea unless it's a 5 minute job to change it.

With the porsche I recall getting the filter out was fairly easy.

Ken, Is it the filter in the upper left hand corner as you face the car? (Would be in front of the passenger.) I can see why the dealer might charge a lot due to the time involved, but if you can handle unscrewing screws and screwing them back in, it looks pretty easy.

Ken- I had reviewed your Navigation article prior to submitting the original post. There is a rectangular box on the passenger side (held closed by a number of silver clips), is this the location for the cabin filter? Thanks

Never replaced one but I do know that sponsor Suncoast sells them for $55 plus shipping Suncoast Porsche, Audi, & VW: Charcoal Pollen Filters and Porsche dealers usually charge $95 (filter and labor) to replace them. Are there less expensive after market filters available?

Upper left hand corner of this photo is where the cabin filter is before the plastic in front of the windshield is removed: Then after that plastic is remove you can see it again more clearly in this photo. It is the white/grey rectangle again in the upper left of the photo:

No, that is the gas tank evaporator charcoal cannister, look higher up, close to the windshield.

Is the filter the same as on 997/996/or Boxter. If so, RockAuto .com probably has it. That is where I have been getting OEM stuff for all the cars I have owned so far.

Yes. I've bought oem quality filters for my Porsches from AllGermanParts.com for years. Mahle (a well respected German oem filter maker) cabin air filters for the Cayman are just $16. Another brand is $12.

Thanks Dan. The prices range from $12-$75 on that site. Any idea of the differences? And is "Activated Charcoal" better worse or the same as "Particulate"? I suspect my dusty road will require more frequent replacement and wasn't looking forward to $95 a pop.

My guess is the $75 filter is an error since it's the exact same part # as the $21 filter. I've always been pleased w/ Mahle (or Mann) filters. The charcoal filter may reduce odors & catch smaller sized contaminants, but the oem pleated paper filters have done the job on my prior P car, as well as my Audis & Volvo, & will be fine for your dusty roads. Consider the charcoal if you regularly travel past pig farms. As it is, the filtered air coming into my car cabin & engine is cleaner than what I breathe walking down the street.

Thanks Dan. You are the best.

The activated charcoal canisters may prevent formation of the mold/residue that makes AC output stinky. This topic came up recently here and a promising theory put forward was that the pleated air filter gets damp and eventually gets infested with goobers. If this is the cause, the activated charcoal filter will eliminate the problem. If not, the charcoal will reduce the problem. Also they may protect you from chemical warfare agents

Good point. Let's add goobers to pig farm proximity as a selling point for charcoal filters.

Thanks for the replies and directions (Ken). I actually purchased the filter along with several other items from Suncoast . They always provide great prices and quick turnaround. I'm planning on tackling this Saturday morning before the Florida heat and humidity set in for the day. I’ll let everyone know how the job goes.

Thanks to Ken's pictures, this maintenance issue was resolved very easily and took perhaps ten minutes to complete. I was surprised at the condition of the filter, after 10k miles it was impacted with all sorts of foreign matter. Total cost, aside from my time, was $54.95 for the filter that I purchased from Suncoast .

Site saved you time and money, that's good to hear!

Just FYI that in between times you replace the filter, you can also just blow the filter out with an airhose or something.

Hmm, 10 more 20K maintanence DIY and I'll have paid for my MillTek!

Just installed the charcoal cabin air filter. Makes it smell very clean in the car and is better than the original. The filter was absolutely filthy, and I had it cleaned once already. I wonder if it makes sense to get a custom made metal electrostatic reusable filter made. I think it has to be changed between maintenance intervals. I thought I would try to give some description of how to change it. 1) open trunk and undo the screws that hold the plastic piece over the battery 2) Remove plastic piece hinged on the left (passenger side) that was to the left of the battery cover. It just hooks in and is very easy to remove 3) On the upper left (as you face the car) near the windshield, you will see kinda this plastic thing that is held on by two tonx screws and is vertical. It sort of holds in a styrofoam sheet. The filter is behind this and not visible. 4) Remove the tonx silver screws and the plastic retaining plastic thing. Be careful it actually breaks easy. 5) lift up the styrofoam sheet and you will see the filter. Be careful not to tear this sheet. It is sort of stuck into a pin so feel around and move it off the pin so you don't pull and tear it on its upper right corner. There is a plastic piece above it that you do not really have to remove, but there are some things you need to be aware of below. This plastic piece is the thing that the windshield wipers are through and to remove it you would have to remove the wipers. Leaving it on you will be reaching under it to get to the filter. 6) Reach under the plastic part near the windshield and feel for a clip on the right side of the filter. You cannot see it if the plastic part is left on. Snap the clip gently. 7) You can now pull up the filter and slide it to the right and out from under the plastic piece. You need to slide to the right to avoid pulling lose some wires that are in front of the filter. 8) Slip the new filter in and make sure it is seated in the box that held the old filter. remember the clip you just undid is still there so get the filter around that and relatch Then seal everything back up and you are done. Hope this is useful

DIY for your cabin filter on your Cayman 987 Subscribe and enjoy.

You can buy the cabin air filter on Amazon for $16.99. Mann part # 3360.

I bought mine from walmart, I was really suprised they had it for $13.59, I also bought a 3 pack of Motul 600. https://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=CUK3360

That’s great. Thanks for the tip.

My cabin filter was pretty easy to do. DIY:

Thanks for the video ... looks pretty simple, really.

for my 987.2 there is a slight difference, there is a sliding lock mechanism that reduces the need to use a driver to remove the filter. good job on the video 512txs.

Thank you. I appreciate it. I have other DIY’s on there too. Just search 512TXS on YouTube. Could be helpful.

That makes 3 different types of retaining mounts for the air-filter that I've seen. There is the screwed down plastic one like 512TXS showed us. There is a sliding plastic one, which can be seen in this YouTube video: and there is the bolted down aluminum one like my '09 has: (not my video, but his Boxster is identical to mine..) 512TXS - the filter you took out was perfectly good. Nothing caught in it. I suspect that it may not have been fully seated in the plastic tray. When it's fully seated the foam glued on the outside edge isn't visible - it's between the filter and the tray. On yours - when you replaced it - the foam was above the tray meaning the filter wasn't actually seated. The divot in the back of the filter also left a large non-filtered hole, and given an open hole vs a filter - air is going for the open hole every time. I'd suggest removing it - straightening it out (the large folds in the pleats in the center mean the same thing happened with the new filter) - and ask your wife, or someone with smaller hands to try to get it in right. It is VERY tight along that back edge - so small hands are a real advantage. It is a PITA spot to get a filter out from and back in, I'm uncertain why Porsche couldn't have provided enough clearance for fingers to actually seat the filter correctly. Why does mine (and the last video) have the aluminum thing with 4 screws holding it in place? Well - it's actually supporting a flat aluminum plate that is underneath the cowl plastic (the part at the bottom of the windshield) - that aluminum plate is there to mount a GPS antenna on for cars equipped with factory GPS. Mine now has 2 antennas mounted to it since I've replaced the aftermarket system that someone replaced the factory system with. It may have 3 someday if I ever get around to moving the Sirius/XM antenna there (right now it's in the right corner of the dash.) That is a good spot to put these antennas since there is just plastic above them, and the aluminum plate forms a "ground-plane" for the antennas (making them work better.)