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How to replace your vehicle’s air filters yourself (with step-by-step photo tutorial)

12/10/2016 By Katrina

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FRAMFresh #CollectiveBias

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
We’re heading to Florida in less than two weeks now, which means it’s time to start getting everything ready to go. We drive from Toronto to Kissimmee every year, and after doing it for a while now with the kids, I thought I would share how we do it all this year. The first thing I do is get the car ready, and in an effort to save a bit of money, I decided to tackle replacing both the cabin and engine the air filters in our Dodge Grand Caravan myself. Usually we just pay to have this done when we get the oil changed.

Never again will I pay though because, spoiler: this turned out to be a super easy 15 minute job. Amazing! Usually, you should change both of these filters yearly (I have a feeling our cabin one hadn’t been changed for a while though), but make sure to follow the recommended change intervals as noted in your vehicle owner’s manual in case it suggests something different.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!The first thing you need to do is take a trip to the store (I hit up Canadian Tire because I love their selection!) and grab some FRAM air filters. The orange boxes on the left are the FRAM Engine Air Filters, and the green ones on the right are the FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filters. If your cabin air filters get blocked (and I’ll show you just want that looks like in a second), it means that the air coming into your vehicle is restricted. It also means that the heating, defrosting, and air conditioning may not be working so well. There’s no way I’m heading to Florida without top notch air conditioning (I’m not a fan of the heat).

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
First up, I’m changing the cabin air filter.


Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Inside the box you’ll find some generic instructions, and the filter. You can go here to find customized instructions for your vehicle.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Empty out your glove box. Also, ignore the insane mess of the interior of the car. Cleaning the car before the drive comes next weekend – one step at a time folks.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
On the outside of the left hand side of your glove box you’ll find a little string attached to a hook. You need to slide this string towards you.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
The string is attached to this little hook clip, that you can see inside your glove box. You need to slide the plastic circle from the small hole where it usually is…

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
To the big hole so that you can pop it out.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
There, now that the little hook is out, you can just let the string snap back behind the glove box.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Now you drop the glove box by squeezing in the left and right sides, and pulling down gently.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
These were the clips that you were squeezing past the sides. Just let the glove box hang down now.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Now we can see the compartment for the cabin air filter. Squeeze the two clips and pull to remove the cover.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
There’s the old filter, just go ahead and pull it out.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Remember how I mentioned above that a clogged air filter could inhibit the proper air flow into your vehicle. Well, with a husband that suffers from allergies, I’m guessing one literally full of leaves was about a year past due for a change. Gross.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Shiny new FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter vs old cabin air filter. Yikes. I’m so excited about using this FRAM filter – it has activated charcoal and Arm & Hammer baking soda inside of it to absorb and eliminate odours (our A/C has been smelling musty all summer, and I never thought to try changing this!)

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Now, just slide that new FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter back into the slot. Make sure that the flow arrow is pointing down toward the floor! You have to give it a little push to make sure it goes in all the way.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
There’s the new filter back in place.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Pop the cover back on.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Pull the string back out.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Push the plastic circle on the hook back through the big hole in the glove box and slide down into the little hole to lock in.

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Push the sides back in to pop the glove box back into place. That’s it for the cabin air filter – now you can fill your glove box back up with all the stuff you don’t really need (unless it’s just me that does that).

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Bonus: It was so darn easy to change out the engine air filter, that I thought I’d show you that too, in gif form! Double bonus: a cameo by Bo, who was itching to help but I refused to let him with the cabin air filter (the engine was dirty though, so I wasn’t so against him doing this one, lol)

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
To change out your engine air filter, just undo the clips, lift up the cover, slide out the old air filter, slide in your new FRAM engine air filter, put the cover back down, and re-attach the clips. This literally took less than two minutes!

Step-by-step pictures for changing your cabin air filter and engine air filter in a Dodge Grand Caravan. Changing both takes less than 15 minutes!
Check out even more tips and tricks for changing your air filters here, and let me know what other how-to’s you’d like to see!

 

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Comments

  1. Mar says

    13/10/2016 at 3:49 pm

    I am so jealous, and in desperate need of a vacation/escape from the city. Have a great time in Florida and drive safe!
  2. Cyn Gagen says

    17/10/2016 at 11:34 pm

    It's so great to get your car ready like this for a long trip. I bet the air will smell so much better now that you've changed out that filter. #client
  3. Marc Landry says

    19/10/2016 at 8:20 am

    Yes, you can do this at home but be aware the procedure varies from car to car. The instructions here do not match my vehicles. Changing these filters every year just creates more garbage. Sure, inspect them annually and shake out the loose stuff. Replacing more often than the owner's manual recommends is a waste of money. Sponsored by filter manufacturers in case you missed it.
    • Katrina says

      20/10/2016 at 6:34 am

      You're absolutely right. We're driving a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan, and I believe the procedure is the same for 2008 to 2014 models. Having driven around for a week now though, I have noticed a HUGE change in the in-cabin air quality. The musty smell that was driving me nuts is completely gone. Our engine air filter probably wouldn't have needed a change if it wasn't for our transmission breaking earlier this year, resulting in burnt parts. You can see the damage to the filter when we take it out. While they may not always need changing, as I wrote in the post - follow your vehicle's recommended maintenance schedule. It doesn't hurt to double check them yearly though.
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Hi, I’m Katrina…

I used to be a graphic designer who slept in every Saturday and ate out more than in. Now, I'm a stay at home mom of three little kids who loves cooking great tasting meals at home. I hoard a ridiculous amount of cookbooks, have been known to bbq in three feet of snow, and am obsessed with keeping things organized (though you'd never know it by the state of my house). More about me here...

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