GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I've had my Vibe for two weeks and noticed the air smelled pretty funky when you turned it on. I figured the first step in trouble-shooting this would be to check the cabin filter. Well, I'm glad I checked it first. Honestly it's pretty disturbing how someone could just ignore something like this for a while. I'm going to assume it's the original that came on the car in 2004. Compared to a new one:Yuck!

That's pretty nasty! I bet though, that it's one of those "out of site, out of mind" deals. It really doesn't take that long though for those to dirty up.

yowza!!!! a 6 year old cabin filter!!!!that would be a good thread... 'show us your cabin air filters!!'

Mine was like that at 80,000, just right after I bought it.

I've been afraid to look at ours w/+/- 44k on it. I haven't yet tried but probably should.edit: Checked it a few hours ago and though its been in there for at least a year it looked OK. I blew it out w/compressed air and put it back in... for now.

mmmmm that looks tasty...I havn't checked mine in a while...

I mark the new one I put in with the date, so I know how long its been in there.

Cabins have a filter?

this reminds me that I still have 4-5 spares waiting to go in.. I did it the DIY way, just bought a large sized HVAC type filter (for a house) and cut it up into little squares. Works nicely, waaaayy cheaper.

Hmm, I recently did this to the other side of the cabin fresh air intake: I think that would help with keeping out larger debris, though the original reason was to block mice from coming in through here.

Where are these openings located please?

Quote, originally posted by ehoff121 »Where are these openings located please?They are under the plastic cowl trim.

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »They are under the plastic cowl trim. And you can refer to this thread for more details:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=41739

That is disgusting ! I think most people never realize their vehicle even has a cabin air filter and consequently, never change it. Ours will never get that bad because I use the air compressor to blow them out every time I change the oil. I replaced ours at 15,000 miles and they didn't look too bad at all.

Here's what came out of mine... just a little sawdust... and it's only been 6 months or so...

Attached files

i bet mine looks worse than that. I haven't even checked mine since buying my car. I guess I'll take a look next time I'm messing with my car.My cabin reeks of watermelons lol. I use those oil-wick air fresheners you attach to your vents, they last way longer and smell pretty damn good. It smells so strong that when I replaced my seats with less-worn-out ones, I could smell the watermelon smell on the seat when I had it sitting in my room.

My cabin filter looked like that when I first bought my Vibe. Looked like the previous owner didnt change it out. It was pretty nasty. I can honeslty say no one would take care of my car better than me. Its totally babied cause I want this car to last after it paid off so I can be without a car payment & jumpstart my retirement !

yeah our filter looked pretty bad as well, like the first post. It also smelled nasty! As I said in another post, it let off a moldy smell (some say the smell is like cat urine!) and fogged up the windshield when the air was first turned on (hot or cold!).After replacement, everything was great! No more smell or fogging! No need to "disinfect the air duct system" as some were saying had to be done.

Funny how none of the fast lube places have even attempted to try to sell me one. Next time I'm at my mechanic's place, I will add this to my service.

It will cost you a small fortune to have a professional do it for you. And it's so easy in these cars you can easily DIY and save 50%.Filter cost: $30, unless you make your own out of a whole house filter. Then it's even cheaper, and you will probably get 6 cabin filters out of the one.Labor: 10-15 mins = $0Professional (parts + mark up + labor): est. $60-$70I don't know about you, but I don't have the $$$ to throw away on such an easy fix. I'd rather save it for when I have a really big problem I can't handle myself.

I'm suprised there isn't any deer fur and dead squirrels caught up in that old of a filter. Please save your money: cut up ordinary furnace filters. On the 2009-10 Vibe, you may want to stack two filters since the housing is so much larger.