Greetings. I recently purchased an SRT Roadster with 16k miles on it from its original owner, who lives a few miles from me. He had taken excellent care of the car and the only item needing service was the cabin air filter, which was still the factory original. I have replaced many of these on several different vehicles in the past, and I can say from experience that it is typically an easy job, and the SRT proved no different.

I wrote down the procedure in hope that it might help those of you who may not have changed out their cabin air filter in the past, but would like to do the job themselves when the time arises. This SRT procedure may be applicable to other Crossfire variants, but I’m not the one to ask. So perhaps a more knowledgeable forum member might chime in and let us know? And while the procedure may seem to be long and complicated, it really isn't. It's a very simple job! Good luck!

--Recommended Maintenance Interval: B service schedule or every 18,000 miles
--Time: about 25 minutes the first time, probably 10-15 thereafter.
--Tools: medium size Phillips head screwdriver, flashlight, clean damp (water only) rag, medium size paint brush, some towels or a blanket, and a pencil or pen.
--Part: One Purolator C38908 Cabin Air Filter ($30 at Advance Auto Parts), or OEM equivalent. The original from the factory filter which I replaced had the following nomenclature molded onto it (see picture): Mercedes- Benz A210 830 0818; Micron Air, made 10-04, Valco 45584, 539.9877.150
--Cabin Air Filter Location: The filter is located beneath the passenger side dash, just behind the glove box. It's normally hidden from view because it’s covered by a protective under-the-dash cover.


1. Make sure the car is in park and the ignition key set to on. move the passenger seat as far back as possible, and then remove the ignition key.Open the passenger door fully andremove the floor mat. (though my picture shows the mat in place, I later removed it). After removing the mat, go ahead and place your towels or blanket over the seat, the floor, and floor sill. this will not just protect your car, but it will also protect your back, which will be doing some contorting under the dash if you really want to do a first rate job.

2. With phillips head in hand and flashlight at ready, maneuver under the dash and remove the protective under dash cover, which is located directly behind the very bottom of the glove box, and attached by two screws. the 2 screws are located directly behind the glove box hinge, at the far ends of the under dash cover, and slightly recessed into two detents. once removed, the under dash cover will not just simply fall out (it shouldn't if it was installed correctly before), and you'll need to push it slightly towards the firewall about a half-inch until its front lips disengage from the dash (they're interlocked with the dash). the cover will then drop down slightly, but don't go forcing it out just yet. Now, with the cover hanging slightly down in the front, use your flashlight and look at the top of the cover (which is now slightly exposed), and towards the rear center (towards firewall) you'll see a 1 inch plastic lip interlocked with the dash. this lip is used to hold the cover to the dash. Now, just pull the cover towards the seat and that lip should disengage and the cover will fall free. Place the cover and 2 screws aside.

3. Look at the picture you'll see what’s exposed under the dash after the under dash protective cover is removed in step 2. On the right side note a square plastic box cover (which protects a hvac blower motor), and on the left side you'll see a long rectangular cover (the filter is there). You'll need to remove both of these covers to do a first rate job, but only the left cover if you're going to just replace the cabin filter -- your choice. the covers are removed differently: the blower cover by pinching the 2 clips in and then sliding the plastic locks to the side, and the filter cover by simply sliding each of the 2 semi-white clips outward. before removing the blower cover you'll first have to unplug a push on type electrical connector (see picture), which you can remove by simply rocking the plug body (not wires) slowly, end-to-end. this might take a little finesse, depending on how stiff the plug is seated, but it should eventually loosen up and come free. the blower cover (which is flat) might also require a little persuading too, but it will just drop down once loose. The filter cover works the same way, but it has a plastic tongue at one end (which you can't see right now because it's inside the filter housing -- see picture) that is about 3 inches long and which may be stuck to the foam that is glued to the filter and used as a compression gasket, so you may have to ease the cover off by pulling it downward. take note of the filter cover end with the tongue and its orientation relative to the opening for future reference and place both covers aside.

4. Read this entire step before proceeding. This step may require just a little elbow grease on your part, depending on how old your filter is, because what may happen is that the foam that is glued to the filter as a compression gasket often deteriorates and becomes very gummy and sticky, much like glue. If so, the filter may stick to the inside of the housing (versus just falling out), and require you to physically pull it out (with fingers or pliers). Though my SRT has just 16k miles on it, I found the foam on my filter had deteriorated, and was very sticky (I have noticed this on other vehicles too). This deterioration was probably due to age versus miles, but it required my pulling it out with my fingers. Now, a somewhat important part: when the filter breaks free, and before it falls out completely, write something on the front side of the filter for later orientation reference. Please, don't ask -- just do it, ok... Now, completely remove the filter and you will note that it is uniquely shaped (keyed) in a pattern that will physically prevent you from putting it fully back into its housing the wrong way, with one side being rounded and the other side being flat. you can also verify this "keying" by looking inside the filter enclosure, if you're agile enough, where you will note that one side is rounded while the other is flat (see picture). Place the filter aside for future reference.

5. Now, with your paint brush, brush the blower motor compartment and filter compartment clean to your satisfaction. Then, with a damp rag, wipe the inside of filter compartment down, paying particular attention to where the filter foam touches the enclosure housing, as some of the filter foam gunk may still be stuck to it.

6. Examine and clean the 3 covers (under dash protective, filter, blower) with your brush and damp rag.

7. Install the new cabin air filter, noting its unique shape, and how it will only go into the housing one way, if done correctly (round side versus flat side). Use the old one that you wrote on for reference, if necessary.

8. Assuming you removed both the air and blower covers, reinstall both of them opposite of how you removed them, making sure that on the blower cover that you first insert its plastic fingers into their mating slots before closing it up and sliding the locking hinges over, and then fully reseat the electrical connector. Likewise, on the filter cover, note the "tongue end," insert it accordingly (tongue end goes to the right and is closest to the firewall), and slide the plastic bands back over to lock it in place.

9. Now, place the ignition key in, start the engine, and test the installation by turning the air conditioning system on (turning on blower). Once satisfied that nothing is leaking, etc., remove the ignition key.

10. Now, replace the protective under dash cover. Note that the 1 inch wide plastic finger has to be inserted into its slot first, and then mate the other edge (towards seat) into its interlocks, and reinstall the two phillips head screws. Replace floor matt. Congratulations, you're done. Now wasn't that easy...


Notes: After reading the other forum entries regarding replacing the cabin air filter I noted that some folks were worried about placing the cabin air filter back in the wrong way (airflow direction, etc). That said, I was just a little concerned and so I paid particular attention to the cabin air filter orientation as I removed it, and even wrote "front" on it before fully removing it. Well, after I removed it completely I noticed that the cabin air filter design was unique (as mentioned above), or "keyed," so as to prevent it from being installed backwards, so there is really nothing to worry about. Now sure, you can install the filter backwards, but only just somewhat, when you're going to notice that something is wrong and that it just isn’t fitting properly.

Best Regards -- Bob

Whoops, I've tried loading this with the pictures several times now without success, so it looks like I'll have to split it into two parts, narrative and pictures. My apologies for any inconvenience...


July 19, 2011 -- The correct tool, as many have mentioned, is not a phillips head screwdriver. I did, however, use a phillips head to remove mine, because once I was in position under the dash, and having a bad back, I wasn't about to get out and go get my torx set, ha, ha! But when I wrote the narrative I forgot about the screw type (probably back medication and old age related, so give me a freakin break, will ya - ha, ha!) Best regards -- Bob