I recently purchased a 2004 Crossfire and began going through it this weekend. After reading through the forum articles I jumped in to the cabin air filter and the two (2) air cleaner filters.


And what did I find ? ? ?


I think they were the "original" cabin filter and air filters to the vehicle Both were Mercedes parts/filters and they both looked like I had raked my yard of autumn leaves..........and then poured those dry leaves over the filters and put them back in to the vehicle.


How could anyone NOT check the maintenance needs of a vehicle when it comes to periodic filter replacement ? I'm hoping for a better smell inside my car as well as performance under the hood.


Just had to vent. Thank you !

 

How many miles on your car? With such poor maintenance on this XF you may be in need of an oil & filter change. Mobil 1 0-40 & Mann filter.

 

annnnnnd ......

brake fluid flush
cooling system flush
power steering flush
transmission oil and filter
serpentine belt
differential oil change

 

alaxfire and I did these in a few hours one weekend.
* Except the transmission

HIGHLY recommend all of these.

 

105,000 miles Yeah, bit by bit I'll have checked all the necessary fluid/filter changes as the previous owner(s) should have done. Some people should not have cars it appears.


My dad used to say, "if it ain't broke...........don't fix it". His cars didn't last very long either.

 

My dad also said if it aint broke, don't 'fix' it. It is a good statement when applied correctly, as I have and will do diligently. The statement has NOTHING to do with a plan of scheduled maintenance. The two should NEVER be tied together. As you know, people throw money at things that are not broken all the time. Since I believe it is their money, they can do whatever they want with it, so they avail themselves all the time to do just that and then complain things cost so much and whine about it. Your example is quite the two way street you know? If you had done a good pre-check, you could have known the condition of these things you mention and negotiated down the price paid accordingly. If I use your logic, some people should never buy cars, it appears.


Welcome to the BEST forum for our cars! The help you find here is quite invaluable. I hope you download many (if not all) the help .pdf's and especially the service manuals for your car. One HUGE tip, search is your friend! The documents and membership here will save you a whole lot of $. And remember, if it aint broke don't fix it!!

 

Forgive me if I feel a little annoyed but since you don't know what I paid for the car..............your point is what again ?

 

Recommend checking the water drains under the windshield cowling for blockage. Also check for any sign of water entry @ right side trunk well, under the trunk flooring, where the locking control module/pump lives. Lots of info here on these items, some have added a small drain hole in trunk as a precaution. Owner's manual recommends spark plugs @ 100,000 miles OR 5 years. I changed mine @ about 7 years & 65,000 miles. Glad I did; plugs looked a bit "tired" and found nasty corrosion @ one boot to coil connection, replaced wire & coil to be safe.
My few repairs & maintenance have not been expensive thanks to the good people here & my own labor. I avoid the dealers if at all possible, many parts even oem are available elsewhere.

 

I forgive you. Everyone gets at least one.


Missing the point usually means a lack of comprehension on what was read. Try re-reading? In this case it might be broke, the question is do you want to fix it?


In responding, no one cares what you paid for your car, the point is check them before your surprised and fix em. The filters in the car could very easily been replaced with MB parts. Where they got all the debris usually denotes where it was parked and if it was not checked before the sale and corrected. Your original post indicated you were surprised, mine pointed out you shouldn't have been. You quoted and disparaged your dad in post 5, I thought that needed responding to as far as the application of the quote. I happen to like that quote, seems you either don't like the quote or where it came from. We are from the same generation, I may be wrong but surely you've owned a few cars in your lifetime?


Maybe you were surprised a used car would not be in new condition when you acquired it? You sure sounded like it. It isn't a new car and it will never be. Does that help? Probably not. In this world of PC and social media, it isn't surprising people shout out/post about things most trivial. Really glad you found it, have you done a TB reset yet? Instead on focusing on being a little annoyed, I do hope you took my advice about the wide resources available to you to help you with your car?

 

Wow.....someone has to be right all the time don't you...

 

Not at all. I post on what is posted, posts form a mental image or impression of what is being communicated. I TRY to edit B4 posting. Sometimes, even after editing, it is misunderstood. If this is the case then maybe we can both learn from it.


An olive branch only works when both can agree.... Otherwise, we stand by what we steadfastly puff too?


Either way, I am content with my impression I first got. That IS what you opened up with.


I still hope you use the resources available here. Regardless what you think of me, you will save a lot of money!

 

Let me also say that I remember when I first bought my XF. I was extremely excited to own this car (and still am, regardless of FCA's lack of support). I also may have posted controversial posts (in other owners minds). We ALL have be guilty of 'speaking-before-editing' (or words to the like). Let us remember the reason we are members here? I think we are here to help one and all. If I left an impression to the contrary, I accept my role in that assessment. Lets all help to keep our cars on the road for the least amount of $'s spent (or not)?


This is why I am here, and will be here until I have lost MY XF, and have nothing else to contribute to those willing to benefit from advice well intentioned.

 

Some people just wait for a check engine light !!! LOL all though I did have a 98 Ford Taurus & didn't know it had a cabin filter ! Never changed it in 15 yrs ! Sold it ! then was checking inlaws 05 Ford Taurus seen that it had a cabin filter ! Thought gee wonder if my 98 had one ? LOL

 

Filters, these cars have filters.....huh?

 

I know what you mean. I was horrified when I went to replace the cabin air filter after buying my XF in April to find it was the OEM filter with a 2003 date code.

Fortunately though engine air filters looked new. Although they were of the cheap Fram variety.

There was a Mobil 1 window sticker for the oil milage so that at least was an encouraging sign.

 

Congrats on your recent purchase & welcome to the forum. Seeing the cabin filter really dirty doesn't come as a surprise. It's not difficult to change but where it's located means it gets skipped when it comes to scheduled service. I Just recently changed mine for the 2nd or 3rd time (doesn't really matter) and I keep the car covered when it is not being driven. And I was surprised at how dirty the cabin filter looked. Replaced it with a Micron-Air part.

Anyway, lots of good reference material scattered throughout the forum.

 

Come on Guy's - A lot of conversation here but no engine air filter recommendations. I know a lot of folks swear by the K&N filters, but if you drive very little, and avoid dusty road conditions, isn't K&N a bit of an overkill? Can someone recommend a good engine air filter that doesn't run $100.00 plus for our cars that are driven very little? Fram, Wix, Mahle, Hastings - Any suggestions and experiences with any of these?

Jim

 

The OEM filter was a Mann I believe, that was what my cars had.
One way of seeing what you want is to look at what you have now, there will be a number on it. If it is a Mann then you know the number, if not ask your parts supplier for the Mann equivalent of what you have.

Most parts on this car have the part number on them, use the suppliers part number or the MB part number as it will be cheaper than buying the same part using the Chrysler part number.

The Mann part number is C 2861-2, Mercedes part# 112 094 03 04, K&N part #33-3390, Wix part#42822.
Check my numbers as I have been known to make mistakes, suppliers often give the SRT number instead of the NA part number and vice versa.

The Crossfire NA air filter is two different thicknesses, it has a step in the bottom face, the SRT filter is one thickness end to end and it is also wider and longer

Try eBay for prices. CLICK

 

From my perspective, if you're not interested in using the K&N filter element (I don't necessarily disagree with your take on this), then just about any reputable air filter element can be used. I wouldn't buy the "knock-offs" offered at many auto part retailers, but the major sources (i.e., Fram, WIX, Purolator, Mann, etc.) will deliver required results. And with the pricing of these major brands, consider this as a 1x/yr or 1x/2yr maintenance task, depending on driving habits.

These are specific P/Ns for major brands for the NAs available at most auto part retailers:

Fram - CA9689
Purolator - A35443
WIX - 42822

 

Where is the cabin filter located? What are the filters that require changing? I know about the oil filter and the air filters that sit on top of the engine. What have I missed? I just had some green stuff come out of the air duct on the passenger side while the AC was on. What is that? How do I get rid of it?