My wife was complaining that her fan wasn’t blowing very hard from the vents in her 2008 Sequoia. So I went to the auto parts store and picked up a new cabin air filter for around $12. I emptied our her glove box and squoze both sides inward to by-pass the little stop tabs that only allow it to open a determined amount. These tabs keep the compartment door from opening all the way and dumping out all the contents. In back left side of the compartment there may be a cover, depending on what year and model you own, that you can easily remove. There is now a cover on the filter behind the cover.
There are two tabs, one on each side of the air filter cover. You can squeeze either side to start removing the cover. I was able to remove the cover by squeezing just one side. Once the cover is removed carefully remove the filter so you do not dump any of the dirt out in you glove box or into the venting system. You will find that the top side of the filter is usually visibly dirty and may even have leaves and large debris caught in it. Discard the old filter and simply install the new filter the same way the old filter was installed. Pay attention to the filter as you install it, it should say which direction the air flow should be through the filter. Remember when you removed the old filter all the dirt was on the top side of the filter. This indicates that the air moves from top to bottom through the filter. So simply put the new filter in with the air flow indication arrow pointing down. Then replace the covers and push the compartment door back inside of the stop table and you are done.
PS. If you have odors or smells in your car when you turn on your vents or air conditioning I would recommend to replace the air cabin filter as well. Good luck and thanks for reading.
