[Viju]

My daily drive is a 2007 Honda Odyssey (model code : RB1) which I bought pre-owned, in March 2015. It was a single owner car which had done around 98,000 km and after 15 months with me, the odo now stands at 1,18,000 km. My daily commute is around 80 km.

Although it does not get uncomfortably hot where I live, it is generally humid, rains quite often and winters are really cold. All these, combined with the fact that I am a bit uptight when it comes to the interiors getting dirty, means that I drive with the air-con / heater ON 95% of the time.

Compared to what it is back home in Kochi, the dust and visible pollution levels are negligible here. I still prefer using the A/C in recirculation mode. I had decided to replace the cabin filter and wiper blades in both our cars just after Spring every year (wifey drives a pre-owned 2013 Swift CVT).

All OEMs in Japan sell parts over the counter. May be, they are legally obliged to. All you need is your vehicle registration certificate (and ￥) so that they can enter the VIN in their system and get you the correct part from storage. I went to the neighbourhood Honda dealer and bought a cabin filter, along with a few other bits like oil filter, engine air cleaner element etc (since I service the cars on my own in the evenings, using one of the lifts in the office garage). At the equivalent of INR 2000, it was a bit costlier than I expected.

Step 1: Open the glovebox lid



Step 2: Pull down the lid completely pressing the tabs (circled in red)



Step 3: Press the tabs on the filter housing to open the cover



Step 4: Pull out the filter housing till it comes off completely



The (not-so) dirty filter



Step 5: Remove the filter from the housing by pushing it upwards.
Note the direction of airflow printed on the element and the housing.



Step 6: Open new filter and performs Steps 1 to 5 in reverse to fix it.



Look back at your smiling car and walk away.



Notes:
① I know that a good cleaning of the old filter might have sufficed. But my kids are still small (4 year old and 3 month old) and I am paranoid when it comes to the chance of them picking up allergies etc.

② It took me around 5 minutes during lunch break for this DIY. But if you suffer from OCD as I do, you will spend another 20 minutes cleaning the surrounding areas.

③ This part 80292-SLJ-003 Element, Filter is common across several Honda models (Accord, Civic, CRX, CR-Z, Legend, Step Wgn etc) and I believe the replacement method should be similar if not the same.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers

[noopster]

Thread moved from Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[josejoseph]

Hi Viju - thanks for sharing your experience.

I have a 2011 Odyssey (bought in 2015) and I replaced the cabin filter myself since I could do it myself at 1/3rd the cost quoted by the Honda dealer.

I bought the part from Amazon (OEM) but it took me some time to replace it since my van has a bigger glove box along with a support strut.

How often are you planning to replace the filter? Is it 5K/10K interval?

I also replace the engine air filter myself since I find it economical.

BR,
Jose

[mxh]

It is amazing how clean that filter is! Life in Japan must truly be great. They have taken good care of their country.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by josejoseph

How often are you planning to replace the filter? Is it 5K/10K interval?

Hello jose

I believe you are in the U.S. Even here, the labour charges quoted by Honda A.S.S. are quite high, even for small jobs. Moreover, the satisfaction of working on your car yourself is immense, right?

I think I will drive around 12,000 - 15,000 kms annually. Therefore, my plan is to clean the filter every 6 months and replace it every year around this time.

Originally Posted by mxh

It is amazing how clean that filter is! Life in Japan must truly be great. They have taken good care of their country.

Hello mxh

Yes, the filter was much cleaner than I thought it would be. I rarely use fresh air mode, and although I don't have a closed parking at work or at home, I don't have to park under trees.

The environment here is generally cleaner. The Japanese do take good care of their country, but at the same time, they have a general dislike for diesel-powered vehicles. That should help in reducing particulate matter emissions.

Also, I think a lot depends on the geographical conditions. We have deserts and a lot of loose soil in India which tend to be blown around in the wind. Japan is a small country, mostly covered by vegetation.

[cruiser_1982]

I am a fellow Odyssey absolute owner from Auckland. I drive a 2008 absolute RB3, which is an import from Japan. I have the following button in my car, but I could not understand its usage. Any chance you can help me? Thanks in advance.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by cruiser_1982

I am a fellow Odyssey absolute owner from Auckland. I drive a 2008 absolute RB3, which is an import from Japan. I have the following button in my car, but I could not understand its usage. Any chance you can help me? Thanks in advance.
Attachment 1681362

Looks like the front windshield defroster switch.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by cruiser_1982

I have the following button in my car, but I could not understand its usage. Any chance you can help me?

Hello cruiser_1982

Good to hear from you.

I believe your car is equipped with 'Cold climate specification' which includes ORVM defroster and Defroster for the Front Wipers (same is the case with my car).

The switch you have shown is for defrosting the area of the front windshield where the front wipers rest (this is in addition to the front windshield demister using climate control). Although I have never had to use it, I believe this feature can be used to release the wipers in case they are stuck due to ice / snow in really cold climate, by slightly heating up the windshield. If you lift the wiper blades and look at the windshield, you can see the defogger lines along the windshield glass. Hope this helps.

[cruiser_1982]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Looks like the front windshield defroster switch.

Originally Posted by Viju

Hello cruiser_1982

Good to hear from you.

I believe your car is equipped with 'Cold climate specification' which includes ORVM defroster and Defroster for the Front Wipers (same is the case with my car).

The switch you have shown is for defrosting the area of the front windshield where the front wipers rest (this is in addition to the front windshield demister using climate control). Although I have never had to use it, I believe this feature can be used to release the wipers in case they are stuck due to ice / snow in really cold climate, by slightly heating up the windshield. If you lift the wiper blades and look at the windshield, you can see the defogger lines along the windshield glass. Hope this helps.

Thanks a ton Gannu_1, Viju. Now I understand the functionality