How to change the cabin filter on a Mercedes W202 C-Class

Today we will be installing a Crossland cabin filter and inspecting/cleaning the blower motor on my Mercedes W202 C-Class.

I brought this particular filter from Euro Car Parts. Follow this link to get the exact one I got: Crossland Filter

Although, looking through the range to create the affiliate link the Fram filter looks a lot closer to what came out of the car. Fram Filter

The cabin filter, or pollen filter, has two jobs. Firstly, it keeps pollen, dust, leaves and other particles out of the vehicles heating and air conditioning system stopping them getting blown into the car but it also protects your blower motor from these particulates.

Depending on your mileage you should change your cabin filter every year or two. I’ve had this car about 18 months and have never changed it so I think it may be due!

To access the cabin filter and blower motor you’ll need to remove the panel beneath the passenger side glovebox. (It’ll be on the passenger side on both left and right hand driven cars.)

To remove the panel there are three screws just below the glovebox lid door.

Against the centre console you’ll also find this little vent that also holds the panel above it up. Turn the screw 90 degrees and the screw will pull out then you can remove the panel.

I always find these screws deceptive. I always want to turn it until it comes out. Without fail, every time.

With the panel down we can see the access panels for both the blower motor and pollen filter. First we shall clean around the blower motor. You will see two white sliders on the bottom of a black box. The black box is the covering of the blower motor and the white sliders are the release mechanism.

Here’s a slightly better shot of the releases just so you know what to look for.

To release the box’s lid. Slide the two white things towards the centre of the box then pull the lid down. It can be a little stiff if it hasn’t been done in a while.

Here’s what the inside looked like (yuck!)

With the lid removed you can see the blower motor itself. Try to clear as much dust and dirt as you can.

Putting the lid back on is basically the reversal of removal. me sure to route the wiring of this electrical connector near the blower to the inside of the lid to keep it hidden.

This is what that connection will look like when everything is back together.

Now we can move onto the filter itself!

The filter is housed above this panel. The panel can be located towards the centre of the car from the blower motor’s panel.

Again, the panel is held up by sliding clips. There are tow of these clips that have to be removed to get the panel off. To get them off slide them away from the centre of the panel and they will come off. They will be a little stiff to get off so be careful! Especially with the one towards the firewall. You don’t want to be struggling with it and then have it shoot back so you punch the metal sheet that protects the ECU. Not that I did that of course!

With the clips off we can remove the panel. It can only go back on one way (with the sticky up bit towards the firewall. Again, whilst it’s out you might a well get as much dust off as you can.

The filter will now pull out. Again, these only can go back in one way but be sure to make a note of the different angles and where they are as the filter comes out.

the Crossland filter is much thinner than the one that came out. The thickness is made up for by plastic tabs sticking out of the side of the filter. The foam around the Crossland filter is also much thicker. If you leave it as is then the cover won’t go back on so trim it slightly with a sharp knife.

Again, installation is reversal of removal. Getting the filter back into it’s housing can be a little tricky but patience is the key. I also found it a little easier by folding the carpet that runs up the panel protecting the ECU down.

It’s not a hard job to do, and it preserves the blower motor which is good as I bet that’s a pain to change! Next time I do this I will be using one of the more expensive filters though. The Crossland one seems to be doing the job but the chunky OEM and more expensive pattern filters do look a lot better.

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By Richard Francis