HD - 2004-2009 Mazda 3 Cabin Air Filter Change DIY - No Glove Compartment Removal Method

As the title says, Cabin air filter change diy demonstrated on my 2007 Aurora Blue Mazda 3.
Items needed:
10mm socket needed for Battery Negative Terminal
12mm deep socket needed for metal brace lugs
Flat-head and Philips-head screwdrivers
TYC 800023P2 Mazda Replacement Cabin Air Filter used

[@reno5948]

Thanks buddy! Much easier than what other guys show where they spend so much time removing the whole glove box. I’m also a DIY guy, and had accessed the fuse panel many times to replace burned out fuses, so that part was quick. Appreciate your video.

[@garethbattersby]

I'm just about to do the filter on my gfs mazda, after watching some videos I wish I hadnt volunteered. my car you flip the glovebox down, unhook it, pull out a tray with the filter, pop out old, pop in new. quick 5 minute job and no unbolting anything. I hope the engineer and designer got shot for this design

[@samuelwilson5559]

Nice video. Worked like a charm. Note to self bring a vacuum to clean the box and pay attention to what direction the filters come out/go in.

[@arthurgiannakis2156]

I did this today on my 2005 Mazda 3. Bought the car used two years ago. Left the glove compartment on for this. The filter in the car when I took it out looked like it had never been changed. It was black and full of bugs and dirt, so I'm glad I did it, but I can appreciate why no one changes them. The entire job in essence is "easy" but I will never ever do this again. Terrible design to just change a cabin air filter. After disconnecting the battery, popping off the side panel, dropping and disconnecting the electrical junction/fuse panel, then had to use a breaker bar to remove the two bolts with extended 12mm socket that held the metal mount, removing the side cover for the filters, it then took ages for me to locate the new filters. There is just no space to work with and I was swapping between lying on my back or on my front and going by feel if the top and bottom filters were in right. First attempt felt like job was done but I got in with a torch and they wernt aligned. Pull them out again. Muck about for another 15 minutes, finally get them in and stacked vertically. Popped the cover back on and did everything again in reverse after a ton of swearing. After finishing, turned the car on and had to let it relearn idle. While that was happening tested the blower and the air was blowing out great. Happy with the end result, but annoyed at the workflow. Compare this to my wifes Toyota. Drop the glove compartment enough to get behind it. Slide out the old filter, slide in the new one. Pop the glove compartment back up. No need for battery disconnection. Job done. This is how it SHOULD BE!

[@badass125]

Arthur Giannakis I agree 100% man, the process for such a simple job is way harder than it should be. The whole summary you described reminded me exactly of my struggles when I made this video and did mine. I put it this way, yes, the process is a pain but I forgive them because our cars are so rewarding and fun to drive and own otherwise that I can let this little thing go. Who knows, Mazda was under Ford rule back then and maybe that had something to do with this shitty design. With that said, even my 2008 VW Jetta, back when they were still authentic German design, still changes the cabin air filter exactly like you described for your Toyota. This is crazy because Germans are known to unnecessarily complicate basic things with their cars. Enjoy the clean and safe to breathe air my man! I just installed a subwoofer in this Mazda. Going to put up an overview video soon to help others do the same.

[@djsmiley09]

after gen 1 they made it way easier. dont have to do anything with the junction box.

[@robomatt1600]

Arthur Giannakis yup

[@m0t0k0kusanagi]

Yeah this is a terrible pain in the ass for a simple cabin filter. Definitely hiring someone to deal with it for me, and glad Mazda has improved the design in the Gen3

[@highlandermccloud3594]

I've changed my twice now in the 9 years I have had mine.. Never come out black and horrid like I keep seeing in the videos of people replacing theirs.. WTF are you lot doing?

[@bubblewarp3905]

Thanks for the tutorial. I was really reluctant to do it myself, but in the end I completed the job in 20 mins. Putting back the wires were tricky as I didn't know how the wires were latched. As for the metal bracket, I used an adjustable wrench instead of a deep 12mm socket.

[@badass125]

BubBleWaRp Glad you got it done easily man. Cheers!

[@leopold9999]

Who the F#$% designed this. Way more involved then it should be.

[@raybustos4987]

leopold9999 Right ! I think I might go have it done somewhere. I don't have patience for this.

[@delcodriver]

I blame Ford

[@Mtrl-newer]

F&&king japanese designed it.

[@lonewanderer958]

Ray Bustos it takes 10 minutes...

[@leopold9999]

@@lonewanderer958 I would say 20 minutes for someone who isn't a mechanic! On my BMW I could do air intake and air cabin filter in under 30 seconds without a screwdriver!! That's engineering 😂

[@UnpaidInternn]

210k miles and I have yet to change this stupid thing. I’m a bit scared of what I’ll find by now but think I’ll give it a shot this week. Thanks for the vid. Seems like an easier method than the glove compartment option.

[@badass125]

You’re very welcome! Good luck!

[@markilyons1913]

That was so much quicker than removing the glove box. it's still a little tight in there. Thanks for the tip on leaning the seat back. it really helped. It's so much easier to change the cabin air filter in my husband's Toyota.

[@badass125]

Marki Lyons Really glad to hear the tips helped. Enjoy the clean air in our beloved fun to drive Mazda 3s! 😊

[@ricsmith6464]

Followed your steps on my '06 Mazda 3S today, and no trouble at all. For the bracket nuts, I used a regular 12mm wrench and a screwdriver as a fulcrum to pry it loose a few millimeters, and then it was easy to remove with fingers. Getting the bottom filter in was tricky, you really have to make sure those rails line up on top of each other and goes in the slot inside that housing or it all falls down.

[@grega4493]

It's legit. Like the man says, you don't need to remove the glove box. I've changed these filters a few years ago and I was looking for a video to refresh my memory. I came across a few that go through removing the glove box, and I knew I didn't do that the first time. Thanks for the video, very thorough, to the point, no chit chat, and some good tips along the way.

[@badass125]

Thanks for the kind words sir! Glad it was able to help the number of people it did 😊

[@robbisson8799]

Awesome video! I am not really a car guy and it took me 1 hour all in. The hardest part is properly aligning the new filters, there is not much room to work back there!

[@gaspars4753]

Just did mine today on my 2005 with the help of this video. Thanks!

[@zackmorris5020]

Just did mine. It was really really bad. What a pain in the ass compared to most vehicles with it in the glove box. Took me about an hour. Thanks Badass125

[@genghis1971]

Thanks for this video, it helped me quite a bit. I was having trouble with getting the filters in, I understand why there are two but getting the bottom one in place while trying to hold the top one just wasn't working for me. I ended up blowing a balloon up to about 3 inches in diameter and wedged that behind the top filter. That held it in place while I was able to slide the bottom filter in place. With the bottom filter in place I was able to pull the balloon out. Trust me it was well worth the trip to the dollar store.

[@badass125]

Wow that's actually a pretty genius idea! I remember I struggled with that portion as well. Glad the whole video helped, I'm humbled by the response the video got in general. Thank you!

[@JayNew33]

Just picked up my 08, Thank God for your video, it probably save me time, money, parts (cause I would of broke stuff)

[@francoisross1173]

If you remove the passenger seat it makes it way easier. I had to fix my subwoofer under my passenger seat and replaced my cabin filter at the same time. Makes it way easier to access the compartments!

[@doespeople]

Thanks dude! Just did mine, quick and easy after watching this took me maybe an hour

[@badass125]

Drew Leach Glad to hear that man! Thanks for the support!

[@timhenwood747]

Very helpful vid took me 15 min to change over and back together

[@javier4781]

Wow your carpet looks amazing, mine is all warn from pervious owner

[@badass125]

Thanks man! I try to keep up. also helps that it only has 72xxx miles on it 😊 Did the DIY help you get your filter replaced?

[@breanainnfigueras8672]

great and clean video man... thanks

[@badass125]

Thank you! Glad you found it helpful!

[@bigredc222]

If you saved $100, you get to spend at least half that on new tools, you should of bought a whole deep socket set, that's why it seemed like it wasn't worth it, you have nothing to show for your trouble, if you had some new tools, it would seem much more worth it. Thanks for the video.

[@badass125]

C Smith Good sir, thanks for your response. Rest assured that an extensive variety socket set was acquired since then, along with many other tools. The DIY journey is one that grows with time and experience. One needs to keep that in mind for those new to the journey. Thanks for your support!

[@bigredc222]

I've been at it over thirty years, you guys have it so much easier, we had to use books, IF you could even find one that had the info you needed, you could actually borrow a Chiltons repair manual from the public library, but they didn't have every model, you get good at using all the curse words and come up with a few of your own. I did the regular air filter today, that only took about ten minuets, I'll attempt the cabin filters one day this week. See you

[@abdolhakwik9125]

Great video man!! Really helped alot! But dayum was it tight in there!! Getting the 2 new filters in was a B!! Hahaha! After 10 min i managed to fit them in properly and everything was good from there!!! Thanx again!!

[@superbadTommy]

Thanks for the tutorial. I just replaced mine today for the first time on an '08 - after 105,000 km. My old filter was gross and definitely needed to be changed! Surprising, the hardest part was getting those two bolts off the metal bracket - I needed a long breaker bar, a couple ratchets extensions, and a deep socket to get them free. Luckily I had those things! The other thing that was a bit of a pain was contorting my hands/body to get those damn clips out, especially the upper ones. I also noticed that one of the new filters I got came with a piece of foam attached that looked like swiss cheese. I left it on when installing it (seemed to be glued on so didn't try to remove it) This seems kind of weird since the original 2008 OEM filter didn't have that piece, and why would you want to restrict airflow more??

[@badass125]

I'm glad this helped and you were able to get yours done. you're lucky that you had the deep sockets and longer breaker bar as I had to run to the shop to get some. I haven't seen that pece of foam you're talking about and don't think it's needed. What brand of filter did you use?

[@superbadTommy]

A 'Mazda Genuine' one - bought from dealership. BP8P-61-J6X. It seemed like it was glued (or taped on) fairly securely so I came to the conclusion it was supposed to be there (even though it didn't make sense to me)

[@badass125]

soy understanding is that this swiss cheese like foam was in front of the existing filter material. You know what, honestly it might just be an updated design by Mazda. I wouldn't be surprised as these require changing way to often as they start getting the moldy smell. If we choose to ignore it like it did with 70000 miles or you with 105000. That's a whole other story then.

[@kevinw179]

good video. I tried to do mine today but failed. the two 12mm screw are very tight. I couldn't get one of them off.

[@badass125]

Kevin W sorry to hear that man. They are indeed very hard to take off. Get yourself a deep reach extension socket for it. It's the only way to create enough torque and loosen up the bolt. Good luck! The bolt is the hardest part. Everything else falls into place after that.

[@lukejansen7875]

that's where I'm stuck too. can't get either of them off

[@djsmiley09]

use a breaker bar or cheater bar for your wrench. more leverage

[@thiscorrosion900]

or just bring it to the dealer and let them deal with it. Thank God my Mazda 2017 3 is leased and is under warranty still, since my bloody blower motor died the minute it just hit 94 F. degrees here in NYC and LI the past three days. I don't even know if they replaced the cabin filters also, they didn't note it on the receipt. Assholes.

[@marthapr7083]

Before I viewed video I actually was gonna attempt to replace myself , after viewing I have decided to never replace it because I have no patience, otherwise was good video for folks who have a little patience

[@badass125]

Martha Pr Thanks for the great feedback! I agree, these are a pain to do on this generation Mazda 3. But I feel the car more than makes up for it with how fun it is to drive.

[@jefffontenot4551]

Thanks! This video was a great help.

[@Johnny-yc2cs]

This is a walk in the park compare to replacing the cabin filter on a Renault Megane 265. On those you need to remove the clutch pedal

[@faz7862]

Did mine this past week, got a sore ass and some cuts on my arms but we got there in the end. On the UK models there are some minor differences i.e. Theres no sensor on the cabin filter cover and when installing you put the bottom air filter in first. I spent ages trying to do it the other way around and it wouldn't work.

[@badass125]

faz7862 Yeah, that makes sense because of the Right hand drive over there, and slight difference in layout because of that. I’m glad you were able to figure it out and that my video helped even if a little bit. Cheers!

[@faz7862]

GreasyPlopper passenger side pal. You need to remove the panel on the right side next to the stereo.

[@richw6690]

How do you get to the Blend door actuator? I have no heat. And I don't hear/feel anything when turning the knob. I wanna see if the blend door is working properly or if it's the thermostat.

[@RUmlas]

Mainly re-watched this video to help me install new air cabin filters. Also used this video as reference too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJLMlWZ_lr5qf8k Was shocked to find out that I didn't have any filters in the slots. Been like that for a while I figure. Wonder if I'll notice any changes now that it does have filters inside. Thanks for taking the time to make this video. Much appreciated.

[@badass125]

RJ Umlas Glad the video helped! Having filters in place now should make a huge difference in the quality of your air (way less allergens etc.)

[@pserim]

great video bro!! thank you!!

[@juanescobar1237]

I Dont know why mazda made the replace of cabin air filter too dificult. !!!

[@badass125]

Juan Escobar I know, it's a little bit more difficult than other cars. Are you stuck at any specific spot and did my video help? Can I help answer any questions?

[@RoadDeb]

I couldn't remove those 2- 12mm nuts holding the bracket on. They were so tight, I ended up using an impact driver and breaking the extender!

[@badass125]

Nick Janeri oh damn man, I rememeber them being super tight but was still able to break them loose. Sorry to hear you broke your extension. I'd spray some penetrating oil like wd-40 to help loosen them up. Also MAKE SURE that you're using the DEEP version of the 12mm socket. That really helped get torque to break it loose when I did it. Good Luck!

[@westonrice2742]

Oh my f$ck I'm glad my 2012 mazda 3 isn't this difficult to change the cabin filter or it would never be changed st all

[@Mtrl-newer]

I will never buy mazda again.

[@chuyram2500]

Thanks

[@user-bz6hx8oo7z]

After seeing a lot of videos, I ordered the filters, took out everything as in the video, returned to the place and now the driver can not control the passengers' electric windows : / Maybe it's the fuses

[@badass125]

Yes you accidentally plugged the wrong wiring connector in the wrong spot underneath the glove box. Correct that and the windows will work fine. ליאור הרשקוביץ

[@zajak17]

what if i dont remove the negative cable from the battery or turn it on service mode?

[@badass125]

Bugs Bunny If you don’t take the negative cable off, you will have a much higher chance of popping multiple fuses during the process. You can do this without putting it into service mode, that is not critical.

[@zajak17]

@@badass125 i did it with no service mode and only took off positive cable from the battery, no problems for now 😁

[@badass125]

Bugs Bunny Hey negative or positive, you broke the 12/14.5v circuit either way, so I’m not surprised that it worked well. Enjoy your fresh air! 😊

[@jaimecordero5452]

thanks for the video I did it but after the check engine light came on P0043 any ideas?

[@nba2kworld433]

I got a check engine light too and the door indicator is lit like a door is open, but none are??

[@skierjack]

did this, now my high beems and horn dont work, my signals dont display and my parking break light will pop on and off. wonky is right

[@badass125]

skierjack You have plugged in the wire harness connectors (on the white panel under the dash 3:22) into the wrong slots when plugging everything back together. Re-watch the video and try to rearrange those connectors to how they were when you took them off. I told you to take a picture before you took everything off.

[@harfordtechlax21]

Had the EXACT same issue when I did this today. This comment and first reply made me recheck the connectors, the small blue connector on the left side of the upper portion of the panel was not seated correctly. Great video btw, thanks for posting!

[@wojciechmichalak9135]

👍💪🙋‍♂️ Thank U

[@zamoteh]

It's not that difficult to do. It would be a shame to spend money on a mechanic. It took me about half an hour and I didn't need a deep reach extension socket for the bolt, I could reach it with an ordinary one. The only difficult part is/was the crouching position (very difficult access), which could be made a lot easier by taking off the glove compartment. All in all, it is doable without removing the glove compartment (and probably faster), but takes more physical exertion.

[@badass125]

zamoteh You hit it right on the nail man! Just more physically exertive to do it by the book without removing the glove box.

[@courtneykean3331]

So I’m having a bit of a problem, this is the second time I’ve changed a Mazda 3 cabin filter and for some reason the auto on my drivers window isn’t working anymore. Was I too heavy handed with the wiring loom or is there some “trick” to getting it working again?

[@badass125]

Courtney Kean, are you sure that all connectors were plugged back in to the right places on the wire junction? It could be that you were too rough with one of the connectors/wires? Secondly, is it only the auto feature and not the window as a whole? There may be a learning feature. Put the window up and down manually about ten times. A lot of cars have this window re-learning feature

[@courtneykean3331]

badass125 I fixed it :) It just needed resetting, which was just holding it for 5 seconds in the down position 😂😂

[@courtneykean3331]

badass125 thank you for your fast reply :)

[@badass125]

Courtney Kean You’re very welcome! Glad to hear there was a sequence and you figured it out. Thanks for reporting back and sharing with everyone else. It definitely helps. Cheers!

[@josemonzon8091]

Can a realy durty a/c filter affect the the sistem to not work well ?

[@attilavidacs24]

Yes a clogged up filter heavily restricts air flow.

[@MindRiderFPV]

Takes exactly 30” on my subaru. This is a mess.

[@harpoon_bakery162]

What the ^@#@*&% uck ... Was Boeing behind this????? Do we have to reprogram the computer system too? thanks for the video, holy s_i_ total bungus.

[@cartersdad2010]

Holy FML!*;"!*;*!"!"!*!* I got that SOB in there!

[@badass125]

Chris Kampmann Congrats! I’m glad if my video was even 1% helpful 😊

[@cartersdad2010]

@@badass125 Dude! You have no idea how much that helps. Still what a royal PITA seriously, how did anyone get that signed off on!!!!

[@chizo5097]

Too complicated for me I just let my mechanic to do it for me

[@hankhankyourhankerin401]

Newer models much easier and quicker

[@198212699]

People do not listen to this tape, you must dismantle the glove compartment otherwise you will have big problems

[@Verschlimmbesserung]

And they say Germans over-engineer stuff...

[@nathanblanchard8897]

Bill Kendich I feel like this is just poorly engineered 😅 personally I’d trade some glovebox space in exchange for this being easier.

[@alextill1135]

Too much talking