Cabin/Pollen Filter Replacement Help needed
 

Hi,
My first Volvo (V50s 1.8 Petrol 08), my first post - be gentle with me :regular_smile:
Air con works okay, but car steams up on wet days and it takes while for the air con to clear it. I've had this with other cars, a simple change of the cabin filter does the trick and it's been an easy job, but YouTube seems to indicate that this is anything but easy on the V50.
I can find plenty of video showing how to do this on a LH drive car (remove dashboard lower, throttle pedal and lift carpet etc) but not on a RH drive car.
I'm presuming it's still located behind the carpet at the very back of the LHS footwell and it seems I'm going to have to remove the glove box and possibly some of whatever is behind it. Does anyone have a 'how to' guide for this job?

Many thanks in anticipation
Mike

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...t=cabin+filter

try that,, pics and what eveyone found appear later in the thread

According to Vida.....

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1809/...726115d5_o.gif

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/841/4...bd148faa_o.gif

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1826/...95112090_o.gif

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1823/...7eeb4fd8_o.gif

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/...724d30fd_o.gif

I disconnected and removed the ecu to gain access and was still tight. If you go down that route disconnect the battery first.

Here's my updated post to the thread Andy posted.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showp...&postcount=105

Hope it helps.

This is very helpful to know thank you.
I have a 2006 S40 Sport, so hoping it's almost identical in the replacement process

No difference whatsoever regardless of engine type or equipment. (read: the same retarded gymnastic-skill-needed-badly-designed way).
Cheshired5's posted method seem to be best as you dont really need to undo glovebox and with CEM out you can also inspect&clean it. Im a big guy and professional couch potato but still was able to do it in 20 mins (and a 2 days of latter back pain) ;)

the vida pics make it look easy . in the real world its quite a bit more dificult . but it is do able if you work with care and allow abt an hour if its your first time .

So how come you could do it in 20 mins when others report 1 hour?

Also chesired's post doesn't include any of the extra steps that Petey had to go through, did you not need to do these extra steps?

Also, how come the filter image from VIDA looks totally different to what the cabin filter actually looks like?

- I have lots of questions as I'm trying to gear myself up to do this haha

I think a lot time is saved by not taking the glove box out and not removing the CEM bracket holder.

I've heard people drop the CEM then bend the bracket that covers the filter door.

Even though my way takes a little longer, it makes life easier.

I couldn't imagine doing it without removing the glove box. I'll be doing it again soon and now have a flexible head ratchet spanner to save taking the CEM off the bracket.

Okay, so it is possible by just removing that bit of carpet and the underneath of the glove box, but the angles are quite tight?

Yes, it's possible that way, but it'll be VERY tight and awkward.

Alright.. I might give it a go I'm wary of messing around taking out the CEM etc in case things go wrong..

I was too, but just be careful with it. Make sure all plugs are tight in and no wires/cables are snagged on anything when you pull it down.

disconnect the battery as step 1??
then, If your CEM becomes disconnected or otherwise it wont matter,
and makes disconnecting + moving the cem not a thing to worry about,

some may say that disconnecting the cem , doing the job then reconnecting it could be a "safer" way, as you would Know all the connections were good as you had Just done the reconnecting, others could say "dont mess with it unless you have to"
personal pov , battery off, CEM disconnected, nothing Should FuBaR unless i sit on the CEM,

if you do disconnect the battery, it makes sense to turn the ignition key the first time from outside the car, making sure your not in the path of any airbag deployment if sh*tappens,


do remember to set the clock as the last step tho

Well that's just petrified me lol..

I've disconnected the battery multiple times before so have no issue doing that. I might just make sure I have all the tools on hand to disconnect the CEM in case I need to, but if I manage it without touching it I'd rather do that.

same here, but its what volvo recommend in the vida how to bits for the battery..

have a Good look first, then decide,
for me, "fiddle with cem - battery disconnected" saves any "eer eek eeep" moments if i catch a connector or lead or,,,

the pics from vida show lhd and rhd cars quite confuseing if you dont realise this

Yep... no need to remove the CEM or the glove box over here, just the accelerator pedal... still a pig of a job unless you're a 3 foot tall contortionist with long skinny fingers and eyes on your knuckles... think it's quicker and easier to dismantle the car and rebuild it around the new filter

thats :D your fault for having the steering wheel on the Wrong side of the car:shocked: :tounge_smile: :tounge_smile: :teeth_smile: :rolleyes:

Not had a chance yet, planning to do this when it's cooler, cos it's a pain trying to contortion yourself in such a tight space, i.e. I had a stab at it and was dripping in sweat just trying to unscrew the white latches.
and this heat reminds me I need to post a thread on what to do with this damn lack of a/c in the car :(