DIY How to Change Climate Controlled Seat Filters

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Fire0nic3

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I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE DONE TO YOUR VEHICLE BY FOLLOWING THIS GUIDE! DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK! PLEASE DO NOT POST THIS GUIDE NO WHERE ELSE OR MODIFY IT. Email or PM me with any questions you may have :wink:


Since all of us 2nd gen owners have climate controlled seats (Cooling & Heating), with more features comes more maintenance. Each climate controlled seat has a circular shaped filter inside of it. The purpose of these filters is to make sure nothing clogs up the blower motor or the perforated holes. Since the blower motor is close to the floor at the bottom of the seat, anything near that area gets sucked up by the seat blow motor. That includes anything on the floor or in the surrounding air. To insure it doesn't screw the system up, there is a filter to make sure nothing get's sucked up.


I recommend and so does the manual and service manual to change these every 24 months or 30,000 miles, which ever comes first. You don't have to change them really, you can just vacuum them off too. I recommend vacuuming them as changing them is just pure OVERKILL. Their made almost like Hepa filters which makes them cleanable. Just don't wash them!! The dealer want's $95+ tax for these too, which in my opinion is a rip off. And don't forget you need one for each seat, which makes them $190+tax. Insane right?:eek.:



Step 1:

Open lift the front seat position to the most highest elevation posssible. You must do this to be able to get under the seat. Also slide the seat forward.

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Step 2:

From the back of the front seat, get down on your hands and start sliding your hand under the back of the seat.


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Step 3:

Now this is the most important part. With your hand under the front seat, start feeling around for a circular shaped disc. The circular shaped disc is the filter. You'll feel it once you slide your hand under the seat. It's right next to this big wire which is the side airbag wire. Be careful not to mess with the airbag wire. Anyways now that you know where the filter is, you need to get a hold of it and turn it counterclockwise. It will make a pop sound letting you know it's out.


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Step 4:

Now carefully slide your hand holding the filter from out under the back of the seat.



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Step 5:

Now do the driver's side now repeating steps 1-4 that I just mentioned.




Step 6:

Now with the filter out, bring it inside of the house and vacuum the filter with a soft brush vacuuming attachment. Using an attachment with a brush will help get the dirt and dust out of the white fibers carefully. Be careful not to tear or rip the fibers of the filter.



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Step 6:

The left side is clean now and the right side is dirty still. It may not look that dirty, but they were. Even the littlest amount of dirt will cause the blower motor to not operate at it's best. The look dirtier in person, but my camera won't pick it up.




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Step 7:

Now go back to the FX and install both the driver's side and passenger's side in the reverse order or removal.



Step 8:

Finally go start up the car and turn both the cooling then heating to test and confirm the air is blowing up through the seat properly.





Now give yourself a good pat on the back!:tup: You've just completed another maintenance thing yourself without blowing $250 at the dealer to have this done. What a difference in the amount of air I feel up my back now. Not only does the cooling part feel colder now, but the airflow is even better than before. The heating is even better now too. I can feel the heat alot more. I have noticed over a period of time they stopped working as good as they use too. This is why you must clean or change these filters. It makes the climate controlled seats work good as new again:biggrin:


On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the hardest and 1 being the easiest, I'd give this DIY a 2. The only hard part I can think of is getting the filter back on after cleaning or changing it. You have to feel around for the blower motor hole and attach the filter back on. But that's just about it.:wink:
 
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On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the hardest and 1 being the easiest, I'd give this DIY a 2. The only hard part I can think of is getting the filter back on after cleaning or changing it. You have to feel around for the blower motor hole and attach the filter back on. But that's just about it.:wink:

This is awesome Aaron! Great DIY! These filters look like they literally cost $0.50 for the dealer. I can't believe how much they charge. unbelievable. Thanks so much for this DIY!
 
This is awesome Aaron! Great DIY! These filters look like they literally cost $0.50 for the dealer. I can't believe how much they charge. unbelievable. Thanks so much for this DIY!


Thanks!



Yeah buying new filters are a rip off. $190 + tax is just crazy! And if you pay them to install it for you it's like $250+ tax. That's like the same price you pay for a differential and transfer case service.:stupid:
 
Nice !! thanks for another great DIY writeup. I'll probably do this right ....... now. I've noticed that the heating/cooling haven't been working as good from when I bought it. I was thinking the tiny holes in the seats were getting clogged but I clean the inside practically everyday.
 
Nice !! thanks for another great DIY writeup. I'll probably do this right ....... now. I've noticed that the heating/cooling haven't been working as good from when I bought it. I was thinking the tiny holes in the seats were getting clogged but I clean the inside practically everyday.


No problem:tup:

Vacuuming the filters should fix that issue.
 
Does the first generation FXs have this type of filter too?


The 1st generation FX's don't have climate controlled seats, so no. The second gen only has cooled and heated seats.



And the heated seats on the 1st gen uses heating coils inside the cushions to heat the seats so there is no filter at all, where as the 2nd gen uses hot and cool air to blow up through the perforated holes in the leather requiring the use of a filter.
 
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Great Write up. Now, does anyone know how they produce the cool air? Is it a "Peltier Effect" solid state device as used in some of the portable coolers that plug into your cig lighter outlet?
 
Great Write up. Now, does anyone know how they produce the cool air? Is it a "Peltier Effect" solid state device as used in some of the portable coolers that plug into your cig lighter outlet?



Yes, it's controlled by a thermal electric (peltier) device. When the seat operates on cooling mode it get's cooler than 30 degrees Celsius. In heat mode it gets hotter than 110 degrees Celsius. I noticed when you turn the A/C system on in the car is helps the cooling function on the seats work better cause the blower motor sucks up the cool air and pushes it back out through the seat. The same goes for the heating function of the seat when you have the heat system on in the car. The seat thermoelectric device sends electricity when there is a different temperature controlled by the climate controlled seat switch. When electricity is sent to it, it makes a temperature difference like what you said the peltier effect.

---------- Post added at 05:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------

Here is a diagram I made for you guys that I cut out from the factory service manual to make feeling around with your hand under the seat to find the filter easier:


seatfilter.png
 
Cleaned mine today, easiest thing to do. I didn't have a brush attachment for my vacuum so I used a blow gun with little air pressure from the compressor. Def noticed a difference.
 
Cleaned mine today, easiest thing to do. I didn't have a brush attachment for my vacuum so I used a blow gun with little air pressure from the compressor. Def noticed a difference.



Good to hear bro!

If your seats still don't blow air good enough, try using a high suction vacuum cleaner to vacuum the perforated holes on the seats.:tup:
 



Nope, none of those. I forgot which seller it was, but all I did was pay like $10 and he emailed me a download link. The entire service manual is in PDF format. I can try and email you the service manual if you want so you don't got to pay for it on eBay. The service manual for the FX has the FX35 and FX50 service manual combined, their never seperate.

Most parts of my DIY guides I followed in the service manual, but sometimes the instructions in it aren't as detailed as they should be. Sometimes I had to figure certain steps out myself.
 
For two years I did not touch the filters. Decided to watch that with them. Took off, saw that they were black, and vacuum them. but the difference is small, because the dirt velas, and therefore ordered a new one. at the end of the week will change them,at the same time photograph what color new one is and old ones. (Issue price $ 28)
 
For two years I did not touch the filters. Decided to watch that with them. Took off, saw that they were black, and vacuum them. but the difference is small, because the dirt velas, and therefore ordered a new one. at the end of the week will change them,at the same time photograph what color new one is and old ones. (Issue price $ 28)

Where did you buy for $28?
 
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