Cabin Air Filter Service for $80 (LOL)

[McDavid]

I had my Civic serviced over the weekend and was told I needed the air cabin filter service for $78.74 (CDN). Told them not to do it and I just bought the OEM filter from them for $34.22 and did it myself. Surprisingly the dealership filter was cheaper than the equivalent at a Canadian Tire or Parts Source (just over $40).

Good to know, will buy em at dealers, thanks

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[Shankmeyster]

I bought my last one at Walmart. Last time I went to get one at the dealer they wanted over $30 for a filter that used to be less than $15.

 

[PhilF]

I replace both cabin and intake filters every year or 10k whichever comes first, as of late, I've noticed that the cabin filter is really dirty, considering doing it more often as with auto climate control, seldom have the windows down so everything I breathe while driving comes through that filter. With Central Pennsylvania becoming the truck warehouse/distribution center for the east coast, the truck traffic is getting unbelievable. Other than leaves, pollen and other road debris, the filter paper seems mostly black like soot, so I suspect diesel exhaust. I get both filters from my dealer's parts dept for about $36 for the pair. My Honda mechanic actually showed me how to do it years ago, 2-4 minutes max, there are several YouTube videos as well. Seriously, no-brainer to DIY. The intake filter is almost as easy, 4 captive screws (JIS phillips screwdriver or a 8mm nutdriver or socket, assuming we're talking about the 1.5t engine) If you can fill your own gas tank and check your oil, you can learn to change both filters easily. I'd love to be able to change my own oil, but at 72 and living in a townhouse, I'd rather let my Honda Master Certified mechanic take care of that. My wife's Fit's filters are just as easy. I'm fortunate to have a dealership I trust and a good friend mechanic who works there to turn to, YMMV, but filters are quite simple and most dealers parts departments have them for a price that's lower than aftermarket replacements. My local AutoZone and Advance strangely don't even stock them and prices are substantially higher than Genuine Honda.

 

[dtr20]

My favorite part about this in my experience is when the Service Salesman brings out your cabin air filter to show you how bad it is and asks you if you want to have them replace it for $50+. At this point, there is literally no labor since he needs to replace my cabin air filter anyways! I replace my engine air filter and cabin air filter once a year as well. My dealer stopped trying to get me to fall for this.

 

[shoegazer]

When I'm sitting there waiting; I'll overhear one of those advisers talking to another waiting customer and delivering the bad news. It's always at least 50% horse shit.

 

[PhilF]

When I'm sitting there waiting; I'll overhear one of those advisers talking to another waiting customer and delivering the bad news. It's always at least 50% horse shit.

There's a couple of sides to this, one predominant reason why I'll never own a VW product again, is some years ago a VW service manager outright lied to me about a service issue, so BS in service advice isn't a strictly Honda purview. I know lots of dealers push unnecessary service to customers, some don't. I'm fortunate to have a dealership that doesn't oversell, but you wouldn't believe some of the stories I hear from my mechanic about customers who delay, put off or skip both regular and critical services when recommended. Then they try to blame the dealership when they end up with a huge bill because they didn't even come close to having needed service performed and continued to drive the car until, usually, a catastrophic failure.
I'd be willing to bet there are forum members who have worked at a car dealership who can tell you horror stories from both dealer and customer sides. What is necessary is to find a dealer that you can trust and a car you can afford to properly maintain.

 

[dc0321]

don't know why u guys think it's a rip off. let me break it down for u guys.

you call in to the service department to make an appointment.the person answer the phone and gets all your info and set the time for u to drop off the car.. that's about 3 to 5 minutes

drive your car to the dealer, there is a guy waiting for u at the front with the tag and fill in some info .give u the take and paper for u to take it to the service department.then he is gonna drive your car inside and wait . thats 3 to 5 minutes. if the dealership is not too busy he might be texting and writing u that tag at the same time so that might be 10 minutes.

u take the tag and paper to the service department and tell the guy exactly the same thing u told the person that makes the appointment on what u wanna do to the car. then he is gonna put everything into the computer.. then he is gonna tell u to go to the waiting room n have some coffee(coffee is money ,drink as much as u can if u think the dealer over charge u). that takes about 3 to 5 minutes(hope he is not texting while working)

after they put your car on there system the next available mechanic gona take a look at your car n match the info . some one gonna get the cabin filter from the shelf ..that's about 3 to 5 minutes.

after the mechanic got the cabin filter he is gonna open your glove box and squeeze the two side and lower it all the way. open the cover take out the filter from the box and install it. then put back the glove box. do some paper work. that's about 15 to 20 minutes..

the guy at the service department come over and tell u that your car is almost done.just go the the cashier and pay $79.99(if your car is dirty they might give u a free car wash) that 2 minutes without car wash...with car wash is another 15 to 20 minutes.

then u grab the papers n go to the cashier and pay that $79.99. that's about 2 minutes..

bring back the receipt to the service guy .he is gonna tell u just wait over there by the exit ,someone is gonna bring the car to u.. that's another 2 minutes...

a guy drive your car by the exit and then say thank you good bye ....that's 2 minutes....


hey guys I didn't do the calculation of the total time they spent serving u and your car...for those who don't like or don't know how to work on cars, just read it..its worth it...
but I totally hate going to the dealer because it's waste of time n money. Good luck

 

[xichigox123]

I usually just bring my car for the regular oil change and rotation. I just learned about the filters. They tried to charge me about $134.56 for the engine and cabin air filter. I just went and bought a 15 dollar cabin air filter and using another 90 to upgrade to the PRL stage one. lol

 

[ulieq]

My favorite part about this in my experience is when the Service Salesman brings out your cabin air filter to show you how bad it is and asks you if you want to have them replace it for $50+. At this point, there is literally no labor since he needs to replace my cabin air filter anyways! I replace my engine air filter and cabin air filter once a year as well. My dealer stopped trying to get me to fall for this.

My asshole dealer at Smart Honda pulled out the air filter, brought it to me showed it tome asked to change it for a new one. I said no so they put it back and stripped the screws in the process.

 

[AquaGoat]

My Honda dealer tried to charge me $95 Canadian for a cabin filter. I went to Amazon, spent $11, spent 5 minutes of time and did it myself. What a rip. I only go in for Warranty work because of this crap.

 

[McDavid]

$11??

 

[xichigox123]

$11??

Filters are pretty cheap. I think the cheapest I've seen was a cabin air filter for 8 USD or so.

 

[PhilF]

Obviously this is a prime example of short-term greed vs long term greed. Assuming you need some element of greed to succeed in business, short term greed states "I want all your money now, don't care if we have further dealings" long-term greed is the " I want some of your money now, some next month and some more later on"
It seems that a lot of dealers adopt the first option, which IMHO is pretty stupid. Treat a customer fairly & honestly, and usually they come back time & time again. Make it painfully obvious to the customer that you are persuing plan "B" and your opportunity for future business is radically reduced. The " I got screwed there" word of mouth and social media posts indications of how badly you were taken advantage of doesn't build a loyal customer base that sings your praises. Most of us vote with our feet. When a dealer displays the "shark attack" type of behavior by running a simple $15 filter change into a &100+ fiscal shock wave, they Obviously ain't trying to build a loyal and supportive customer base, they're just destroying what could be a financially stable future through an absolute abandonment of good and fair business practices. Screw me once and I'm gone, take care of me fairly, skillfully & honestly and you've got a long-term customer who gives you advertising you can't buy. Oh, yeah, and ultimately spends a LOT more money that the one poor bastard that buys the $117 cabin filter, knows he got shafted and avoids your dealership like the plague. It's the greedy bastards that ultimately ruin a brand`s loyalty. Sorry for the long-winded rant, just lucky to have a dealer who isn't obsessed with "profit opportunities " at my expense. Hey, I'm 72, been there, done that and can spot a greedy charlatan a mile away. Remember,.age & treachery overcome youth & skill everytime.

 

[conbrio]

I wonder, has anyone ever tried actually talking to any Honda dealership service department manager and asked point blank: why is air cabin filter service so unnecessarily expensive? (I bet they'd respond with a "everyone else is doing it" or that's the standard price across dealerships" excuses.)

 

[Civics4Ever]

I work in the service industry. My company charges $120.00 per hour. But you think about it, go to the dentist with no insurance, usually 2-300.00 per visit and your probably in and out in less than an hour. Go to take your pet to the vet, $1-200.00 for maybe 20 minutes? Go to the doctor and he sees you for 15 minutes, $200 or more.
But yeah, if you can't change the cabin filter with all the how to videos, you probably should just use public transportation.

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