Tim Brown's Blog: Posts tagged 'Honda Civic'urn:http-www-timb-net:-tags-Honda-Civic-html2014-10-08T03:52:02ZReplacing the Pollen Filter in Honda Civic 2.2 CTDiurn:http-www-timb-net:-blog-2014-10-08-replacing-the-pollen-filter-in-honda-civic-2-2-ctdi2014-10-08T03:52:02Z2014-10-08T03:52:02ZTim Brown<html>
<p>The previous owner of our car also owned a dog; which, from how the car smelt when we saw it in the
showroom (admittedly before it had spruced up for sale), seemed to travel quite a lot in it.</p>
<p>It’s now autumn... and the car needs heating up. And the windscreen needs demisting. Which
involves warming up air that has to go past the cabin pollen filter, which imbues it with a canine
whiffiness.</p>
<p>Time to change the Pollen Filter!</p>
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<p>So, out with the owner’s manual and according to page 498, replacing the pollen filter is a consumer
job. The owners’ manual does a good job of describing the procedure. And if extra gudance is needed,
then this video what I found on youtube shows how and where to change the filter:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQQbjFGKz68"><span class="url">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQQbjFGKz68</span></a></p>
<p>The filter sits just to the right of the (UK) passenger’s foot well (i.e. low and behind the stereo
etc. in the centre console).</p>
<p>So why, if it’s all so wonderfully documented, am I writing this here entry?</p>
<p>Well... the video starts without needing to take off an <span style="font-style: italic">under cover</span> that is fitted beneath the
glove box. If you don’t remove it, you won’t be able to replace the filter, since this uner-cover
also covers the last inch or so of the hole.</p>
<p>But the manual doesn’t say how hard to pull the cover (they never do). I hate removing trim without
guidance. It says in the manual to “unclip” the panel – but I never know what the nature of the
clip is. Need I release a barb?
<br />
How hard to pull, gently, or hard enough to pull the engine out?
<br />
Will I break the plastic?
<br />
Aargh!</p>
<p>So I am writing this is to say... the clips are tight and secure, but the panel can be removed by
applying vertical downward pressure at the clip points. I started with the leftmost one towards the
aft of the car then the middle then the right. There is a final clip in the forward middle of the
panel; this I unclipped last. The drawing in the owner’s manual locates these pretty well... but here
is a photo of the panel, and of a clip in detail.</p>
<p><img src="/img/posts/2014-10-08-replacing-the-pollen-filter-in-honda-civic-2-2-ctdi/under-cover.png" alt="The undercover" height="193" width="295" />
<img src="/img/posts/2014-10-08-replacing-the-pollen-filter-in-honda-civic-2-2-ctdi/clip-close.png" alt="One of the clips" height="188" width="139" /></p>
<p>It has lugs, but no barbs. The lugs squeeze themselves together when the clip is pulled, so you don’t
have to do anything but make sure you pull close to the clip. The panel is pretty robust plastic, but
I didn’t feel it bend at all when I pulled. If you feel it bend, may I suggest that you are pulling
too far from a clip.</p>
<p>Other things to note:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>The pollen filter also caught its fair share of seeds and leaves. I don’t think I could
have removed it without spilling these on the floor... so I had a vacuum cleaner to
hand; and then did a job of cleaning the car</p></li>
<li>
<p>In fact it’s probably a good idea to wipe the pollen filter cover down as well as what
you can on the inside of the hole</p></li>
<li>
<p>The cover for the pollen filter itself
<span style="font-style: italic">hinges</span> at the bottom. So get the hinge in place before closing it. Then it
needs pushing home at the top. Don’t just assume it’s closed until you get a positive
click into place at the top of the cover
<img src="/img/posts/2014-10-08-replacing-the-pollen-filter-in-honda-civic-2-2-ctdi/filter-cover.png" alt="The filter cover" height="29" width="96" /></p></li>
<li>
<p>I was listening to <span style="font-style: italic">The Cure</span> while I was doing this. Pray tell – where does her
“head begin” in <span style="font-style: italic"><a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com/why-cant-i-be-you-lyrics-the-cure.html">Why Can’t I Be You?</a></span>
Surely that’s the neck?</p></li></ul></html>