There is one hard and fast rule for cabin air filters. Any horizontally mounted cabin air filter with the blower motor mounted below the filter will have downward air flow. Why? (1) Because the centrifugal fan below the filter sucks air into the center of it and blows it out the side & (2) if air flowed upward then the blower motor would be full of dirt and debris.
The filter i bought has no arrow marking in it, but it has the car maker name "Honda" on it with logo and item code. So in this case, the filter must be placed upside down since mine has the blower motor mounted below? Thanks!
Still nobody out there can answer the question white side up or white side down even technical support at wax and Fram don't know the answer it's really stupid but on the Honda the filter is designed to sit in special grooves on the tray the only thing I haven't looked at is the factory filter maybe I should just buy it from Honda
Thank you Sir for the useful information. I have been doing this wrong 😮💨as I replaced my air cabin filter with the air flow upside down. I replaced it one year ago and now I replaced for second time and I still do it wrong. This video has taught me so well on how the air actually flows into the car and how does the cabin filter function. Now I have changed to the correct air flow direction and hopefully my aircond smells good. (ps: because the air conditioner has got an unpleasant smell when turning on the aircond, but it will go away after awhile. So hopefully by reversing the cabin filter, the awful smell would disappear).
@@EdBwoy Hi. According to my experience, it did resolve the issue of the odour for a period of time. It has been 5 months all good but recently the odour came back again. 😮💨So, to resolve the smell issue. This time I chose to keep the cabin filter unchanged. Then, I bought air-conditioning cleaner whereby you need to spray the cleaner (which is kinda foamy) to the air-conditioning blower. It is located below the cabin filter. You need to take out the cabin filter and then spray the cleaner to it but make it is not over spilled. For this cleaning approach, the effectiveness lasted about a month and then the odour appears again. So, now I am really clueless. I have done the cabin filter replacement and air-conditioning cleaner. But the odour is actually still somewhere in my car. Urghhh~~~😤
I have two exact same looking filters old/new but different brands. Both filters have tiny holes on one side but yet the arrow on the new filter is pointing other direction. In my bmw i have to vertically insert the filter from inside the cabin.
Yeah you should check out the Honda filters I've talked to Wix I have talked to Fram Fram determined it really doesn't matter either way only 3% difference Wicks hung up on me cuz they're so stupid they can't even answer a question about their own product on the Honda the outer pleats actually fit into a groove of the factory holder box so it seals it off completely putting it in the way they want it with the white side up and the carbon activated side down it allows for air gaps at the edge for dirt and leaves to get through in small amounts not the end of the world if you flip it over and put the white side down and the activated side up going against the arrow that they put on it fits perfectly I've ordered several different brands and they all have the same inherent defect to them I asked technical support straight out white side up or white side down and they couldn't answer it Fram says they don't care anymore because they made so many mistakes with the arrows that they don't even care which way you put it in the guy at wix said he needed the date off the box to help me like that has anything to do with my question as a 50-year technician I can tell you that the white filters do have different coatings on them on one side one side of the filter usually has softer material and the other side is more of a shiny type of material and the softer side should go upward or at the entrance of the flow to catch more dirt if you put it in the other way the dirt doesn't really get in the fibers that just lays on top of it but getting a back to the special ones either way it's going to catch the dirt but I think they want the Whiteside up because it's going to trap the dirt more and then the carbon will catch the fumes at The Last Resort but since technical support is no help there's no way to find out so all this is pointless
Thank you for this instructional video! I just installed a new air cabin filter and also had the same issue. Old filter was toyota original, and new filter was fram. With air direction but I also thought to myself, heat on my feet? Or filter recirculating air for air conditiong......thanks!
Nice review on filters. Problem with me installing my neighbors filter, there was NO Arrow! I ended up installing with Carbon UP. Thinking air from outside coming in will be filtered and make for better breathing at exits. I think that is mainly you were saying with the two pink models you have. Thanks and my mind was thinking correctly.....
I still don’t understand what is the need of the black foamed border if it’s got to face upwards which it would if you keep arrow facing down. I feel the black foamed border Side should be on bottom to give it a proper seal so no dirty air gets into the fan.
Well, over a year ago, my son was installing the cabin air filter in my 13 Camry. Well, as i watched him I told him he was putting it in wrong PUT THE ARROW UP, like that DOOR says. He proceeded to tell me I was NUTS the air flow is down. I just went out and checked it, it's upside down, he was correct! I have put the last 5 filters in the wrong way! My son and my wife are going to kill them self laughing about this!
Oftentimes the last stage may just be a carbon filter to freshen the clean air passing through. You would NOT want this to be the first stage because it will get dirty and useless quickly. So the “technology side” needs to be down since the air flows downwards.
IF your filter has arrows that say Air Flow, wet your hand, put it in the space where the filter will go and feel for the air flow direction. That;s how I did mine and it worked great.
Hey I have a question I have a 2014 nissan maxima sv i changing cabin filter its vertical so does arrow point towards cabin or towards engine sorry if you have been asked this before
It depends on your filter. Your filter may say "air flow ⬇️" or it may say "this side up ⬆️" If your filter says up, keep it up. If your filter shows air flow going down, match it with your air flow. The finer side of your filter should face the way your air is going out, i.e. air flow ⬇️ finer side down.
@@EdBwoy I still don’t understand what is the need of the black foamed border if it’s got to face upwards which it would if you keep arrow facing down. I feel the black foamed border Side should be on bottom to give it a proper seal so no dirty air gets into the fan.
Do you know where I can get test pipes for the M56x i just bought them stillen exhaust cat back. Wood like to add test pipes and still past inspection. Is it true that the Titan and the Qx56 and the qx80
Show me one filter that says, "Air Flow UP". Usually they either say "air flow" or "UP" but never both. The word up simply indicates which side goes up. It does not indicate air flow direction. All horizontally mounted cabin air filters with the blower motor mounted below the filter will have downward air flow. Some brands don't say anything next to the arrows. Those arrows should also point down toward the blower. That is the industry default.
If there are no word then point the arrow down. That is the industry standard for air filters. Arrows on the edge of an air filter indicate air flow direction whether it's for your car or the hot air furnace in your home. Only exception is when it says "up" next to the arrow in which case it means "this side goes up" and does not indicate air flow direction.
Are most glove box air filters with the motor flowing downward? Why on earth a manufacture expects you to install with text upside down ? I have two filters arrow in the same direction text in opposite directions.
Probably because the manufacturers think the air flows upward on those make vehicles that say"up" on the OEM filters. They don't realize that the word "up" on those OEM filters means "this side goes up" so they print the words upside down. But the arrow still needs to point down if it indicates air flow direction.
I don't care which direction the " airflow " is . I want a filter to have printed on the side UP and arrow pointing up to mean towards the windshield . Or to have printed on the side DOWN and arrow pointing down . Meaning towards the floor and NOTHING more .
Well you can't always get what you want but the brands sold in India have both "up" arrows and "air flow" arrows and they point in opposite directions. If you want the word up to indicate which side goes up and if you own a Toyota, Subaru or Land Rover then buy the OEM filter from the dealer.
@@njsongwriter I prefer Wix or Puralator and unfortunately I believe . When I asked a simple question as to if to point the arrow up or down in my 2020 Toyota Camry LE . I have heard " it depends on the direction of air flow " . SMH
There is one hard and fast rule for cabin air filters. Any horizontally mounted cabin air filter with the blower motor mounted below the filter will have downward air flow. Why? (1) Because the centrifugal fan below the filter sucks air into the center of it and blows it out the side & (2) if air flowed upward then the blower motor would be full of dirt and debris.
Best breakdown ive seen…I read this and it all made sense
The filter i bought has no arrow marking in it, but it has the car maker name "Honda" on it with logo and item code. So in this case, the filter must be placed upside down since mine has the blower motor mounted below? Thanks!
Still nobody out there can answer the question white side up or white side down even technical support at wax and Fram don't know the answer it's really stupid but on the Honda the filter is designed to sit in special grooves on the tray the only thing I haven't looked at is the factory filter maybe I should just buy it from Honda
Wonderful demonstration and explanation. Very thorough.
I bought one without the airflow arrow on the filter. How do i know the correct position?
Thank you Sir for the useful information. I have been doing this wrong 😮💨as I replaced my air cabin filter with the air flow upside down. I replaced it one year ago and now I replaced for second time and I still do it wrong. This video has taught me so well on how the air actually flows into the car and how does the cabin filter function. Now I have changed to the correct air flow direction and hopefully my aircond smells good. (ps: because the air conditioner has got an unpleasant smell when turning on the aircond, but it will go away after awhile. So hopefully by reversing the cabin filter, the awful smell would disappear).
Did the smell issue get resolved with a flip of the filter?
@@EdBwoy Hi. According to my experience, it did resolve the issue of the odour for a period of time. It has been 5 months all good but recently the odour came back again. 😮💨So, to resolve the smell issue. This time I chose to keep the cabin filter unchanged. Then, I bought air-conditioning cleaner whereby you need to spray the cleaner (which is kinda foamy) to the air-conditioning blower. It is located below the cabin filter. You need to take out the cabin filter and then spray the cleaner to it but make it is not over spilled.
For this cleaning approach, the effectiveness lasted about a month and then the odour appears again. So, now I am really clueless. I have done the cabin filter replacement and air-conditioning cleaner. But the odour is actually still somewhere in my car. Urghhh~~~😤
I have two exact same looking filters old/new but different brands.
Both filters have tiny holes on one side but yet the arrow on the new filter is pointing other direction.
In my bmw i have to vertically insert the filter from inside the cabin.
Yeah you should check out the Honda filters I've talked to Wix I have talked to Fram Fram determined it really doesn't matter either way only 3% difference Wicks hung up on me cuz they're so stupid they can't even answer a question about their own product on the Honda the outer pleats actually fit into a groove of the factory holder box so it seals it off completely putting it in the way they want it with the white side up and the carbon activated side down it allows for air gaps at the edge for dirt and leaves to get through in small amounts not the end of the world if you flip it over and put the white side down and the activated side up going against the arrow that they put on it fits perfectly I've ordered several different brands and they all have the same inherent defect to them I asked technical support straight out white side up or white side down and they couldn't answer it Fram says they don't care anymore because they made so many mistakes with the arrows that they don't even care which way you put it in the guy at wix said he needed the date off the box to help me like that has anything to do with my question as a 50-year technician I can tell you that the white filters do have different coatings on them on one side one side of the filter usually has softer material and the other side is more of a shiny type of material and the softer side should go upward or at the entrance of the flow to catch more dirt if you put it in the other way the dirt doesn't really get in the fibers that just lays on top of it but getting a back to the special ones either way it's going to catch the dirt but I think they want the Whiteside up because it's going to trap the dirt more and then the carbon will catch the fumes at The Last Resort but since technical support is no help there's no way to find out so all this is pointless
Thank you for this instructional video! I just installed a new air cabin filter and also had the same issue. Old filter was toyota original, and new filter was fram. With air direction but I also thought to myself, heat on my feet? Or filter recirculating air for air conditiong......thanks!
Nice review on filters. Problem with me installing my neighbors filter, there was NO Arrow!
I ended up installing with Carbon UP. Thinking air from outside coming in will be filtered and
make for better breathing at exits. I think that is mainly you were saying with the two pink models you have. Thanks and my mind was thinking correctly.....
If you install backwards, will it blow black dust into car?
I still don’t understand what is the need of the black foamed border if it’s got to face upwards which it would if you keep arrow facing down. I feel the black foamed border Side should be on bottom to give it a proper seal so no dirty air gets into the fan.
man i installed it the wrong way! gosh damn thanks. time to do it over again.
did you have any issues from having it in wrong?
Why does the arrow on the door say up?
Well, over a year ago, my son was installing the cabin air filter in my 13 Camry. Well, as i watched him I told him he was putting it in wrong PUT THE ARROW UP, like that DOOR says. He proceeded to tell me I was NUTS the air flow is down. I just went out and checked it, it's upside down, he was correct! I have put the last 5 filters in the wrong way! My son and my wife are going to kill them self laughing about this!
There wouldn't be confusion if it wasn't confusing!
Greetings from Greece , thank you !
Oftentimes the last stage may just be a carbon filter to freshen the clean air passing through. You would NOT want this to be the first stage because it will get dirty and useless quickly. So the “technology side” needs to be down since the air flows downwards.
This is good information I thought it wouldn’t matter what side it would be
The more you know!
IF your filter has arrows that say Air Flow, wet your hand, put it in the space where the filter will go and feel for the air flow direction. That;s how I did mine and it worked great.
I like that. Another simple way to get it done
I used a leaf haha
Very good explanation 👍🏼👍🏼
Hey I have a question I have a 2014 nissan maxima sv i changing cabin filter its vertical so does arrow point towards cabin or towards engine sorry if you have been asked this before
Towards the cabin
Towards the cabin.
It depends on your filter.
Your filter may say "air flow ⬇️" or it may say "this side up ⬆️"
If your filter says up, keep it up.
If your filter shows air flow going down, match it with your air flow.
The finer side of your filter should face the way your air is going out, i.e. air flow ⬇️ finer side down.
What can cause wrong instaled filter?
Like wearing pants inside out
I was just gonna ask you to do a video on this...I'm always mindful of the airflow & pay attention to the directional arrow on the filter.
I am trying to do better on guesses. Just making normal, everyday videos and hope they are helpful to some
@@EdBwoy Brotherman you're doing just fine...keep sharing the vids...proud supporter of your Channel..👊🏾🤘🏾
@@EdBwoy I still don’t understand what is the need of the black foamed border if it’s got to face upwards which it would if you keep arrow facing down. I feel the black foamed border Side should be on bottom to give it a proper seal so no dirty air gets into the fan.
Thanks bro! save my life!
Do you know where I can get test pipes for the M56x i just bought them stillen exhaust cat back. Wood like to add test pipes and still past inspection. Is it true that the Titan and the Qx56 and the qx80
I don't know of anyone making direct fit test pipes. You would have to modify G37 parts.
Or use the truck/SUV exhaust but still modify them.
What about when it says “Airflow Up” with a ⬆️, but the air comes down?
Show me one filter that says, "Air Flow UP". Usually they either say "air flow" or "UP" but never both. The word up simply indicates which side goes up. It does not indicate air flow direction. All horizontally mounted cabin air filters with the blower motor mounted below the filter will have downward air flow. Some brands don't say anything next to the arrows. Those arrows should also point down toward the blower. That is the industry default.
What if there are no words? Just an arrow?
If there are no word then point the arrow down. That is the industry standard for air filters. Arrows on the edge of an air filter indicate air flow direction whether it's for your car or the hot air furnace in your home. Only exception is when it says "up" next to the arrow in which case it means "this side goes up" and does not indicate air flow direction.
Are most glove box air filters with the motor flowing downward? Why on earth a manufacture expects you to install with text upside down ? I have two filters arrow in the same direction text in opposite directions.
Probably because the manufacturers think the air flows upward on those make vehicles that say"up" on the OEM filters. They don't realize that the word "up" on those OEM filters means "this side goes up" so they print the words upside down. But the arrow still needs to point down if it indicates air flow direction.
Very good information thank you so much for sharing it.
Saved my life!!!!
Thank you man
well needed and informitive video
I don't care which direction the " airflow " is . I want a filter to have printed on the side UP and arrow pointing up to mean towards the windshield . Or to have printed on the side DOWN and arrow pointing down . Meaning towards the floor and NOTHING more .
Well you can't always get what you want but the brands sold in India have both "up" arrows and "air flow" arrows and they point in opposite directions. If you want the word up to indicate which side goes up and if you own a Toyota, Subaru or Land Rover then buy the OEM filter from the dealer.
@@njsongwriter I prefer Wix or Puralator and unfortunately I believe . When I asked a simple question as to if to point the arrow up or down in my 2020 Toyota Camry LE . I have heard " it depends on the direction of air flow " . SMH
Delete the video its very misguiding
Terrible explanation