Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Cabin Air Filter

Same story at autozone store here...special order and $19.99. So I'll be ordering online for my other contour...

IMPORTANT thing to remember, as well, when you change the cabin air filter...clean the holder it goes into...good time to clean the vents again...okay,okay...so I am fussy...

Excellent advice, much thanks to everyone, especially the bit on the not removing wipers, should make this a TON easier! I'll be stopping by my friendly, local autozone tomorrow

Finally replaced my original cabin air filter after 86,000 miles. It didn't look too bad, but fan was blowing out warm air no matter where the control was set, and when I fired up the AC yesterday, it was tepid and musty. Changing the filter solved both problems immediately. I did use the instructions from the owner's manual, and next time I'll use the ones in the "How-To" section. Getting the wiper arms off was easy, but replacing the black plastic cowl trim was a royal pain, especially lining up the two halves and getting them to stay down. Love this site and I hope I can use it to get another 86,000 out of my Toreador Red 96 GL. My wife just bought a 2002 Hyundai Sonata, so now the 'Tour's all mine!

P.S. Used a Purolator from Advance Auto Parts - $16.98

Changed the cabin air filter on my 95 SE last week. I went really slow, following the FAQ instructions. Took about 30-40 minutes. You could do this in 15 minutes if you're snappy about it.

Old filter had some black dirt/dust buildup, but it wasn't *extremely* dirty. Based on others' descriptions, I bet it was not the original one.

I don't know if I was lucky or skillful, but the black plastic cowl went back together quite easily, and with the proper fit.

Used the Motorcraft from Murray's. $18.99. It didn't look to be quite as high-quality as the old filter. The filter element seemed similar, but the other portions seemed lighter-duty.