Do you really need the cabin filter ?

If you'd rather your lungs be the filter, that's your choice. And, the interior will be dirtier without one, but it's not an essential item.

 

Upto you, it's your car.

My cabin filter was full of crud at 20k miles and I mean full. Sure, I could take it out, but I personally like the filter in. I've taken filters out in the past when they've blocked up and not replaced them and I find there is more dust and grime on the inside of the car. Including there being more of that dusty film on the inside of the windshield - you know that one that is almost invisible until the sun catches it and makes it impossible to see through.

Is it worth the saving? Maybe. Like you say, we've done without cabin filters for years so why bother with them now. Personally I like the clearer air in the car I get with a clean filter in situ.

 

its not REQUIRED, it just keeps the a/c duct system along with the air in the car a lot cleaner.


are power windows required? no
is a/c required? no

 

No, your lungs are capable of filtering out soot manually.

 

I replaced mine at 15K miles, and it was very dirty. The price of a replacement filter is a no brainer for me, so my lungs have less pollution to deal with.

Also--without the filter the a/c and heating system will absorb some of that stuff, causing it to operate less efficiently.

 

If you remove or leave a dirty filter in there it will likely cause problems down the line. Not only efficiency as stream pointed out but also reliability. I found leaf chunks on my filter and if that gets in and block the heater core or gets wrapped around the blower fins... well I can see those light weight motors likely burning out under a heavy load.
As easy as it is to clean, its not worth it to let it go IMHO.

 

I would use it. PROTECT YO SELF.

 

^ keep in mind that others have successfully washed their OEM filter out. I haven't tried that yet myself.

 

I found the cabin filter washing thread by searching. Toyota says compressed air, owners have used water or water with mild dish detergent. Apparently the filter looks bad when washed, but becomes usable when dried out.

 

Don't do it, make sure you replace it! I learned the hard way. I had Civic and removed the cabin filter and didn't replace it. After 50k miles or so, the blower motor began to malfunction. Turns out it also filters dirt and muck from getting into your blower motor.

 

I remember cars without cabin filters. I also remember pulling leaves and all kinds of junk out of the air vents. Not to mention the car filling up with dust on a dusty road.

I will be more than happy to clean and replace my cabin filter on a regular basis.

 

The cabin air filter easily cleans with compressed air. It will help keep the rear hv fan and battery clean. Not an immediate problem, but over time....

what happens with dirty interior air, 2nd gen.
Luscious Garage | Blog | Prius battery cooling fan cleaning, P0A82

I drive an 04, I did a search on rear hv fan filter for the 2010 prius, and didn't find one.

 

very interesting...I try to use recirc mode as much as possible to prevent this

 

Cars made in 1962 rarely lasted as long as a Prius does today. Being that I've owned and worked on many old cars, eventually the interiors get so dirty inside (behind the dash) that you can never truly get the car clean. This is especially true for the climate control.

The fins in the Prius A/C evaporator and Heater core are small and dense. (big difference say from a 72' Cadillac) It doesn't take much to clog them, so if you run without a filter, at the very least you can expect the heating/cooling performance to steadily degrade and begin making all kinds of funky smells, as now there will be a great place for molds of many species to set up shop. The dirt collects moisture and its dark, which is the ideal breading location for fungi.

The other factor is the Battery. The HV battery cooling system sucks its air from the cabin which is derived from that filter. If you let it suck in all the little bits of crud, it will accumulate in between the modules in the battery pack and restrict airflow. If the Luscious Garage Pictures don't convince you, then I don't know what will. Note that in the Luscious Garage article, they only are showing you the fan. They don't take apart the battery pack for their $60 cleaning service. It would be very costly! (I bet it ends up just as cruddy in the pack!)

If you've ever lived next to a busy road or highway, you quickly realize roads are very dirty places! Diesel soot is insidious and carcinogenic, and makes up a lot of this particulate. Even if you don't value your lungs, you have a good bit of money in your Prius, so take care of it!

 

Since the battery cooling system needs air from the car, it will periodically disengage recirc mode so it can "breathe". Since it's exhaust is outside at the lower right corner, it cannot really get air through the pack unless air comes in the car from somewhere else.

 

From what I understand from other threads on here, even in recirc mode the outside vent door is still slightly open to always allow a small amount of fresh air in to the cabin. Only the Filter mode will close the outside vent door tightly and then only for the 3-minute time period.