MicronAir Particulate Filter

Or you can go to Canadian Tire and pick up one of their Supreme furnace filters made by Dust Stop. It has the carbon filter too and is rated MERV 12.

Around $20 and you have to cut to fit. You can get 2 cuts out of a Supreme so the installed cost is around $10 plus an extra 10 minues of your time.

When I get back to Winnipeg, I'll take a picture of the Supreme filter. And for giggles the original Toyota filter at around 10,000km city driving. Yuck.

Note: you have to check the high efficiency filters a lot more often. They load up faster and then you lose airflow.

 

MERV: Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.

It's an industry (ASHRAE) standard for testing the performance of air filters:

http://www.filters-for-home.com/merv.htm

A regular $2 furnace filter might rate as high as MERV 3, the High Efficient filters like the 3M Ultra might rate MERV 10-13. A HEPA filter is around MERV 14-16. The scale is not linear but closer to a logarithmic scale.

I didn't even look in the Canadian Tire automotive section. I went to their Heating and Filter aisle and got a 14x25 Supreme furnace filter, around $20.

I then cut to fit a filter for my Prius. The Supreme furnace filter is the same thickness as stock, and fits nicely if you're careful how you cut it.

I should be able to get two filters out of a single furnace filter, so that works out to around $10. Compared to over $30 for what Toyota wants for a regular cabin filter.

It works much better at controlling dust from cement cutting, and I hardly smell flattened skunks along the road. Well worth 10 minutes of your time cutting a filter to fit.

 

Put away those scissors.... Here's another source also in Canada:
http://www.cabinairfilters.net/cabin%20air...ir%209927tc.htm

There's are only $9.95 ea USD (Correct fitment without customizing...)

 

the 2k3 filter is the same as the 2k4-5 filter, same Toyota PN

 

I use the Bosch ones, which are also made by Freudenberg/MicronAir. I don't know what the P/N is, but your neighborhood Kragen/O'Reilly should have them.

An upgrade with activated charcoal is the Fram PureBreeze CF9846A, which (currently) available at Wal-Mart - yes I know some of you here won't go there but it may also be available at other places.