What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($89)MiddleHigher-cost states ($113)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $113 and AR the lowest at $89, across 51 states.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
129 owner complaints name this part.
Owners say the dealer could not fix or repeat the problem. If it comes back after a repair, ask what was tested before you pay again.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
55 mph or faster leads at 37%.
Owners reported it most often at highway speed. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 129 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2016 is the largest at 23 (18%); the smallest shown is 2024 at 3 (2%).
Does my county fall under federal smog rules or breathe unhealthy air?
EPA's air monitors recorded unhealthy air (AQI above 100) on 37.8% of monitored days in San Bernardino County, CA from 2019 to 2023, followed by Riverside County, CA and Maricopa County, AZ, against 0.6% in the median monitored county; the years include heavy wildfire smoke.
What it shows: San Bernardino County, CA is the largest at 37.8%, followed by Riverside County, CA at 35.1%; the smallest shown is Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK at 10.3%.
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda | CX-90 Plug-IN Hybrid 2024–2026; Mazda3 2015–2026 and 12 more | SA-001-26 | Jan 5, 2026 | Some customers may report an odor or water in the HVAC system and upon inspection, the cabin air filter may be found to be wet. |
| Mazda | CX-30 2020–2025; CX-5 2015–2025 and 13 more | SA-032-25 | Jun 19, 2025 | Some customers may complain about a noisy HVAC blower motor or odor after a cabin air filter replacement. |
| Toyota | Camry Hybrid 2015; Camry 2015 | T-SB-0003-15 | Jan 28, 2015 | TSB: Some early 2015 model year Camry/Camry HV vehicles may experience reduced air flow through the cabin air filter due to snow intrusion through the cowl. |
| Subaru | Legacy 2015; Outback 2015 | PM05 | Nov 21, 2014 | Hvac cabin air filter. |
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
Valve seal deterioration at 24000 miles, leaking, and cabin air filters are ruined.
Ventilation interior cabin filter inspected and given a check at 24, 027 miles.
Told there was no smell, changed cabin filters / ac deodorizer ($200 out of pocket), “ford doesn’t have any other complaints on exhaust smell in the cabin”, “could not replicate”.
Initially told no gas leaking, charged $229.00 with recommendation to clean engine and interior covering under the hood and new cabin filter (I declined and voiced my frustration).
Check your car
Our calculator's default cabin air filter replacement cost is $87–$118 for a basic filter plus 15 minutes of labor. Filter grade, vehicle type and shop type move that number.
What does the cabin air filter price cover?
The estimate covers one filter and about 15 minutes of labor at the hourly rate of the shop type you pick. It is a basic filter unless you change the grade in the calculator.
It does not cover taxes, shop fees, or anything the technician finds while the housing is open. Ask for those as separate lines so you can see what the filter itself costs.
How much do grade, vehicle and shop change the price?
Grade is the biggest lever. Here are the calculator's ranges, changing one setting at a time from the default.
| Setting | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Premium / activated carbon filter | $106–$167 |
| HEPA-grade filter | $127–$207 |
| Economy car (Civic, Corolla, Focus) | $85–$114 |
| SUV / truck (Tahoe, Ram 1500, 4Runner) | $89–$123 |
| Luxury / performance (BMW, Mercedes, Corvette) | $93–$129 |
| Independent shop (about $100/hr) | $78–$108 |
| Dealership (about $175/hr) | $114–$144 |
Make sure the quote names the grade: a basic quote and a HEPA quote are different jobs. Only the grade rows change what you are buying. Vehicle type and shop type change the same basic filter job, so a higher price there is labor and parts markup, not a better filter.
How do I know it is the filter, and how urgent is it?
The signs are weak airflow when the fan is on, a musty or stale smell from the vents, and more dust inside the car than usual. Weak airflow also slows how fast the windshield clears in damp or cold weather, so a clogged filter is a visibility issue as well as a comfort one.
It is rarely an emergency. Plan the job within the next few weeks. If the airflow is almost gone, do it sooner, because a badly clogged filter also makes the swap itself messier and risks dropping debris toward the blower.
How do I get a fair quote?
Give the shop your year, make, model and the grade you want. Ask what the filter costs and how many minutes of labor are on the quote. On most cars the labor is a short job, and the calculator assumes 15 minutes. A quote that bills much more time than that should come with a reason, such as a filter that sits behind the dash.
If a quote is above that and your calculator range, ask which line is adding the difference.
What does the estimate leave out?
It is a range for a single basic filter on a typical car, not a quote for yours. Some vehicles carry two filters, which doubles the part and adds labor. Some put the filter under the hood or behind the dashboard, which takes longer than a glove box swap. Hybrid and electric models may use a specialized filter.
If your car is one of those, expect to land above the range for your shop type. The next step is to enter your vehicle and shop type in the calculator and take that range with you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I replace the cabin air filter myself?
On many cars the filter sits behind the glove box and needs only simple tools, which removes the labor line entirely. Check the owner's manual for the location first, because a filter under the hood or the dash is a longer job.
Does the dealership always cost more?
Its hourly rate is higher, so the total is higher for the same filter. Grade moves the price as much as shop type does, so compare the same grade at each shop.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- EPA AirData, Air Quality Statistics by County (annual files 2019-2023) data from 2024
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote.
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Checked against RepairPal's range ($91–$114) on 2026-10-06: our default's midpoint is 0% above the middle of that range. Methodology