Air Filter Replacement interval

I am gearing up to perform for my 20k mile maintenance. Schedule calls for a 40,000 mile air filter replacement. Normally I might remove the AF and give it a good vacuum then reinstall it. However in one post I have read that the seal is a one use seal? A new filter is ~13 bucks (within my budget).

What are your opinions on 40k on the air filter? Have no problem leaving it in just wondering about other folks experiences.

Regards

'06.5 Jetta TDI Jet(ta) Black

Unless you're operating in a dirty/dusty climate, it's unlikely it needs to be tampered with. Have a new one to install if you can't resist the tempation. OE only.

Good luck!

Air filter replacement

I went to the local auto parts store for the air filter. They looked it up and I bought the $ 12.99 air filter. I took it home and as soon as I pulled out the old one I knew that the new one[FONT=&quot] wouldn’t[/FONT] fit. Turns out that I have the cold weather package, and needed an air filter that comes from Germany. They had to special order it from a distributor. Cost $ 26.00. Oh well.

Consider ordering through some of the online merchants here They are very good. For example of just one:

http://www.tdiparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24_101&products_id=613

Cheaper than the first one you picked. Order two of everything!

http://www.worldimpex.com also has many parts available.

I replaced mine at 15k and it was pretty dirty at that time. I can't imagine going 40k on that filter.

sohccammer427 said:

Normally I might remove the AF and give it a good vacuum then reinstall it. However in one post I have read that the seal is a one use seal?

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First off, NEVER pop that air filtre canister unless you're going to REPLACE the air filtre itself.

Secondly, an attempt to vacuum an air filtre will result in certain DooM!

Below is a photo of 3 MAF's that failed the first couple years of owning my car. I actually went through 5 MAFs in total.

Big chunk of change ain't it?

Why?

Because each oil change I'd check my air filtre [old school thinking] and clean out the dirt in the bottom of the air box canister and snow screen. Low and behold... a month later bad MAF. Dirt would get past the air filtre and/or would make it's way up the intake from "physical" inspections during oil changes resulting in Bye-Bye MAF sensor syndrome.

Do not buy an air filtre from X-Y-Z parts store. Buy from a reliable vendor as listed above or at the VW dealership directly. There is a huge quality control issue on flange assembly, glues and fitre materials used in the after-market corner store or Big Box retailers.

On the MKV Jetta we own ...I never check the air filtre at all. I change it every 20,000 miles with a brand new one either bought from a vendor here or at VW service department if in a bind.

Cheers.

BrianCT

The revision A filter that you should be using on your car doesn't cost that much at the dealer. The 1.8ts with the CWP use them too.

-Jason

At 40K, my "winter" filter wasn't even dirty.

Two differant air filters cold v warm???

Thanks for all the responses. The filter from TDIparts OEM 1K0129620D part number ($12.00) won’t fit. It’s not the cold weather version.

The filter from worldimpex part number IMPEX SKU # 257270 ($ 19.93) will fit.

If you look at the pictures of each filter you’ll see the one from worldimpex has a spun wool like material on the front of the element pleats. The filter shown on TDIparts does not. Also there is a size difference between the two

Not sure why the spun wool has anything to do with cold weather but that’s the original style from my car.

Now add shipping to the $ 19.93 and we’re in the ball park of $ 26.00.

ohiodon said:

Thanks for all the responses. The filter from TDIparts OEM 1K0129620D part number ($12.00) won’t fit. It’s not the cold weather version.

The filter from worldimpex part number IMPEX SKU # 257270 ($ 19.93) will fit.

If you look at the pictures of each filter you’ll see the one from worldimpex has a spun wool like material on the front of the element pleats. The filter shown on TDIparts does not. Also there is a size difference between the two

Not sure why the spun wool has anything to do with cold weather but that’s the original style from my car.

Now add shipping to the $ 19.93 and we’re in the ball park of $ 26.00.

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I ran that PN on Impex (SKU 257269) and appears to be the "summer" filter for our cars. Perhaps an error from TDIParts.com?

BrianCT said:

First off, NEVER pop that air filtre canister unless you're going to REPLACE the air filtre itself.

Secondly, an attempt to vacuum an air filtre will result in certain DooM!

Below is a photo of 3 MAF's that failed the first couple years of owning my car. I actually went through 5 MAFs in total.

Big chunk of change ain't it?

Why?

Because each oil change I'd check my air filtre [old school thinking] and clean out the dirt in the bottom of the air box canister and snow screen. Low and behold... a month later bad MAF. Dirt would get past the air filtre and/or would make it's way up the intake from "physical" inspections during oil changes resulting in Bye-Bye MAF sensor syndrome.

Click to expand...

BrianCT - thanks for the informative post (as usual). One additional question: Should I not try to clean out anything in the filter housing when I change the filter, and just do the swap and close things back up, even if I see dirt, etc. in the cannister?

What is the tel-tale sign for each Air Filter?

How can you tell in advance if you have the cold weather package Air Filter or the standard air filter.

Philcsag16 said:

How can you tell in advance if you have the cold weather package Air Filter or the standard air filter.

Click to expand...

Is it safe to say that all cars came with the winter filter? I bought mine in TN and it had it in it.

TDI 4 RD said:

Should I not try to clean out anything in the filter housing when I change the filter, and just do the swap and close things back up, even if I see dirt, etc. in the cannister?

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Actually once you're committed to replacing the air filtre you can clean the canister housing without issues. If you'd like to "just" clean the snow screen and not open the filtre housing ....I'd recommend that you remove the entire filtre canister intact with the filtre still sealed inside the canister. You can remove the entire deal intact believe it or not.

I'm very accustomed to sand where I live. And Speed Bumps, all 27 I travel over each day.

My Video


BrianCT

BrianCT said:

First off, NEVER pop that air filtre canister unless you're going to REPLACE the air filtre itself.

Click to expand...

I reckon I'd better order a replacement MAF, then ... I've been inspecting my air filter during every oil change since new. 30K miles on it. Seems to be "resealing" just fine. The screws do a MUCH better job of sealing the lid than my PSD's clips (Can hardly wait to mod that w/ the AFE II), though I can see where the plastic material will eventually be unable to hold tight over the life of the engine.

Why would a reputable manufacturer have such a one-shot airbox/filter design??? I'd think having the ability to ensure a serviceable filter for that screamin turbo would be important enough ... where does Bentley/Ops manual have the "replace only" directive?

Thanks!

Al

I have vacuumed out my filter housing more times than I have replaced the filter. The filter will reseal if you don't do like me and screw up when reseating a new or used filter. The key is to get it to seat properly. Last oil analysis told me that I need to change my filter or inspect the whole induction system. First thing I looked at was the filter and I did not have is seated properly. I could see how dirt was bypassing one edge. Ouch. It had nothing to do with cleaning the filter but everything to do with not mashing the filter into the housing properly before installing the top section. I grabbed a new filter off the shelf and made sure I did better this time.

I have 165,000 miles on my original MAF. The test you run with the RossTech VagCom shows the MAF is putting out the correct values.

roadhard1960 said:

I have vacuumed out my filter housing more times than I have replaced the filter. The filter will reseal if you don't do like me and screw up when reseating a new or used filter. ...

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Well couple issues that are unusual, one being that I did 7 oil changes the first year and 7 inspections on my air filtre. The first year I drove almost 60,000 miles [busy year]

What happened more than not was purchasing FRAM air filtres from WallyMartin or AutoOwnage. After a rude awakening to MAF issues... I was hooked up with impex or tdiparts and then noticed a HUGE QUALITY difference in the seal with "real OEM filtres" vs. the Big Box Retailers or auto stores.

If you have great dexterity and can "lift - look - lowerback" your own filtre properly in place ...all the more merry . I live in a very sandy and salty environment pretty much from the get-go. After 5,000 miles look at my intake?