Cabin filters fit to bust

Garages are being warned against installing cabin filters just because they look ‘more robust’.

The advice, from Corteco, follows garage complaints that plastic housings on some brands of cabin filter break as they are being installed.

Corteco, the aftermarket distribution arm of OE cabin filter manufacturer Freudenberg group, was aware that there was issue straight away. Its cabin filter range has no plastic surround because it is manufactured to OE quality.

‘They are deliberately designed to be flexible,’ says Corteco business development manager Carey Owen. ‘They might look less sturdy, but it means they fit more easily, more precisely. More of the non-woven filter medium is used to do the job properly.’

Investigation has shown that these plastic housings are often the only things holding some inferior paper filters together. What’s more, the ‘robust’ housing actually compromises the seal. The air goes around it rather than through the filter, entering the cabin unfiltered.

So, while more installers were complaining that these cabin filters were breaking on installation, some garage customers were also complaining that they didn’t do the job.

Corteco’s Carey Owen points out that the OE strong cabin filter pedigree is helping to deliver more products that increase vehicle workshop efficiency:

‘For example, last year we enhanced our range with a flexible aftermarket cabin filter for the Renault Megane II. It took almost half an hour off the previous fitting time. That’s a significant saving for any garage.’