[spiderman1982]

How easy it to change the cabin air filters on a 2020 M550 i XDrive? My dealer quoted me 549 bucks to do this.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

How easy it to change the cabin air filters on a 2020 M550 i XDrive? My dealer quoted me 549 bucks to do this.

How handy are you?

[spiderman1982]

Thank you for the great video. Can you believe the dealer wants 400 bucks in labor to do this? It's probably a 15 minute job.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

Thank you for the great video. Can you believe the dealer wants 400 bucks in labor to do this? It's probably a 15 minute job.

It's slightly more difficult than they make it look I think. You have to get into the pray mantis position under there to line everything up. Kind of a pain, but not $500 of pain unless you need a chiropractor after doing this job.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by admranger

It's slightly more difficult than they make it look I think. You have to get into the pray mantis position under there to line everything up. Kind of a pain, but not $500 of pain unless you need a chiropractor after doing this job.

It was the hardest, easiest job I think I've ever done. I think it took me about a half hour to do it. I contorted in ways I didn't think I could move! Move the seat ALL the way back, that helps.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

It was the hardest, easiest job I think I've ever done. I think it took me about a half hour to do it. I contorted in ways I didn't think I could move! Move the seat ALL the way back, that helps.

Agreed. It is definitely a PITA. It could be so easy if anyone actually thought about maintainability while they are designing cool stuff.

[RRF985]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

It was the hardest, easiest job I think I've ever done.

Best description of this job i've ever seen. Well worth the trouble to save a bunch of cash. I'm always amazed the prices dealers charge for things.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by RRF985

Best description of this job i've ever seen. Well worth the trouble to save a bunch of cash. I'm always amazed the prices dealers charge for things.

I’m not. The overhead is merciless. Loaner cars. 600 service advisors and appointment schedulers, etc. All required by BMW NA is my guess.

[MauiSteve]

Great thread! I'll have to look back on my service history to see if these filters were ever changed. No way would I pay the stealer to do that.

Also, the price of the genuine filters 64-11-5-A1B-DB7 seems quite high at $120 - $140 at various websites. Aftermarket filters seem dramatically cheaper. How big a difference can there really be in an air filter? What would you guys do?

[ted99]

Change mine on the basis of miles and not time. Dealer did this during annual "free" maintenance in first 3 years, well short of 12K miles. If I were paying, I'd only do it based on mileage as the filter is only in "use" when the car is running and does not deteriorate when idle.

[Dephead2004]

Originally Posted by ted99

Change mine on the basis of miles and not time. Dealer did this during annual "free" maintenance in first 3 years, well short of 12K miles. If I were paying, I'd only do it based on mileage as the filter is only in "use" when the car is running and does not deteriorate when idle.

Agreed. I kept mine from the service just after covid. Had only been used for 2 or 3 thousand miles. I can reinstall after a good hoovering .

One area I wonder if knowledgeable folks have a take on is the carbon impregnation. I realise that the filter doesn't get clogged if not used but does the carbon odour reducer become less effective?

[spiderman1982]

Carbon should not degrade in its effectiveness if stored in air tight plastic bags.

[Dephead2004]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

Carbon should not degrade in its effectiveness if stored in air tight plastic bags.

Useful info thanks

[tsbrown]

I know this thread is almost a year old, but I just replaced my cabin filters and have a suggestion. After removing the 2 screws that hold the sealed cover on and pulling it down, if you can remove the old and insert the new filters without releasing the back left tabs that are above the harness cover it makes the job a lot quicker. I think getting these tabs back into position is the most difficult/time consuming part of this job. The tabs on the right side are relatively easy.

After trying repeatedly to get the left tabs in with the filters in place, I ended up removing the filter elements, then re-inserting those left cover tabs into their slots first then flexing the new filters to push them up into position.

[Joe-BMW33]

They are a bitch to change, but it can be done with patience and a good back. That said, I have never changed mine. It's one of those things that really doesn't need to be done IMO. It's a money maker. My cabin air is fine.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

They are a bitch to change, but it can be done with patience and a good back. That said, I have never changed mine. It's one of those things that really doesn't need to be done IMO. It's a money maker. My cabin air is fine.

I did mine in our F10 & G30. You wouldn't believe the amount of crud that was in the filters. Clogged filters will also cause the blower motor to work harder as it tries to pull air through the filters. They work the same as your furnace filter.

[RRF985]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

They are a bitch to change, but it can be done with patience and a good back. That said, I have never changed mine. It's one of those things that really doesn't need to be done IMO. It's a money maker. My cabin air is fine.

I think you’ll be amazed at the amount of stuff that comes out with them. I replace mine yearly and they are filled with crap. You should change them.

[tsbrown]

Yeah, mine were plenty dirty and only 2 years old. I split time between Joe’s neck of the woods on the north shore and in Ky so I’m glad I changed them.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

They are a bitch to change, but it can be done with patience and a good back. That said, I have never changed mine. It's one of those things that really doesn't need to be done IMO. It's a money maker. My cabin air is fine.

Looked into this. Joe is 100% spot on.
Pay some Indy shop a few hundo to do this.
The amount of work required by German engineers on this at Dealership, is retardo.
Not worth it. Not even close. It's an air filter..

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

They are a bitch to change, but it can be done with patience and a good back. That said, I have never changed mine. It's one of those things that really doesn't need to be done IMO. It's a money maker. My cabin air is fine.

I never took you as someone who would skip any recommended maintenance. Usually, you're doing it much faster as you think their intervals are too long.

I know the G30 5-Series isn't on value service yet. I guess that will happen soon now that the G60s are starting to show up

Once that happens BMW will change the filters for $100 probably as that's what they charge on the previous generation.

I'm locked in on their maintenance plan so it gets swapped per BMW requirements.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

I never took you as someone who would skip any recommended maintenance. Usually, you're doing it much faster as you think their intervals are too long.

I know the G30 5-Series isn't on value service yet. I guess that will happen soon now that the G60s are starting to show up

Once that happens BMW will change the filters for $100 probably as that's what they charge on the previous generation.

I'm locked in on their maintenance plan so it gets swapped per BMW requirements.

I got an email recently about my old 540 being eligible for value service oil change, so I think you’re spot on.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I got an email recently about my old 540 being eligible for value service oil change, so I think you’re spot on.

I just scheduled my 2019 for that oil change special.