22K happy miles on my 07, virtually 0 problems, love the car.

I do however despise Toyota's parts pricing. Esp. after being quoted >300.00 for a spark plug change on my 03 4runner. It seems good ol Toyota charges 28.99 per spark plug for the Iridium plugs, I'm pretty sure the Prius uses these plugs as well. And they are available online for about 8 bucks ea. And it takes all of 30 min max to change out all 8 of them on the 4runner.
They also get 30 bucks or so for the cabin air filter, Pep boys gets close to that as well.

Guess what?.....It's washable! I pulled mine out, took it to the sink to rinse the major crud out. I then sprayed the back surface with Oil Eater cleaner and used the garden hose to blast out the remaining crud.
Filter looks just like new, 30 bucks saved. Hey thats 7 or 8 gallons of gas. The non oem pep boys filter (which I returned) appeared to be made of paper, won't try washing those
I am guessing I can wash the original several times b4 repl. is required, that's more than a hundred bucks!

I would not try this with the engine air filter.

What a great way to recycle!!

I live on a gravel road, so this is good news! The cabin air filter in the Corolla I was driving a year ago had to be replaced twice!

Thanks for the info. Seems like something even I could do.

With any air filter, be it the engine's (although I still change that on schedule) or the cabin's, just taking it out turning it upside down, and tapping it over a trash can is good for extending the life. Hair dryers work too, but you have to be careful so as to not breath in the debris you've been trying to avoid breathing in for months by having the air filter. Better, if you have a good vacuum cleaner w/ hepa filtration is to run that puppy over it (vacuum bags & filters are cheaper that the car's).

I'd be a bit concerned with getting the filter wet and then putting it back in the case, esp. still wet, because it would increase the potential for mold growth in the filter itself. So if you wash it, let it dry out thoroughly before putting it back in. I have allergies to some molds, so maybe I'm a bit overly cautious.

'06 Prius w/ option pkg. #4 in Driftwood Pearl
Northeast Iowa

Washing the filter allows one to avoid that dust cloud. an hour or so in the sun and the filter will be bone dry prior to reinstallation.

I would think that putting it in damp would be no big deal as well, again damp not dripping The airflow would dry it out pretty darn quick in most parts of the country. JMHO

changing you cabin air filter can make a big diffence in the indoor air quality of your vehicle. Last time I went to the dealer to get my $15 oil change they asked me If I wanted my cabin air filter changed. I said 'How much?' he told me $120 plus labor. I said I'll think about it. The filters are only $20 bucks and go behind the golve box . easy DIY. saved me close to $200 bucks. They do make a big diffence though, I noticed the diffence right away. when looking for the filters I found a funny article about them.

http://odors-change-mood-while-driving.blogspot.com/