i changed the cabin air filter in my 05' feh. it made a huge differance in ev mode.

it stays longer in ev mode than before.

i called to ford dealers near me for a price they wanted $36 to $ 40 the price has gone way up. i bought it at napa for $21.50 total with tax. i had to order it but had it the next day.

but check out the size of the box compared to old filter what a waste of cardboard.

 

This is what my hybrid battery filter looked like at 16,000 miles:

Makes it a good idea to check at 10,000 miles.

 

I'm at 34,000 and my third filter. All of them looked like the ones pictured above when replaced. It depends on your area but I expect 20,000 miles is a bit too long of a replacement period in some areas. I'm a fan of clean filters and a happy battery.

P.S. My FEH is in the shop right now with what I expect is the TSB072512 - Traction Battery Auxiliary Mode Door Actuator issue. We'll see.

-Update-
Confirmed... another TSB072512 in the books.

 

At my last two 10k mile oil changes, the service advisor has recommended change of the battery filter. In other words, I've consistently managed to get these dirty in less than 10K miles. In the future, I'll remember to check these before taking it in for the next oil change! Amazon had a pretty good price on the OEM Motorcraft filters.

 

FYI for $40 you can make a one-time battery filter purchase that will last the life of the vehicle. Read the oil & filter thread at the top of this section and find the part number for the Yamaha Motorcycle Engine filter from K&N.

It is a much sturdier built filter, with rubber around the edges.
You can wash and re-use as needed.

Acually, you can wash and re-use the OEM filters as well.
I know of some desert dwellers who wash and re-use the OEM filter every 3 months, and have done this for 8-10 cycles before replacement.

FWIW, a dirty filter will NOT cause damage to the battery or set any codes.
It will simply make the A/C run more for cooling.
The A/C cooling does not pass through the filter, so a dirty ( or missing ) filter has no effect on the A/C cooling.

HTH,
John

 

I use K&N engine air filters on everything I own but I'm not a fan of using the oil based filters in this scenario.

It's one thing to suck oil (however little it may be) into an ICE but another to suck it into the battery pack. It may never cause a problem (oil collects dust, dust insulates and raises pack temperature) but I'm not willing to take that chance. I've seen what the oil based filters can do to Mass Air Flow meter in this respect and while a MAF is easy to clean off again, the battery won't be.

I'll stick with a filter that's made for cabin air flow. To each, his own.

 

The Motorcraft FP51 was about $17.50 on fordgenuinepartsonline.com. The local Mercury dealer matched the price.