Did you try Parts department directly? You may also just try calling again. I had to call 4 times before I found someone willing to sell it to me. Otherwise the FilterBuy MERV13 would still be a benefit I would think.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Did you try Parts department directly? You may also just try calling again. I had to call 4 times before I found someone willing to sell it to me. Otherwise the FilterBuy MERV13 would still be a benefit I would think.
I just installed mine last night, so thanks to OP!
This was a pain in the butt to order and part of the worst car acquisition experience I've ever had or dreamt about. I picked up my car two weeks ago and I still don't know what a DS does other than put a few flags on paperwork pointing out where you sign and then removing them to make you a copy. Oh wait, that's right, he also scanned the CarMax offer sheet I gave him.
This was a pain in the butt to order and part of the worst car acquisition experience I've ever had or dreamt about. I picked up my car two weeks ago and I still don't know what a DS does other than put a few flags on paperwork pointing out where you sign and then removing them to make you a copy. Oh wait, that's right, he also scanned the CarMax offer sheet I gave him.
AZ Desert Driver
Rare combination
How many employees does Tesla now have? 35,000 and counting? Can they ALL be in the top 10%. Can any one of them be top performer all day-every day? Sorry you had a bad experience, or less than great anyway. First world problem. Taking delivery of a $100,000 car and experiences a paperwork flaw - not a condition that some would call worthy of a serious complaint.
Did you ask the service department or the parts department? It seems like the way to go is to talk to the parts department and ask for the part number for the HEPA filter.
Yeah i called the service dept. The guy i talk to is usually pretty cool and helpful.
AZ Desert Driver
Rare combination
I just installed the filter into my MS. A few tips - 1) the side plastic wings have a rubber grommet that you pull thru the wings on disassembly. But for reassembly, they unscrew. Set in the wings, then screw in the grommets. 2) I could not tell which of the 18 bolts you were pointing to (your video of the mouse was too small for me to pick out), so I removed them all. In hindsight, I still think all 18 bolts needed to come out. Can't figure out why you thought only a subset needed removal. Once bolts gone, the tub pulled out nicely (watching for the trunk release switch and frunk light). Somewhere somebody said they were 3/8 bolts - but on my car they came off with a 10 mm metric socket. 3) I did not need to touch the duct work from the tub to the dash- no hoses, clips. Just pop out the tub and the filter socket is pretty obvious. The 14x27.5x1 filter from FilterBuy fits like it was designed for it. 4) Those 18 bolts fit into nuts that are "permanently" attached to the frame. One of those backup nuts came loose on my event, so I had to hold it with a vice-grip as I tightened the bolt. That was the only hitch in the entire process. Total elapsed time from hood open to hood close - 15 minutes, plus one band-aid for rug burn.
And - the filter had a "direction of air flow" arrow printed on its side.
Thanks for the post!!!!
Last edited:
Thanks for the follow-up!
So just to clarify, when you removed all of the bolts from the front trunk tub and pulled it out, the filter socket remained in place? Doing it this way sounds a lot easier than messing with the ducts and tubes. Also, did you need to seal the edges / gaps around the filter with aluminum tape? Or did you just pop the filter in as-is?
AZ Desert Driver
Rare combination
Yes, the tub pulled out - just like Crehop discussed. And the filter socket remained. No need to molest the ducts from tub to firewall. The only issue here was getting the trunk release switch and the light wiring out of the way. (Not difficult, just a place needing caution). The duct-filter socket was exactly the right size for the filter and it fit in without any gaps that needed to be tape.
Hi everyone, my turn for a follow-up. I attempted the installation today based on the helpful advice of @AZ Desert Driver and others in this thread. It took about two hours including preparation time and the back and forth looking for the right tools and equipment during the job.
I actually streamed the process live on Twitch and saved the recording to YouTube. It might be worth checking it out to see the process from the perspective of someone who has never done any work on this car before. Most of the tutorials available also kind of skip over the actual work, so my video might help to remove uncertainty about what to do if you're still on the fence about doing this yourself.
Tesla Model S 2017 MERV Filter Installation - YouTube
My internet was acting like garbage during the live stream, so the video was broken into three parts. I've combined them into the playlist linked above. Please also note that during the first fifteen or so minutes of the video, there is no sound because of an incorrect setup on my end. You can still see me removing panels and bolts during this time. After that, I enable the sound and you can hear my novice commentary as well as occasional chat with my viewers.
One detail that gave me a little bit of grief was re-installing the front trunk tub. What I didn't realise was that the air filter socket + ducts can actually move around somewhat once the front trunk bolts are removed. You need to juggle the filter socket so that it lines up with the bolt holes. Before trying to tighten down the tub, get all of the bolts in loosely so that everything stays aligned.
Good luck everybody!
I actually streamed the process live on Twitch and saved the recording to YouTube. It might be worth checking it out to see the process from the perspective of someone who has never done any work on this car before. Most of the tutorials available also kind of skip over the actual work, so my video might help to remove uncertainty about what to do if you're still on the fence about doing this yourself.
Tesla Model S 2017 MERV Filter Installation - YouTube
My internet was acting like garbage during the live stream, so the video was broken into three parts. I've combined them into the playlist linked above. Please also note that during the first fifteen or so minutes of the video, there is no sound because of an incorrect setup on my end. You can still see me removing panels and bolts during this time. After that, I enable the sound and you can hear my novice commentary as well as occasional chat with my viewers.
One detail that gave me a little bit of grief was re-installing the front trunk tub. What I didn't realise was that the air filter socket + ducts can actually move around somewhat once the front trunk bolts are removed. You need to juggle the filter socket so that it lines up with the bolt holes. Before trying to tighten down the tub, get all of the bolts in loosely so that everything stays aligned.
Good luck everybody!
pelargir
Member
For anyone interested, here's a step-by-step video we recorded a few weeks ago when we replaced the HEPA filter on our own 2017 refresh MS. We didn't go the MERV route but ordered the HEPA filter directly from Tesla. The installation is a bit different. It took about an hour.
AZ Desert Driver
Rare combination
If you had gone the MERV route - you would not have had to mess with any of the duct work between frunk and firewall.
Pull the felt liner, pull the 12? bolts from the tub and slip the filter into the socket (you called it the inlet/outlet framework) and reassemble. Took me 15 minutes from hood open to hood close.
Thank you for all the details. If I was using the official Tesla filter housing, your steps would be required. But the FillterBuy does just pop in, saving 3/4 of the time it took you ( and costs $20 instead of $150).
Now - does somebody have a photo of the cabin filter? how does this glove-box pull out/go back?
Pull the felt liner, pull the 12? bolts from the tub and slip the filter into the socket (you called it the inlet/outlet framework) and reassemble. Took me 15 minutes from hood open to hood close.
Thank you for all the details. If I was using the official Tesla filter housing, your steps would be required. But the FillterBuy does just pop in, saving 3/4 of the time it took you ( and costs $20 instead of $150).
Now - does somebody have a photo of the cabin filter? how does this glove-box pull out/go back?
Another update. This week I've been smelling vehicle exhaust and other odors periodically coming in through the vents. I'm probably going to open the front end back up and inspect the FilterBuy filter. I'll try sealing the edges with aluminum tape if it still looks intact.
Has anyone else experienced problems after a little while of use?
Has anyone else experienced problems after a little while of use?
AZ Desert Driver
Rare combination
my filter fit into is socket very snugly. The amount of air leakage would be small. Now - if you smell something, that implies a vapor and not a particle. Filters are good at particles, but no so for vapors. You would have to add an absorbent (charcoal) to absorb organic vapors. [and to be a nerd, the organic vapors aDsorb onto the carbon charcoal].
If you saw dust coming out of your vents, then open it up and seal away. Smelling exhaust? you may need a different filter type.
If you saw dust coming out of your vents, then open it up and seal away. Smelling exhaust? you may need a different filter type.
ishareit
Member
Interesting... Is that what the BWD mode does? Is there a step by step procedure on how to "mirror" the BWD mode if you don't have the premium package?
I added carbon pad to the front of my filter and sealed everything with aluminum tape. My right-hand steering wheel scroll-wheel is set to fan speed and I just flick it up max whenever I need it. That seems to switch it to incoming air too. Then I can press in on the scroll-wheel to go back to auto. Has been working really well for me so far.
As far as anyone's been able to tell, yes. It turns off recirculate, switches the fan to 9 for about 5 seconds and then resets the fan to auto. That's what I've been doing with mine and it seems to work.
