Replacing cabin air filter on updated Model S

[AZ Desert Driver]

The screws are behind panels that need to be removed. They are held-in with clips so you need to pull them off. Start on one side and work your way across. There are six screws. In the picture below, you can see the spot where the large leather panel is removed. There is a smaller panel below the box and one on the side that needs to be removed (passenger door must be open for this one). Once you remove the panels, it's self explanatory:

View attachment 281559

Thank you - I think I know what to do now. Appreciate the photo and the red-lines on the photo. Very helpful.

 

[tstafford]

Just completed this maintenance at 15K miles on my 2018 100D.

Here are the items I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0791BW29Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E16J6RQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JVP1MRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The torx driver set had the added benefit of being magnetic which helped a ton.

Gripe: Much, much too difficult for something that is an annual maintenance item. Come on Tesla.

Learning: Be ready to use some force on the large panel. It's clipped at a bunch of locations and at odd angles. It will come off but it requires a leap of faith that you aren't going to damage it.

Time: Took me 30 minutes to do it w/o any experience. Not that bad really.

Worth it?: Probably. Filter was moderately dirty and had some leaves in it. Definitely better than wasting $600 or whatever on Tesla's annual maintenance. This is the only part of the annual maintenance that seems of any value to me.

Happy to answer questions.

 

[cyphear]

Thanks for the instructions. Took me 30-40 minutes without experience.

I don't know how much the Telsa filter costs, but this filter worked fine for me: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W5WFBN1

In my 2017 I ended up using a T15, not a T20. I also used my fingers instead of a panel removal tool. One thing to add is that the panel that's removed in step one is the small soft-touch panel immediately below the glove box. It's not underneath.

 

[viper2ko]

Bump this. Theres a great video on youtube too. Took 30 minutes. Super easy. Do yourself a favor and buy a car removal tools from Amazon they really help. After doing this i fell like I could remove the MCU if needed fairly easy as well

 

[Bunnak]

I did it as well. Just be very careful. One of my clips broke so now that panel has a slight gap.