The carbon-charcoal takes away the smell. However they have a useful life.

 

It's all about labor price, labor here is higher than asia.

 

I'm confused. you're driving a "foreign" car but are upset that the cabin filter is also foreign?

Please clarify.

 

ROFL, its like the Made in China American Flags.....

 

Well, China has had some serious product issues and I don't trust them. Poisonous Dog food and baby formula, Lead paint on children toys, Cadmium, lead and arsenic in children's drinking glasses, Counterfeit drugs, Toxic drywall, etc.

My Lexus was made in Canada. My Dodge Ram 2500 (sold) was made in Mexico. My current Toyota Tundra was made in Indiana.

I mostly blame American companies for the deterioration in product quality. They outsource and then fail to insist on proper quality control and testing. It's all about money and letting the chips fall where they may!

 

Are there any aftermarket cabin air filters for the 08 RX350 manufactured in the U.S.? I replaced mine (pre-Fukushima earthquake) with the OEM Toyota filter. The red Toyota OEM box said "Made in the U.S.A."

Still, might try aftermarket next time. Any U.S. made cabin air filters?

 

I get my Fram cabin filters from Amazon. Order 3 and the shipping is free. The CF10157 is the correct one for the 2007 RX350.

 

These are good options versus OEM's.

 

As long as they have charcoal imbedded. Need to suck up the fould odors if any.

 

I just replaced my 2008 RX350 cabin filter with the Fram CF10132. Fits perfectly. If you're confused on how to install it, its carbon side down, white part up. I know that "flow" arrow thing is confusing. I didn't need any tools. Just turn the 2 plastic "stops" with your fingers. Took me 5 minutes. The filter is readily available at Kragen O'reilly.

 

Did mine yesterday on my 2008 RX350, very easy. Bought the filter on eBay, very pleased

 

Thanks for the excellent directons. My 2008 RX350 is in for 85k service and the dealer wanted $68 to replace the cabin filter.

 

I started noticing a horrific smell inside my RX starting yesterday evening. It was almost unbearable without the widows down today. Though it really smelled like rancid water or a mixture of just yuck. I started by reading the step by step instructions on changing the cabin air filter. It worked exactly as he demonstrated but I was not prepared for what I found! I slid it out and out popped a tiny babby mouse onto the garage floor then I saw the rest of the famliy on top of the filter. Mom was dead from looks like a wound of some sort and the 4 other babies were well on their way out also. The stench of course was overwhelming! I had to manually dig out the rest of the nest from inside the air filter compartment. I was astonished - the baby mice looked like they were several days old - had fur and their eyes were open but they were not big enough to run. I donated them to the local pet store - didn't ask what they would do with them - but shooey! SO I warn you - if you start having a distinct horrible smell just be careful when you remove that filter! A snake could also easily live in that environment!!!!

 

Ah ... the only mice on the block with a mobile home.

Seriously ...
Because mice can squeeze though a hole the size of their skull, it's difficult to find how they can get into your garage, assuming that's where you keep your car.

I had some mice getting into a detached garage where I keep my SC over the winter. The exterminator told me to check for any holes larger than the diameter of a pencil!

Instead, I scattered several bags of Havoc around the inside perimeter of the garage. They eat; they die. So far, after nine years, not one has found its way into the SC and yes, I have found a few corpses inside and outside the garage.

Or get a snake.

 

DENSO makes the OE Cabin Air filter as well as an aftermarket one that includes charcoal. DENSO also makes the OE engine air filter.