hi happy new year everyone, after reading up on the forums I found the SC could add the cabin filter that is missing from the factory.
I am not sure if I should install one, there is a big clean up behind that slot I am sure

Does it reduce the blower's air flow noticeably? Does it filter air coming from the outside or does it only work when recirculation?

Also, that cover under the glove box, I notice there are 2 "buttons" you have to remove first, do you pry it off or does it unscrew... after that just yank downwards and the 4 hidden clips will come off?

I am about to order the beck arnley one which looks like it has some charcoal added and is most economical. Does the denso one have charcoal also?

 

no it won't reduce the airflow noticeably
when you order the denso one there is a sheet in it that tells you how to install
if you search on the forum you will see more info , because the 92 models didn't came with the filter and you need to adjust it a little to make it fit

 

At the very least, that area under the dash is worth a significant cleanout/vacuum/blow-out. I pulled dried leaves, animal poop and pebbles aplenty from there. The air is noticably cleaner (I drench mine in LYSOL disinfectation once every few months too). And the installation is pretty straightforward. 1. Pull glove box. 2. Bend filter as specified (didn't have to shave tabs) 3. Push up, slide forward. 4. Put everything back together

Look at it this way. If you could put everything on your SC that the Japanese SOARER had...wouldn't you?

 

I popped my cover off for the first time last summer, expecting it to be full of debris. All I found were a couple of pine needles, barely any dust..

 

Yep. Same here. Installed the cabin filters and can't tell any difference

 

Same here, opened the cover to find a little dirt and debris...my SC survived 22 years without one. Chances are it will be fine to go another 22 years without an air filter.

 

anyone got any pics of the filter or the location? didn't realize we don't have that. seems silly for them not to install one factory when there is a spot for it.

 

Count me among those who's filter area was nearly spotless. I don't know why US models didn't get the cabin filter, but there's obviously some pre-filtering going on to keep the location that clean for many of us. Maybe the people who find lots of debris in their's are missing the pre-filtering? My best guess would be the source of unheated air, so probably the windshield cowl area?

Ali, the cabin air filter is located directly above the ECU, slightly off-center toward the door. I accidentally removed mine when trying to figure out how to get the glove box out of there (there's an extra fastener most people forget to mention!) for wood trim refinishing, being curious what those wing nuts (?) held in place. It runs parallel to the car, as I recall, and is about a 1x6" panel that drops straight down to house the filter.

 

My old 92 SC had a good amount of crap in there. I would recommend a cheapo breathing mask when taking it off just in case. I haven't checked it out on my 96 SC yet. Perhaps tomorrow.

 

That's strange that so many of you didn't have one. Mine was a 1 owner car serviced at Lexus all of it's life when I bought it and it had a cabin filter installed. When I was working at Lexus in back in 2002 cabin air filters were part of regular maintenance for ALL new and used models...
Weird

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/mai...0-sc400-2.html

The 92-93 (**Edit, only the 92 did not come with a factory air filter.) SC did NOT come with a cabin air filter from factory and it was not part of the regular maintenance. No such filter exists to slide into that spot in our cars, and one has to be modified slightly to fit in there. Page 2 and page 3 of the above thread has info on which filter to mod and how to mod it. It was done in two different ways in that thread and both methods are valid, but there does not exist a factory cabin air filter that fits in the slot of the 92 Lexus SC. Even if Lexus wanted to put one in there doing the regular maintenance there isn't one made for our cars. The part simply does not exist.

I think it may be related to the fact that the 92 SC did not come with a passenger airbag, so it's possible that once they designed one the shape of the spot for the air-filter changed and Lexus just made air-filters to fit the new shape.

 

I thought it was only 1992 SC models which did not have a location for a cabin air filter.

On my 1993 model the box is there and a filter was installed but I assumed this must have been installed by the previous owner or a dealer.

 

You're right, edited my above post to reflect that.

 

There was barely any dust because it probably traveled through the system and into your lungs already


If you can add it, add it. It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't cost much. I like having a carbon filter in my cars. It helps to reduce the smell from the outside.

 

Here is the very helpful review that leaded me to purchase the same filter.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1DARRC...SIN=B001UEHLV6

It details how to remove / install and modify the filter to fit the 92. I will report back how it fits in my 93. It seems that the tab recess on the wingnut cover needs to fit the filter properly. I have seen a couple pictures of different covers and they have difference sizes tab recess in it.