Replacing the cabin air filter on any vehicle is usually pretty easy to do. The location where you replace the cabin filter tends to either be behind the glove box, or near the firewall in the engine bay. The MKI Audi TT‘s cabin air filter is located in the engine bay on the passenger’s side. There is a small flap that needs to be opened in order to access the cabin air filter for replacement. It is typically recommended to replace the cabin air filter approximately every 10k miles.
Cabin Air Filter
Bosch: P3853WS Paper Filter / C3853WS Activated Charcoal Filter
Fram: Fresh Breeze CF8644A With Activated Carbon & Baking Soda
Mann: CUK2862 Charcoal Filter
How to Replace the Cabin Air Filter
If you aren’t familiar with the Mark I generation of the Audi TT and went looking for the cabin air filter in your engine bay, you just might miss it. It’s hidden pretty well on the passenger’s side behind a flap right by firewall.
To access the cabin filter, you’ll need to pull up on the rubber molding (shown below) to separate it from the body of the car. Wipe down this area if there is dirt and debris, so it does not fall into the cabin air filter area when you open the plastic access flap.
With the rubber molding removed, you’ll see a discrete plastic flap that can be lifted up. Pulling the flap up will reveal the cabin air filter.
The cabin air filter is secured in its spot by these these tabs, so you’ll need to press down and separate them in order to release the filter. You can then pull the filter out.
Here is the old cabin air filter. I don’t know how long it was on the car for, but this is the first time I’ve changed it since purchasing the car last year.
Replace the cabin air filter and install the new one back in the same way it was removed. If you’re concerned about whether the filter is right side up or not, the cabin filter will only lock into the tabs if you have it the correct side up. After reinstalling and locking in the tabs, put the plastic flap back down and reinstall the rubber molding back onto the body line.
This is yet another easy maintenance job to do on the MK1 Audi TT. The job is quite easy to do, but if you don’t know where to look for the cabin air filter, it will make the job just a bit harder to do. Usually when the cabin air filter is being replaced, the engine air filter should be looked at being replaced as well.
