94-96 cabin air filter upgrade, DIY

[Ed.]

Since the how to guide section on this site seems to have been broken for at least a few months now and the site admins don't seem to be around anymore, I'll post this here.

Gen 3 camrys basically being camry-badged lexus ES300s, share a lot of components together. One of these is the AC unit - in foreign 92/93 year models, if you pull back the carpet inside the driver's footwell, there is a cover that when taken off, reveals a slot sitting there, waiting for a cabin filter to be inserted. I don't know if this is the case with aussie built camrys from 92-93 however, but if someone can confirm that'd be great.

There's a DIY over at TN which shows how to do this, OP had a LHD camry but you can just mirror this for RHD vehicles. It might actually be a little easier for us since the accelerator pedal isn't obstructing the slot.

However, 1994 onwards they used a different AC unit which would continue to be used into the 4th gen camry, this time the filter slot has been blanked out, but the tabs to hold the cover in place are still there, so this mod still applies to 4th gen camrys too. The unit lacks the cover for the filter slot however:

You'll need to find a wrecked ES300 and scab a cabin filter slot cover from that. I don't know if any lexus dealerships still stock these covers but there's no harm in going to one, showing them the part and asking for a new one although I imagine that unless you know someone or work for Lexus or Toyota, it won't be cheap.

Peel back the carpet to the left inside the driver's side footwell, note that there are velcro tabs on the back of the carpet, pull it by those otherwise you risk damaging the insulating liner. Use a drill or dremel to drill some holes through the pushed in section of that slot so you can get a box cutter to slice out the plastic. I also used some fat nosed pliers to pull off any excess plastic. It's hard, but wiggling the box cutters back and forth as well as rocking it like a see-saw as you cut helps a lot. Once you cut out the slot, clear out 20+ years of accumulated dirt, leaves and other debris with a vacuum cleaner or something and you'll find that the tracks to guide the filter in are still there despite the fact that the slot was blanked out to begin with.

This part is rather unnecessary however it's one of those things that for me at least, is a "once you know it you just have to have it" kind of thing. lul

Part numbers:

88880-33020 - cabin filter - toyota still stocks this it seems

88880-33040 - cabin filter, activated charcoal (although it seems like Toyota no longer stock this - you'll just have to buy this through amazon or some other aftermarket retailer)

Edited August 5, 2020 by Ed.