elansam

Hello

Just purchased a new to me 2015 S8. Love the car. However notice a smell from cabin...I suspect it may be the cabin filter so I bought one. Can anyone share DIY instructions?

thanks,

LexusLSguy

Passenger side down by where the feet rest. Helps to take the floor mat out. 2 or 3 plastic clips hold a flexible cover. Take these off there is another cover to the compartment that holds the filter. This snaps in and out. It's takes a little effort to get the thing in and out. Not the greatest deign. Hurts your back to get up in there.

MP4.2+6.0

Yep, prior reply describes and pictures well.

Make sure you don't have a cowl area full of leaf crap though. The area in back of motor under hood where the HVAC system draws its fresh air. Unfortunately with their dumb semi flush wiper design (abandoned once before when they realized it's a dumb design for snow too, but it's back...), you can't get the cowl cover off without removing wiper arms. But you can get it open on front edge enough to look in and see how bad it is. I try to blow it out periodically--with a combination of air hose and battery powered leaf blower. Audis' in general WILL have leaf crap in cowl area, so it's more likely a question of how much. If you park under or near trees, expect to find a fair amount if it has not been serviced. One of a variety of areas I think dealer service pretends they do but gloss over.

Also possible for HVAC drains to clog and then condensed water from AC operation to back up in system. In summer a basic check for that is to look for some drain water under the car after running it on a hot day and then parking. More likely to be there and findable if you park in shade or a garage and then look 30-60 minutes later. If there is none after several checks, suspect HVAC drains may be clogged.

LexusLSguy

I was just wondering if the wipers had to be taken off to gain access under the cowel. That sucks! Why do the Germans need to over complicate everything. Ugh. I need to do mine and was hoping this was not the case.

Jack88

If I recall, the wipers do require removal to access the cowl. Sorry.

LexusLSguy

Just cleaned out my lower cowl area. I could not find the drain tubes but I got a good amount of leaves and junk out.