Air Filter Replacement on 2003 Accord

Its that time for me to replace the engine air filter (air cleaner element) for the 2003 Accord 4cyl. Clean air filters make a huge difference to acceleration and power but this is often neglected.  As stated in my previous post; Change you air filter regularly, you should take on this at scheduled times and more frequently than the widely recommended 15,000 change intervals, if you drive in dusty environments. Its also a pretty easy DIY task.

The filter is housed in the black air filter box found above the battery. For the sake of ample work space and not having to stress parts, I usually prefer disconnecting the air intake hose at the throttle body end, loosening the top cover of the air filter box and removing this assembly as one unit. This makes an easier job for me than disconnecting the intake hose at the air filter housing end and then removing the top half of the air filter box. If you fancy this method, you can also use the opportunity to clean your throttle body 🙂

Materials: Philips screwdriver, size 8 wrench with extension and new air filter.

Steps:

1. Loosen the 4 screws securing the top half of the air filter housing. Note that these screws will simply loosen but won’t come off from the assembly.

2. Loosen the screw of the clamp holding the air intake hose to the throttle body.

3. Disconnect the electrical connectors to the intake air temperature (IAT) sensor and the throttle position sensor (TPS). Depress the tabs on both connectors to do this. The sensor on the tube is the IAT while that on the throttle body is the TPS.

4. Disconnect the tube marked in red and push back the square assembly marked in yellow attached to the intake tube. The lower pipe on the square assembly has a clamp, depress while pushing the part back.

5. Remove the intake hose – air filter housing cover assembly as one piece.

Once done the view will look like this:

5. Remove the old air filter.

6. Before putting in the new guy, use a clean shop rag to clean out the lower air filter housing. It would usually have dust, dead insects and debris. If you decide to use compressed air to get the debris out, cover the opening of the throttle body and the other openings to prevent dirt getting into the engine. A hand-held vacuum cleaner will work great!

7. Fit in the new air filter aka air cleaner element and follow reverse steps to round off.