I am new here, and own a 2006 Civic Hybrid. I honestly have not worked much with my car hands-on, but am willing to learn. To take the first step to maintaining my car on my own (paid for service up til now), I am trying to pinpoint my problem and find the right solution.

As far as I can recall, in the past 3 and a half years that I've owned my car, the cabin air filter has never been replaced. When I turn the A/C to bring in fresh air, the air is not so fresh. However, I live outside downtown Houston so this might not be a coincidence.

Does this sound like I need a new air filter? What kind? Is this different for the hybrid model? How do I replace it?

I appreciate the help, and apologize in advance for the newbie questions. Thank you.

 

do you smoke in your car? or do passengers?

 

No, nobody smokes in my car.

 

over time dirt, leaves, debri etc. can get caught in your vents, and something in there might be moldy-mildewy thats smelling? I know that i live on a dirt road and after about 3 years i had to have all that stuff cleaned out.

 

You should change your air and cabin filter every 12,000-15,000 miles. In most cases, the owner's manual will NOT reveal where the cabin filter is, but sometimes you can download a free factory service manual that'll show you where it is. Many Toyotas have them behind the glove box, but I don't know about newer Civics.