Do you feel a vinegar-like smell inside the car and experience allergies like sneezing, puffing, coughing, and skin rashes after traveling?
These issues are usually due to the filthy cabin air filter that is inefficient in filtering the air into the passenger compartment, which in turn affects the quality of the air at the vents.
But some vehicles do not have this cabin air filter at the entrance of the HVAC unit. This usually depends on the vehicle model and target vehicle buyers.
Are you the owner of a Ford F150 truck and looking for the location of the filthy cabin air filter to replace it, but not able to find it and wondering does a 2013 Ford F150 have a cabin air filter?
The short answer is No, the 2013 Ford F150 does not have a cabin air filter.
Stay tuned and keep reading to know everything related to the topic you are searching for.
Table Of Contents
What Does a Cabin Air Filter Do?
According to the filter manufacturers council, millions of Americans suffer from allergies induced by the allergens present in the air. So it is essential to have a cabin air filter.
Just like an engine air filter is required for the hygiene and proper running of the engine, the cabin air filter is required to keep the harmful pollutants and allergens like pollen, dust, and dirt from entering inside the vehicle’s cabin.
These pollutants traverses through the HVAC unit air vents and mixes with the air which the passenger breathe.
The cabin air filter even though seems a minor component of a vehicle but plays an important role in maintaining the health of both the occupant and the HVAC unit.
Does a 2013 Ford F150 Have a Cabin Air Filter?
The Ford F150 is one of the most widely used vehicles in the USA. People often get irritated when they are not able to locate a cabin air filter to replace it. People even mistake engine air filters for a cabin air filters.
The cabin air filters are typically located under the dashboard of the vehicle behind the glove box either at the inlet or outlet of the blower fan of the HVAC unit.
In some vehicles, you may be able to locate under the hood close to the firewall panel of the vehicle.
The cabin air filter is necessary to filter the incoming air to prevent the entry of all types of allergens inside the passenger cabin.
In the absence of the cabin air filter, some foreign particles may get accumulated inside the air ducts.
These matters due to the bacterial action may get decayed and start to leave a vinegar kind of smell throughout the cabin.
Hence cabin air filter is considered an essential item for your vehicle’s HVAC system and hygiene.
The Air conditioner is a device where an enormous amount of condensation takes place and the area needs to be kept in dry condition.
If the condensed water doesn’t get drained off properly then it gets accumulated and with the foreign matters present it starts to develop mold spores and starts leaving vinegar or other typical smell in the cabin.
There are confusions in the minds of many folks and the question that lingers is, does a 2013 Ford F150 have a cabin air filter? And Where is the cabin air filter on a 2013 Ford F150? And people also have doubts that which year Ford F150 has the cabin air filter.
Article you may like to read “Do all cars have cabin air filter? Everything you need to know!“
There are many generations of Ford vehicles that are plying on the road. Ford F150 has assigned different generation designations to different vehicles depending upon the year of the model.
Ford F150 Tenth generation vehicles
Those vehicles which were made between the year 1997 to 2004 fall in this category. In this, the cabin air filter was given as an add-on package depending upon the customer’s requirement.
The Choice was made available then by the manufacturer while buying these models and depending upon the option executed it comes inbuilt with the HVAC system.
The 1997 was the 1st year in which the cabin air filter was introduced and the 2004 model was the last year in which the cabin air filter option prevailed in the Ford F150 truck.
Ford F150 Eleventh generation vehicles
The Ford F150 vehicles in this category were made between year 2005 to 2008.
The cabin air filter was given as a retro-fit kit in the eleventh generation truck.
But the filter was discontinued in the year 2008. Even the retro-fit kit for the eleventh generation Ford F150 used the same cabin air filter as tenth generation one.
Ford F150 Twelfth generation vehicles
This generation of the Ford F150 vehicle belongs to the year between 2009 and 2014.
Since the cabin air filter is withdrawn in 2008, there is no cabin air filter in the 2013 Ford F150 and likewise there is no cabin air filter in the 2014 Ford F150 vehicle as well.
It also does not have the capability of retrofitting a cabin air filter as was possible in the eleventh generation machines.
This is due to the change in the design of HVAC unit and the channels beneath the windshield covered by the cowl.
The filters provided were very preliminary more like a screen that filters coarse particles like leaves instead of a particulate fibrous filter that filters very fine particles.
Even the most famous Ford Raptor introduced in the twelfth generation doesn’t have a cabin air filter.
Ford F150 Thirteenth and Fourteenth generation vehicles
The cabin air filter is present in the Ford F150 vehicles manufactured between 2015 and 2021. They have added the cabin air filter back on the 2015+ truck models.
Probably Ford might have felt the need to provide cabin air filters in all cars irrespective of the model of the vehicle at a later stage as the product and customer requirement evolves.
Providing cabin air filters was also considered as a selling point to keep the interiors clean, apart from maintaining a clean and hygienic condition inside the cabin.
At the end who would like to clean the vehicle’s interior now and then and who would not want to enjoy a nice looking ambience inside the vehicle.
Conclusion
Even though a pickup, in theory, is used to get driven in the dirtiest of the conditions, job sites, farms, etc., Ford didn’t provide the cabin air filter for all generations of the vehicle.
Depending upon the generation to which your vehicle belongs to you may find cabin air filter in your vehicle.
Few reasons can be attributed for not providing cabin air filter in some generation of vehicles.
A significant number of people who bought the Ford F150 were using that for fleet sales and the fleet managers do not want to have a cabin air filter as an additional maintenance item.
Why fleet owners would like to spend few bucks more for maintenance of the vehicle?
It also may be the case that the air conditioning system was tough enough to withstand the dust and dirt particles that are getting accumulated over it. Hence it won’t affect the performance of HVAC unit.
Apart from that, the Ford might have felt that since most of the customer base is from village area where the quality of air is much cleaner than the crowded city conditions,.
That’s why probably the Ford, didn’t mind providing cabin air filter as an option after 2008, i.e. between 2009 to 2014.
It also may be the case that 90% of Ford F150 owners could care less if their truck has a cabin air filter or not.
So, if your Ford F150 vehicle model do not have cabin air filter, then do not get stressed! Be relax!
You may like to go through this article “Do all cars have cabin air filter” to understand the solutions to overcome the symptoms in the absence of cabin air filter.
Happy Motoring!
References
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/do-09-14-trucks-have-cabin-air-filters-405359/
https://www.f150ecoboost.net/threads/cabin-air-filter.39817/
https://www.f150online.com/forums/2009-2014-f-150/487967-2013-fx2-cabin-air-filter.html
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