Replace your cabin air filter in 15 minutes, no tools

1. Empty the glovebox. Take everything out — you will be tilting it down.

2. Release the glovebox stops. Most Maruti, Hyundai and Tata gloveboxes have a plastic stopper on each side. Squeeze the sides inward and the glovebox swings down.

3. Find the filter housing. A flat plastic cover roughly 20 cm wide with two clips on the top edge.

4. Note the airflow arrow. The arrow on the old filter must point the same way on the new one — usually downward. Fitting it backwards halves its effective life.

5. Slide the old one out slowly. It will be full of leaves and grit. Tilt it as it comes out or you will empty it into the footwell.

6. Vacuum the housing, fit the new filter, clip the cover, refit the glovebox.

If the new filter will not seat flat, you have the wrong size — do not force it. A filter that does not seal lets unfiltered air bypass it entirely.