Replacing a Vauxhall Meriva Pollen Filter

Ok before I start describing how I went about changing the pollen filter on my 04 plate Vauxhall Meriva, I just want to make it clear that I’m a web developer by trade – not a car mechanic!

So if my descriptions are somewhat non-car-mechanic speak I apologise, but at least the pictures should help everyone.

Firstly the reason for changing the filter was simple – the misting in the Meriva had become almost unbearable and having tried all of the other suggestions muted on the Vauxhall Owners Network forum, I was left with only one choice.

Spurned on by the purchase of a genuine replacement pollen filter on ebay for around £10 to £15 (including delivery) and the thought of saving myself some ‘labour’ fees at the local garage, I started my task.

It’s worth mentioning that you can also now get genuine Vauxhall pollen filters on Amazon also, which might just get delivered quicker than eBay.

Replacing the pollen filter should take no more than 20 to 25 minutes at most – this included the time for me to fumble around to find where everything was and to take these pictures!

The first step is to locate the pollen filter – so open the bonnet and take a look at the passenger side of the Meriva just behind the battery and on a ledge below the windscreen wipers. Here you’ll see a plastic flap which lifts up.

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When you lift the flap up, you’ll notice an oblong shaped box which I think houses the electrics for the windscreen wipers.

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You’ll need to unclip the box by simply lifting it up towards you. When you have done this, try and position it as far over to the right hand side as possible.

Now if you look to the left of where the box was, you’ll see the outside cover of the pollen filter compartment.

[UPDATE] The other thing you’ll need to do to get full access to the pollen filter is bend back the perforated piece of scuttle panel next the to access flap (as shown in picture 2). The plastic is quite flexible and bends back easily.

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You now need to remove the cover by slowly lifting it up so that it unclips from its seating and then you can pull it away to reveal the pollen filter. The above can be tricky if like me you’ve got big hands!

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As you can see from the picture this filter was well past its best! The darker the filter in colour the less efficient it will be.

Pull the filter away from the casing and pull it out through the gap – leaving an empty casing behind.

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OK now it’s time to put your brand new pollen filter in – remembering to fit the pollen filter with the grooves in a vertical position.

When you had put the filter back into the casing, the tricky bit is actually putting the pollen filter cover back on. This is done by slowly sliding the cover down over the casing until you feel it clip back into position.

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Don’t be put off by the fact that the pollen filter peeps over the top of this outer casing – that’s the way it’s meant to be apparently.

Anyway, I hope that those of you who have a need to replace a Meriva pollen filter find this post useful. For the experts out there who spot any glaring mistakes, please let me know and I’ll update the post accordingly.

Thanks for reading!

13 thoughts on “Replacing a Vauxhall Meriva Pollen Filter”

  1. thank you,thank you,thank you,i also have a problem with misting on my 04 meriva(great car appart from that)and have been told i will have to remove the wipers,scuttle panel and rubber seal,but the way you have described(and pictured)the filter change is fantastic, i’m going to try this at the weekend and let you know how i get on ……cheers

  2. filter arrived today so decided to try it out,i followed your instructions (and pictures)and managed to change it in under 10 minuets…brilliant ,the only other thing i had to do was to bend back the perferated piece of scuttle panel next the to access flap(fig 2)but the plastic is quite mallable and bent back easily,the hardest bit (as you said)was locating the clips to replace the filter cover but all in all easy to do if you follow your instructions…thanks again…cant belive it, a filter change for under £8..cheers

  3. @david – glad you found the instructions/pictures helpful 🙂 I’ve now updated the page with the extra info you provided as well. Who needs a Vauxhall dealer eh! Cheers, DDWT

  4. brilliant, read the instructions out whilst husband did it, took just 10 minutes and is fantastic, all this for £7.29 plus 10 minutes of our labour. thanks very much

  5. Many thanks for taking the trouble to post your description along with photos.

    Happy to purchase and install a Meriva pollen filter now to cure excessive screen misting, and posssibly not-so-cool air-con.

  6. Hi Joe – I’m sorry but I have no idea whether or not this information applies to the 2007 model sorry.

    I’m far from being a car expert – so you’d be best off asking at one on the online Vauxhall forums or as a last resort your local Vauxhall dealer.

  7. Followed these instructions today for our 2006 facelift Meriva. Worked well, no problems at all.

  8. Thanks for going to all this trouble to help us “non-mechanic” types out, great set of instructions and the photo’s help out a lot also. Filter change for under £10 what more could you ask for?

  9. An easier solution. you will require on ratchet with 8mm socket and 15mm socket. a bottle of tipex and a set of strong arms.

    first open your tipex and dab on a spot onto the window at the end of each wiper blade. this will be your reposition markers.

    Now remove the plastic bolt covers and with the 15mm socket remove the nuts, lift the wipers to their raised position (with bonnet pulled) and gently wiggle to release the wiper arms, then place back to the down position, do this for both arms. now open the bonnet fully and remove the arms (suggest putting the arms on oposite sides of the car so you dont mix them up.

    Now with the 8mm socket remove the 5 bolts that hold in the scuttle panel. (plastic panel that runs over window bottom)

    on the drivers side pull up the scuttle panel it will release easily with a little wiggling.

    now remove it entirely. from here you will see on the passenger side the cabin filter cover remove it and you can replace the filter.

    just put the stuff back in reverse order and use the tipex marks to line up your wiper blades before tightening down the nuts.

    This is ideal for the large handed car owners out there. the tipex will easily scrape off your window with your finger nail.

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