Review on 🌬️ K&N Cabin Air Filter: Premium, Washable, Clean Airflow for Select 1997-2009 TOYOTA/LEXUS Models (Aristo, Altezza, Kluger, Highlander, IS 200, IS 300) VF2008 by Daniel Casper

I have a very severe nasal allergy. So my house and my car are the only sanctuaries where I can breathe clean, filtered air. I change the filters often because I'm constantly letting air out. The cheap replacement paper filters I've bought over the years are flimsy and not really up to the task. Plus, at $15 each, they add up quickly. Here is this highly efficient reusable filter; my prayer was answered. I have had numerous other K&N Performance filters in every car I have owned. So of course I had high hopes for this filter. I just installed it a few days ago. But here are my first impressions of this product. This filter is the EXACT shape of the plastic shell that came out of my Lexus fan. A small taper on the rubber sides even frees the little hooks formerly used to hold paper filters in place. This filter is a perfect fit. I don't expect any blowouts, which is good. When I first turned on the air, there was an odd plastic smell. It was probably the smell of rubber, but it dissipated quickly and didn't bother me after that. My nose has been happy so far. This is a clear indication that this filter is doing its job. That alone costs money. But just out of curiosity, I used my anemometer to measure the airflow out of the vents. In fact, compared to the old paper filter I threw away, I noticed a 1.2 fps increase in airspeed to 1.7 fps. This is great because now I can move more air faster on hot days that require MAXIMUM AC. Or turn down the fan speed to get a little movement when I don't need as much air. One thing, however, is that I can't find any reference to the MERV rating for this filter either on the packaging or on the K&N website. Any allergy sufferer will want to know if a particular filter is filtering out certain types of allergens to which they are allergic. The MERV score is perhaps the most important feature of any filter that communicates this information to the user. My numerous email inquiries to K&N customer service and PR over the course of a month have been ignored. And that's the most annoying part. This product might get a 5 star rating from me, but K&N customer service gets a solid zero. So I risked $40 and bought this filter anyway, not knowing of its effectiveness. This works for me so far. I will also purchase a cleaning kit to clean this filter after 6 months and then update this review if anything changes. Update 10/19/15: Still 5 stars! Several times I've purposely chased some smelly diesel trucks with an open air vent. to the outside air. And I'm happy to report that this K&N filter is capable of filtering out the smell of diesel exhaust. I used to always drive a car with air recirculation because I hate the smell of diesel exhaust. There's nothing worse than persistent exhaust fumes when I'm pissed off in traffic. At least now I have the option to change the air in the car if I want to. This product can actually help maintain my ZEN and curb road rage. From this I can conclude that this filter probably has a MERV rating of at least 10; Because how thin does the filter have to be to filter out car exhaust fumes? After this new observation, I feel even better about my purchase and can now breathe much easier. Pun.