Cabin filter Fram or OEM Volkswagen

Approaching 7k miles on 2018 GSW S 4motion 6mt, loving the car. -Warranty work to clean musty smell out of HVAC system, and replace cabin filter. This was performed free during first oil change. Dealership was excellent throughout the process and told me to not run recirc before shutting the car off.

I got a fram-branded cabin air filter in my BRZ because it had activated charcoal and baking soda in it. It was same price of my OEM filter and has a sturdier build, where my OEM filter had a problem getting pinched and folded somewhat in there.

This is one of those things I do once a year. I live on dirt roads and 12-15K is about all I can take before needing to do a change.

Purchased OEM VW Charcoal Lined Cabin Filter / Fresh Air Filter and OEM VW engine Air Filter for $40 from ECS Tuning. Installed at 102k miles.

For the most part I got little random things taken care of on this, door handle gasket, antenna and gasket, a new cowl screen, and I upgraded to a cabin air filter.

Go to Part Source. Take your filter in and see if it matches the CF11819 FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter for $30 dollars. Note, some of the filters on Amazon do not have the same amount of pleats as the OEM or the FRAM.

I can't verify but it does seem like the OEM cabin filter in the Atlas is not charcoal activated, as I'm noticing all kinds of odors (including washer fluid) that I never got while driving my '08 Jetta with an activated charcoal filter.

My AC smells like wet dog for the first 30 seconds I run it. Wonder if changing the cabin filter would help.

Just remember, you get what you pay for. I don't recommend buying aftermarket filters on Amazon or eBay even if it is the OEM or a name brand. The quality is spotty at best and some of the reportedly "OEM" and brand name items are likely counterfeit. I've bought some really sketchy filters from Amazon and eBay that made my 18 Elantra's AC sound like an airplane especially when on low settings. The Amazon one came with thousands of positive reviews and the eBay one claimed to be OEM, but both suffered the same problem. I swapped the last one out with FRAM cabin air filter from Advance Auto Parts and no more jet engine sound.

I have changed cabin filters multiple times, and cleaned the evaporator with foam. I first used Klima cleaner, then I tried DWD2. I can not get this problem to go away.