2002 Chevrolet Impala 3.4 Cabin Air Filter Installation

Just a quick post for this month (I may post another one dealing with this same vehicle). This 2002 Chevy Impala 3.4 came into the shop for repairs. One of the things we checked for the customer was the fluids and filters. This is a pretty standard procedure (along with checking other basics as well).

We noticed that this vehicle was supposed to have a Cabin Air Cleaner in the HVAC system. The one for this vehicle was missing. Below is information showing how to know if the car should have one and where it is located.

First, the glove box must be opened.

If the vehicle comes from the factory equipped with a Cabin Air Cleaner, there should be a sticker (see below) in the glove box giving this information. In the case of this vehicle, the sticker was present. We proceeded to check to see if the filter was actually there; and, if so, if it needed to be replaced.

To gain access to the filter, simply push in on both sides of the glove box, until the tabs release (see below). There will be one on either side. Once these are pushed in the glove box will be able to drop down out of the way toward the floorboard.

Below is a picture of the glove box dropped down out of the way. This allows access to where the Cabin Air Cleaner "lives".

Next, the cover must be removed. It is simply a plastic cover with tabs holding it in place. The tabs, as seen in the picture below, are on the bottom of the cover.

Once the cover is remove, the area where the filter "lives" can be seen. As evidenced from the picture below, it is obvious there was no cabin air installed.

Below is a picture of the cabin air filter that was purchased to install.

Below is a picture of the filter installed.

From here, it is just an issue of reversing the steps and putting everything back together.

2004 Cadillac Deville 4.6, Fuel Door and Trunk Switch Inoperative

This 2004 Cadillac Deville came into the shop with a customer complaint that neither the fuel door or the trunk would open with the switch on the dash. The customer had checked and switched fuses, but was still having the same issue.

I confirmed the concern and started investigating the possible causes.

Below is a picture of where the two buttons are located on this Cadillac.

Below, the fuel door remained closed when the button on the dash (the headlamp switch) was pressed.

Below, the trunk also remained closed with the button pressed for it.

I connected my Scan tool and while looking at the Pids for both the fuel door and trunk, I pressed each button separately. When I did, the Pid for each one registered, showing that the switch was good, along with the fuses.

Below, you can see it showing "On" and "Off" for both functions. (Sorry for the glare in the pics.)

Fuel Door switch "On" (finger pressing button):

Fuel Door switch "Off" (finger off of button):

Trunk Release switch "On" (finger pressing button):

Trunk Release switch "Off" (finger off of button):

Again, the above screen shots proved that the system was operating normally, as far as the switch and command was concerned. Now the only question was, why were the components not working?

As I investigated more, I discovered the problem. It was inside the glove box. This model has a "Valet Lock" in the glove box. This allows the owner to turn the button to the "On" position, which means a valet would be unable to access the fuel filler neck or the trunk, if the owner gave the valet the valet key and locked the glove box with the regular key (i.e. the valet key will not unlock the glove box).

Below is the "Valet Lock." As you can see, the button is pressed "On", thus not allowing the fuel door or trunk to be opened with the switch on the dash.

I simply switched the "Valet Lock" to "Off" and when I did everything was back to working properly.
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Sometimes it is the little or simple things that are causing the problem. Probably, the "Valet Lock" was accidentally switched to the "On" position by the customer when cleaning the vehicle or reaching in to grab something from the glove box.

I confirmed everything worked properly a couple of times and shipped the vehicle!