Has anyone changed the pollen filter in their Octy II only to find the new OEM part doesn't include a foamed gasket along the three sides that are in the box?

The original one had the foamed base and a foam seal all the way around but the new one with the same part number except B rather than A at the end doesn't :(

Slightly frustrating bearing in mind how much cruft was in the old filter at time to change.

Put adhesive sponge tape on the sides for now, and get the proper part.

You'll have issues with smells coming in and windows misting up if you fail to seal the filter in properly.

Put adhesive sponge tape on the sides for now, and get the proper part.

You'll have issues with smells coming in and windows misting up if you fail to seal the filter in properly.

It is the proper part.

The part is genuine and was in a box from a main skoda dealer, fully sealed with the correct part number on it. It is the activated charcoal filter.

If anyone works at a dealers I don't suppose you could have a look at a few in stock could you?

Here's how the ones I normally buy look like:

You can see the replacement also has the spongy seal.

And here's an old shot of the original, with the part no for LHD:

I shop for my filters based on this part no, and wether I get Mann, original, or any other manufacturer they look the same. I get through about 2 per year, maybe more at times.

On mine the MANN part number is the same again with an extra letter on the end. The VW part number is also the same except that one ends A the other B.

The dealer confirmed it's the only activated carbon one the EKTA specifies for my car based on chassis number.

I will get the part number when i get home, but also mine doesn't have the label on the base just a foamed seal. The labelling is on the side there.

This had best not be the start of a cost saving exercise by VAG. Of all things I would have expected a charcoal filter to be more sealed than the other one.

how often should the pollen filter be changed?

Depends how dusty/polluted the air is where you live.

In a polluted, dusty city like mine I rarely keep one for more than a few months as the smells start to come through.

In a clean region I'dd probably keep it for a whole year.

Please forgive my ignorance but should we get smells coming through with the pollen filter ?. many times we have joked about farmyard and bad egg smells coming through.

Depends, really. Activated carbon (charcoal) filters are more successful at eliminating hydrocarbons from the air, and by a significant margin. This makes them far more efective at removing for example exhaust fumes from the air.

Now, rotten eggs, or a foul smell coming from the a/c is a sign of something else, a bacteria called legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires disease - air conditioning) that grows helped by the moisture and temperature of say... running the a/c on econ for a long while.

That's cured by disinfecting the a/c with a disinfecting (antibiotic) spray or foam. I'll return with pics of these. Depending on their kind, they can either be vaporised in the closed interior of the car, or the foam is injected through the various parts of the a/c system.

Thanks sebulbus, you have really got me going now. Of course these type of smells are not present all the time but have been time to time.Our Son had a car which really smelt of bad eggs when accelerating and it was the engine management at fault so when they replaced it the smell went.

Yes, it should only happen whenever the aircon is on economy mode, or recirculation of the cabin air is on. Running the a/c really cold for 10 mins seems to put the bacteria in hibernation for a couple of days.

I treat my aircon units with either Loctite, Wurtz or Teroson brand of products, and they're just as efective.

That other one is probably the result of the catalyst going bad per the ECU fault. My ex got that when she put leaded petrol in a cat-equipped car. The aircon only smells inside, while the cat can also be picked up at the tail pipe.

I've gone and got some foamed gasket from work to go on temporarily and will give the garage a poke about it.