F150 Platinum Cabin air filter RANT Ok so I decided to change the cabin air filter. Most cars you open the glove box, find the removable panel in the back, pop it open, remove and replace the air filter. Maybe you might have to "spring" the glove box to drop it down out of the way on some cars.
But Ford engineers had a better way. Empty the glove box, release the two tabs to spring the glove box, (but oh wait, if you are not aware there is a little plastic damper arm that is attached that will snap in half if you are not aware that it is there and disconnect it first). You then find out that the filter box is mounted just high enough that you also have to remove the upper map compartment to get acess. You get to remove a rubber trim piece on the upper glove compartment, you then remove a thin walnut veneer trim piece that is held on by 5 rear mounted clips and the only way to do it is to pry along the razor thin edge of the aforementioned thin walnut trim piece without cracking or chipping it. (Let me know how that goes for you, even with a trusty harbor freight trim removal tool kit). You then get to remove 2 10mm bolts holding the compartment in place. The compartment does not budge, turns out there are three rear mounted clips on the bastard that you could tow the car with. But be careful if you force the compartment too hard it will fall out cutting your knuckles and ripping out the tiny wires to the glove box light switch. You finally see the filter box, but wait there are two plastic clips on the side that are "approximately" 6 feet inside the dash and so close to other parts that there is no way to get your hands on them. Finally you scounge up a "tool" that can reach in and hook on to them and you get the access door off and get the filter out. Now you get to put it all back together.
WTF, all this to access a freaking disposable filter that they say should be changed at least once a year.

Edit to add: Fortunately I watched a youtube on this beforehand so none of the bad things happened to me other than some very minute chipping of the walnut trim which fortunately is covered by the rubber trim piece. But even knowing what I was in for it was a bitch of a job. I shudder to think what the "qualified" mechanics at Jiffy Grease would do to the car.

Lincoln MKC not quite as involved but you do have to remove a lower trim plate with 4 pop in trim studs that don't provide enough room to get the tool into pop them out, then once you find the housing it's mounted vertically, at the back behind the dash and console. Once you get to that remove the bolt, cover and find that the filter doesn't fit though the opening without tearing it to pieces. To install the new filter you have to pinch it in the center so it creates two fan shaped ends so that you can pinch and wiggle it into the space that it's too big for, then reverse it all while laying on your stomach on the sill.

Yeah it's a PIA.

What year F150 Platinum was this? My F150 Platinum doesn't even have a cabin air filter!

You guys have cabin air filters?

My cabin air filter is my lungs!

Yer welcome.

Damn that sounds like a fucking ass whip.

Cabin air filter in my old X-Type was in the cowl. A real pain to work off the cowl cover around the wiper arms.

Always a pet peeve, when fairly routine maintenance items are a bear to get at.

I helped a relative change a battery in a 10 year old Porsche a few months ago. It wasn’t super hard, but under the driver’s seat. Then you had to get special bits to loosen up the seat for access.

I swear, I’m going to look at these things when I consider the next vehicle. My 2017 Silverado isn’t bad with most.

What a pain. I have a 2019 Colorado and it takes maybe ten minutes to do that job.

I think they are hoping you will just take it to the dealer and pay them to do it.

lolz. My daughter's Subaruis easy, remove glove box, open door, swap filters.

my bmw is worse.
remove glove box.
remove center trim piece.
yank out top filter
dig out and yank out bottom filter.
yes, there are two cabin filters.

now the hard part. angle in bottom filter and push it at a curve.
now the bottom filter is blocking part of the slot, so quish top filter and push in upwards at an angle and a curve.

now put it all back together.

My wife's Odyssey: open glove box, drop it down, pull old filter and insert new one

My Mazda5: contort yourself upside down while reaching into the side of the center console with a special ratchet screwdriver that you CANNOT SEE to unscrew a plastic piece then you pull it out then have to somehow coax 2 small filters into the space one after the other THAT YOU CAN'T SEE what you are doing then somehow get your ratchet screwdriver back in there THAT YOU CAN'T SEE to reattach the plastic piece.

I really would like to kick whatever engineer that designed this mess square in the nuts. It's very non-Mazda-like for some reason for it to be this way.