Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

I drive a 2010 Pajero Sport and have found out that it does not have a dust (pollen) filter. When I drive in dust I usually close the vent, but when I open it again later and run the aircon all the dust comes into the cab. This apparently is peculiar to the Pajero Sport. I cannot believe that an Off-road vehicle can be designed without this filter (should be behind the cubby hole). What can be done to rectify this matter - the agents just shrug their shoulders and I remain with the dust in my nose and camera lens!

Philm

Hi Philm,

Not sure if the Pajero Sport is similar - but maybe this thread from the Aussie site can point you in the right direction.

Cabin Filter Modification addition

Pollen or dust filters are normally only present in cars with automatic climate control. The way around this is to switch the ventilation to cycle air in the cabin and not draw air from outside. The cooling is also more effective this way. Switch back to draw air from outside in low dust areas if you feel you need some fresh air again.

Bigwill wrote:Pollen or dust filters are normally only present in cars with automatic climate control. The way around this is to switch the ventilation to cycle air in the cabin and not draw air from outside. The cooling is also more effective this way. Switch back to draw air from outside in low dust areas if you feel you need some fresh air again.

On my paj I find that it draws in less dust if the aircon is NOT on recirculation.

andrew.ashton wrote:

wrote: On my paj I find that it draws in less dust if the aircon is NOT on recirculation.

This is quite possible, but then the dust is not coming via the air ducts or filter for that matter. When air is drawn via the intake outside the car, a high pressure situation builds up inside the car that prevents dust finding its way via the door seals, window gaps, etc. So perhaps your car is just not dust proof.

There is an interesting article on the subject of dust and 4x4 here: 4WD's and Beating the Dust.shtml

Yes, a good article.
Back to the start of this thread:
Without a filter in the system Philm will be better off on recycle when entering a cloud of dust than he would be should he simply just close the flap. To quote from the article:

We find that temporarily switching the controls from fresh to recirculate when driving through clouds of stirred up dust, minimizes the impact.

Hi philm

Will have a look at the airbox on my Sport's Aircon this week as it will be visiting aircon guys.
No cold air at idle....
Will see if there is a place for a filter.

My experience with any vehicle and dust is as follows....

Fan on HI ( not Auto)
Aircon ON if you want
DO NOT recirculate.
Windows fully closed.

Keep following distance on gravel, low visibility is a safety factor any way.
Consider what is happening to the engine air filter.
Recirculate will cause the dust to stall and settle in front of air box.

I do a LOT of gravel and you just have to accept there will be a bit of dust entry from fan side.
Even when passing someone in opposite direction, there isn't a cloud of dust in the car.
I have zero dust entry from doors, boot etc, however.
Look in the area where the jack is mounted, you will see the exhaust vents for the cabin.
Air needs to be moving through the cabin.

Will let you know what I find this week

Thanks for the advice, Andrew, Titan & Bigwill.

I do use the recycle setting with vents closed, but when I change it to let in outside air - even 2 days later - the dust comes in as it obviously gathers at the vent.

I have looked into a custom-made filter, but according to the mechanic it will be very close to a fan so I am a little cautious to go ahead, as any damage might affect the warrantee.

I will keep investigating this matter and post a reply if I find a solution. If not, I might change my vehicle as I am a serious amateur photographer and cannot have that much dust on my equipment.

Philm