2012–2024 Nissan Almera

2012-2024 Nissan Almera — Engine Air Filter Replacement

By Tom Becker ✓ Certified Mechanic · Published Sep 21, 2026 · Updated Oct 22, 2026

🔧 Easy 10 minutes $35 DIY

Save $75 by doing it yourself! Shop cost: $110

Quick answer: Engine Air Filter Replacement on a 2012–2024 Nissan Almera is rated Easy and takes about 10 minutes. You'll need 1 tool for this job, and parts cost about $35. This guide walks you through the full job step by step, including the mistakes to avoid.

Quick Video Tutorial

Parts You Need

Total Cost

$35.00

Part Name	Part Number	Price	Buy
Engine air filter for 2012-2024 Nissan Almera; verify engine, housing shape, and VIN fitment	—	$35.00	Amazon

About prices: shown prices are typical retail averages and change frequently; cheaper alternatives may be available. Confirm the current price before buying.

💡 Pro tip: Order all parts at once to save on shipping

Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these steps carefully

Locate the airbox under the hood

Pop the hood and look for the black rectangular plastic box with a wide, corrugated intake duct running from it toward the engine's throttle body. They all use this same clip-lid airbox.

Flip the spring clips off the lid

The Almera's airbox lid is held shut by spring-metal clips around its front edge. No screws or bolts to remove, which is why this is rated a five-to-ten-minute job needing at most a screwdriver. Do not pry the clips sideways or lever them with force.

Tilt the lid up and lift out the old filter

Raise the front of the lid like a hinge. The rear edge stays hooked in the lower half, so tilt it up rather than yanking it free. On these Nissans the old element often comes away sitting up in the lid.

🔧 Mechanic's note — Ray Delgado

I tell every DIYer this: the lid hinges at the back — tilt, don't yank. And check the lid first: on these Nissans the old filter often comes away stuck up in the lid, so look up there before you assume the base is empty.

Clean the housing and inspect the intake

With the filter out, wipe the inside of the lower half and the underside of the lid with a damp rag, or vacuum out the leaves, sand, and grit that collect in the corners. Then look past the filter seat into the open intake tube — this is the clean side feeding the engine — and lay a clean shop rag over that opening while you work so nothing falls in. Flex the corrugated intake duct with your fingers and look for cracks or splits where dust could sneak past the filter entirely.

Seat the new filter edge-to-edge

Set the new panel element into the housing with its rubber gasket lying flat all the way around and its edges tight to the housing walls.

Close the lid and re-clip every tab

Lower the lid back onto the base so its rear hooks drop into the slots in the lower half, then press the lid down evenly and flip each spring clip back over its catch tab. Every clip must snap over its tab with the lid sitting flush — run a fingertip all the way around the seam and confirm there are no gaps, no pinched gasket, and no corner riding high. Check that the intake duct and its sensor wiring sit clear and are not tugged or pinched under the lid edge.

Start the engine and check the seal

Start the engine and let it idle. Listen around the airbox for a whistling or hissing that would betray an unsealed lid, and confirm no warning lights come on. Check the filter at every oil change. It takes seconds once you know the clips.

All Done!

Test your repair before closing everything up. If something doesn't work right, double-check your steps.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Prying the spring clips sideways instead of flipping them straight off the catch tabs — a bent tab will not reseal the lid and the box will whistle.
• Dropping the new filter in skewed — the element must sit tight and straight in the housing, edge-to-edge, or unfiltered air bypasses it.
• Letting the old filter lift away with the lid and dropping debris into the open intake tube — cover the tube with a rag while the box is open.
• Matching the filter by engine displacement alone — the Almera's 1.2L, 1.5L, and 1.6L share this airbox, so buy by model and year instead.

Tools You'll Need

Flat-blade screwdriver (only if a spring clip is stiff; the airbox lid itself has no screws) Clean shop rag or microfiber cloth Small vacuum (to clear debris from the housing, away from the open intake)

Related Trouble Codes

P0171 System Too Lean (Bank 1) P0101 Mass Airflow Sensor Range/Performance P0174 System Too Lean (Bank 2)

⚠️ Safety First!

• Work with the engine off and the key out of the ignition; a hot or running engine has no business being near an open intake.
• Never run the engine with the airbox open or the filter removed — unfiltered grit goes straight into the cylinders.
• Keep rags, leaves, and loose debris out of the open intake tube; anything that falls in ends up inside the engine.