On the 2014-2018 Silverado 1500 this is a no-lift, no-jack, 20-minute job. You empty the glove box, unhook its damper, squeeze the sides past the stops so the box drops, and the cabin filter slot is right there on the face of the HVAC case toward the center of the truck. The filter is long and floppy, so you fold it a little going in and out, and you hold it level so a season's worth of leaves doesn't land in the passenger footwell.
The thing people get wrong is assuming their truck already has a filter. GM left the cabin filter off a lot of these trucks, mostly WT and base LS builds and many early 2014s, and closed the slot with a molded plastic blank. If you find a smooth panel with a scribed outline instead of a hinged door, you cut the blank out once with a utility knife or rotary tool, vacuum the chips, and from then on it's a normal filter change. Cut shallow - the evaporator is right behind that wall. Second most common mistake: not pushing the filter fully home, which gives you a whistle and weak airflow.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Flashlight or headlamp LED, hands-free preferred The filter slot is deep under the dash in shadow. | Required | shop |
| Plastic trim pry tool set Nylon interior trim tools Releases the glove box side stops and the filter door tabs without marring plastic. | Required | shop |
| Small flat-blade screwdriver 1/8 in (3 mm) tip Pops the glove box damper link and pries the filter access door tabs. | Required | shop |
| Utility knife Retractable, fresh blade Cuts out the molded blank-off panel on trucks that never had a filter. | Required | shop |
| Rotary tool with cutoff wheel Small burr or cutting wheel Cleans up the cut opening on no-filter trucks faster than a knife. | Recommended | shop |
| Shop vacuum Narrow crevice nozzle Vacuums leaves and debris out of the empty filter housing. | Recommended | shop |
| 7 mm socket or nut driver 7 mm, 1/4 in drive Some trucks have a 7 mm screw in the lower passenger dash/knee trim if you choose to drop that panel for more room. | Recommended | shop |
| Torx bit set T15 / T20, 1/4 in drive Covers Torx screws found on some lower dash and glove box trim variations. | Recommended | shop |
| Cabin air filter ACDelco CF190 / GM 22808781 (or equivalent, e.g. Fram CF11966) The replacement filter itself; particulate or charcoal versions both fit. | Parts | shop |
| Nitrile gloves Disposable Old filters hold mold, pollen and rodent debris. | Safety | shop |
| Dust mask N95 Keeps you from breathing what shakes loose off the old filter. | Safety | shop |
| Interior cleaner wipes Any Wipe the housing lip and your hands before reassembly. | Consumables | shop |
No difference by engine. The 4.3 V6, 5.3 L83 and 6.2 L86 all use the same HVAC case and the same filter. The only variation is trim-related: base trucks are more likely to have the blank-off panel instead of a filter door, and some trims use a 7 mm screw versus a T15 on the lower passenger knee trim if you choose to remove it.
| Glove box / lower dash trim screws (if removed) | Hand tight, approx. 15 in-lb; verify in the service manual |
The filter location (HVAC case behind the lowered glove box), the ACDelco CF190 part number and the common blank-off panel on base trucks are well documented for the K2XX generation; double-check your own truck for an existing door versus a blank, and confirm the airflow arrow direction against the marking on the housing before you push the new filter in.
Not necessarily. Many base and WT trucks, and a lot of early 2014 builds, shipped with no filter and a molded plastic blank covering the slot behind the glove box. Drop the glove box and look: a hinged door with a tab means you have one, a smooth panel with a scribed rectangle means you need to cut the blank out first.
ACDelco CF190, GM part 22808781. Common equivalents are Fram CF11966, Wix 24815 and K&N VF2050. Charcoal/activated-carbon versions of the same size fit the same slot.
Match the arrow to the direction marking on the HVAC housing and to the old filter if one was installed - on most of these trucks the arrow points downward, toward the blower side of the case. Photograph the old filter before you pull it so you have a reference.
Every 22,500 miles or about two years under normal use, and yearly if you run gravel roads, farm fields or heavy pollen. If you get weak airflow or a musty smell on first startup, check it sooner.