Cabin filter Bosch or OEM FORD

The biggest advantage with the activated type is that it picks up odours so you smell less of the fumes from outside

If you don't care about those just get the OE

What car do you have? I used to drive a Ford C-Max and getting to the cabin air filter was insanely hard.

I have 3 Hondas that use the same cabin filters. Costs me $33 to get Bosch filters.

I do them every 6 months.

Bosch is superior:

I found the cabin air filter that came from the factory to be pretty basic and low quality. When I replaced it with a better one I instantly stopped smelling the wiper fluid/other cars exhausts.

There’s a 3rd party cabin filter with a carbon layer on Amazon that is significantly better than the ford cabin filter. I haven’t noticed anything since installing it.

The why shupack answered, the fix if you care could be to try a third party cabin air filter. If there are any out there with a larger amount of carbon in them (carbon absorbs odor) that'd help. Replacing the cabin air filter behind the glove box is fairly easy to do and several YouTube videos on it. Cheaper than having the dealer do it, and 3rd party filters claim to be better. We did notice less smoke smell from the wildfires last summer when I swapped out from OEM to whatever filter I put in.

I think it was my 80s bronco, like changing a cabin air filter. Undo hoses in engine bay, open glove box, open a door and slide it out and slide the new 1 in, attach hoses, close it up. Did it in less than 10min.

Ford Fusion is almost this with labor. You have to take a ton of trim and bolts off. Even take out the glove box.

I’ve changed the cabin air filter probably 4 times now, used a foam evap coil cleaner twice, ran Lysol thru the cowl multiple times, did a descent bomb in the car. At absolute best, this lasts for a couple weeks and then back to this gross mildew smell coming from vents.