Thanks. I should have gone back to the original thread or been more specific. I meant the aFe airbox itself, not the scoop and I found my answer: It is necessary to disassemble the airbox to check/change/clean the filter.
Kinda inconvenient but not a dealbreaker.
I'm about to order one of these from Stage 3 but wondering about checking/cleaning/changing the filter... Do you have to disassemble the thing to get at it? Most others you can just remove the cover.