?
On my old accord ('94) this was a trivial job, but...

I removed the four screws but couldn't lift the housing out of the way enough to get the old filter out.

The owner's manual doesn't say anything about it in the DIY section, so I'm guessing that means they are hinting you should take it to the dealer.?

What's the procedure?

 

Four or six cylinder?If 4 cylinderremove the largehose to the throttle body then pull up on the airbox cover. For a six:

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8089

 

Whoops, sorry -- should have said it is a 4 cylinder. Those are great pictures of the 6 cylinder -- looks like those folks have it easy :-)

I wondered about the large hose -- it is held tight to the airbox by this weird thing that looks like a spring (rather than, say, a clamp that could be loosened). Am I correct in thinking i need to just pry that springy thing out of the way so i can loosen the hose?

 

On my 2003 that spring thing just gives a little extra grip to the big rubber duct. You can pull that big duct off without bothering to do anything to the spring.

But on my 2003, it's a lot easier to work that thing if you disconnect a couple little vent tubes to allow more motion. It DOES seem like the fender mounting flange is just in the way by a fraction of an inch. I bet someone wasn't paying attention to that little stuff when designing the car.