Dirty Car Cabin Air Filter

Cars com the cabin air filter a feature found on most late model vehicles cleans the air that comes into the interior through the heating ventilation and air conditioning system it catches.

Dirty car cabin air filter.

Since they work in essentially the same fashion as a regular engine air filter cabin air filters get dirty and should be. As a rule of thumb if the filter looks dirty it is. Heck it may not even be on your list. In many cases the paper element is white to help you determine when the filter is dirty.

A cabin air filter can look almost exactly like the air filter used by your car s engine. It cleans the air inside your car. What does a cabin air filter do. The cabin air filter is a small pleated filter made of multi fiber paper cotton or other engineered material.

If your car has one check your owner s manual you re supposed to change it every 12 000 to 15 000 miles or once a year. Before entering the passenger compartment outside air is directed through this filter to trap the contaminants inside the filter and prevent them from entering the inside of your vehicle. Most auto companies recommend that you change the air filter every 10 000 to 15 000 miles or every 12 months. A cabin air filter that s dirty or clogged won t filter those contaminants causing problems for those who suffer from allergies or have breathing difficulties.

Luckily dirty air filter symptoms are easy to identify once you know what to look for read on to learn the signs your vehicle needs air filter maintenance so you can keep it healthy and on the road for years to come 1. Over time the air filter can become dirty and clogged and the lack of air can affect the overall performance of your car. Air filter appears dirtyone of the easiest symptoms to recognize is the appearance of the filter itself. A good rule of thumb is to replace your cabin air filter every february before spring allergy season arrives especially if you live in an area with a lot of trees.

The cabin air filter is the filter responsible for filtering the air that is fed into the vehicle s heating and air conditioning systems. The filter is usually composed of a paper element that is folded into pleats and surrounded by a rubberized gasket. An overworked air conditioning system with reduced airflow is less able to keep the a consistent cabin air temperature. The air temperature increase caused by a clogged cabin filter may be gradual or significant depending on how the filter is clogged as well as other factors such as the outside temperature and amount of sunlight heating the air as it passes through the car s windows.

Mechanics say replacing your car s dirty cabin air filter can improve the air quality in your car. When to replace the engine air filter.