How to Keep Your Cabin Air Filter in Tip-Top Shape

The length of time to replace your cabin air filter depends on the make, model, and year of your vehicle, so you'll want to check your owner's manual for verification. However, in general, most cabin air filters need to be replaced somewhere between 15,000 and 30,000 miles. The best place to find this answer, which varies by manufacturer, is in your vehicle's manual. Some will recommend every 45,000 miles, while others recommend being closer to the 25,000 mile mark.

And there are some companies that will even recommend that you change your cabin air filter every 15,000 miles if your driving conditions include busy roads, high temperatures, or dusty, unpaved road conditions. It's usually just a pollen filter that's more for occupant comfort. In older cars, very occasionally a dead bumblebee would get through a ventilation grille, but six days without filtering shouldn't cause you much trouble. Knowing when to replace the filter can present a difficult situation.

You don't want to change it too soon and waste money, but you don't want to wait until the filter becomes ineffective. Recommendations indicate that you should replace your vehicle's cabin air filter every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, and sometimes longer. Refer to the owner's manual for the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and when to change your car's air filter. The world is literally on fire.

Wildfires in the American West are harbingers of more fires every year. We must face this new normal. And while we've taken some steps to curb air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions continue to threaten our future. This type of covert intruder can be difficult to avoid, but the interior of your car can be a refuge from fumes thanks to the cabin air filter. While the air filter that powers your car's engine filters the air that enters the combustion cycle, a vehicle's cabin air filter filters the air you breathe inside your vehicle.

Think of cabin air filters like gas masks, which keep pollution, smoke, and disgusting coal from that bulldozer out of your lungs and out of the hospital for acute asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. So sit back, get some compressed air and follow the steps as The Drive information team teaches you everything you ever wanted to know about cabin air filters.

Signs of a Dirty Cabin Air Filter

Signs of a dirty cabin air filter are fairly easy to spot, that is, unless you lack the sense of smell. Here are the most common ways to determine if a cabin air filter needs to be replaced.

• The easiest sign of a dirty cabin air filter is the smell of something outside the car, such as smoke from wildfires, cow pastures or skunks even when you have the HVAC system in recirculation.
• You may also see smoke or other particles entering through your car's ventilation grilles.
• This can also indicate that the cabin air filter has a tear or rupture and needs to be replaced immediately.
• Similarly, you might hear the HVAC mechanism struggling to push air through the car. It may sound louder than usual or as if something is blocking a vent.

How To Replace The Cabin Air Filter

Now let's move on to the essential details on how to replace the cabin air filter.

Life is full of variables that positively and negatively affect your health. Cabin air filters are no different. These are some external and internal variables that can affect the service life and effectiveness of the cabin air filter.

• Cigarette, cigar and marijuana smoke (please don't do this in your car) can affect the effectiveness of the cabin air filter.
• As you smoke more in the car, the filter becomes even more clogged due to your particular habits.
• Similarly, those who use hairspray or other beauty products can also affect the health of their cabin air filter.

Do you want to breathe the rudeness of the world? We didn't believe it. By replacing the cabin air filter and setting the HVAC system to “Recirculation” (that's the little button on your board that looks like a look with an arrow), according to Tesla, their Biological Weapons Defense Mode “developed a HEPA filtration system capable of removing pollen, bacteria and pollution from outside air before they enter the cabin and systematically cleaning the air inside the cabin to remove any traces of these particles”.The end result is a filtration system hundreds of times more efficient than standard automotive filters capable of providing drivers and their passengers with best possible cabin air quality no matter what is happening in their surrounding environment - essentially it's a cabin air filter on steroids! Tesla claims it will last up to three years.

Cost Of The Filter

The cost of the filter depends on whether you need an electrostatic carbon or standard cabin air filter.

Conclusion

During this era of environmental instability you may wonder how cabin air filters work and if yours are good.

If your cabin air filter isn't replaced regularly you run the risk of inhaling hazardous particles while you're inside the vehicle. According to Prokopenko “the air filter is one of most overlooked maintenance items in a car” An important factor in determining best time to replace filter depends on how often you drive vehicle quality of air you are driving in and whether you are driving in heavy traffic or not. Eventually as time passes by without replacing it -the air filter becomes increasingly ineffective interfering with flow of air to ventilation system. One suggestion check best time check is when performing oil change -as this is usually done every 3-6 months depending on type oil used -so it would be good idea check then as well!Technology Performance Design Your Inbox Articles may contain affiliate links allow us share proceeds any purchase made.