Over the last year at Heritage Autopro, we’ve kept our doors open, with additional precautions, so each of our valued clients could keep moving too. With Spring on the horizon, we’ll have more of a chance to get out and enjoy the great outdoors again. It’s been a challenging time, but a breath of fresh air feels amazing. With this in mind, we want to talk about your air filters.
Your vehicle has two air filters that we check each time we change your oil. The first we’ll talk about is your engine filter.
This filter cleans the air before it’s burned in your engine. Many Calgarians wonder how often they should change their engine air filter, and the simple answer is ‘when it’s dirty’. That’s a function of how much air has passed through the filter; your manufacturer will recommend a mileage interval for replacing the air filter. As you can imagine, how dirty the air is will affect how quickly the filter gets filled.
Here in Alberta where there’s lots of dust, pollution or pollen, your engine air filter will get dirty more quickly and need to be changed sooner. That’s why we check the air filter with every full-service oil change at Heritage Autopro. We can visually tell if the filter needs to be changed.
Your filter can only hold so much dirt. Once the filter is full, dirt will pass through to the engine. This dirt gums up the combustion chamber and hurts fuel economy and may cause damage. It can also contaminate the Mass Air Flow Sensor which will affect drivability and can be fairly expensive to replace.
A dirty air filter would also restrict the amount of air that gets to the engine which hurts fuel economy. We can replace your engine air filter with one that matches the factory specifications or you can upgrade your filter for enhanced performance.
So when we show you your dirty air filter, you know how important it is to get it replaced.
Your engine may not be the only place that air gets cleaned up, your vehicle also may have cabin air filters. Cabin air filters are relatively new, so not all vehicles in Calgary have them. Every vehicle in AB has an engine air filter though, so it’s easy to get mixed up.
The cabin air filter cleans out dust, pollen, spores and other pollutants. To give a point of comparison, a grain of sand is about 200 microns across. A cabin air filter can stop particles that are just 3 microns in size. It really does make the passenger cabin a much more pleasant environment.
When the cabin air filter gets dirty, you just need to replace it. Your owner’s manual may have a recommended interval for changing it. If not we can inspect it. You know, it’s ironic that many people who don’t realize they even have a cabin air filter first find out they do when it starts to get smelly.
Some cabin air filters are very easy to access when it’s time to replace them. Others, not so much. We may have to get behind the dashboard and it takes some time.
A clean cabin air filter keeps out smog, allergens and other harmful pollutants. If it’s time, get it changed right away.
Have a great weekend, and we hope you enjoy a breath of fresh air!