How Often to Replace Engine Air Filter?

Wondering how often to replace engine air filter? Here’s everything you need to know about this simple task that can potentially enhance your overall driving experience.

For those who aren’t aware, air filters prevent dust particles, insects, debris, or sand from reaching your vehicle’s engine and ensures a good mixture of fuel and air in order to support the engine’s overall performance and preventing potentially expensive damage. Despite its important role maintaining a car’s performance, people often overlook the regular checking and changing air filters.

If you don’t really know much about how engine air filters work, there’s at least one thing you should know: over time, it’s condition will deteriorate, eventually needing repairing or replacement with new fittings. And though you can take your car to a workshop for this job, replacing an engine air filter is fairly a simple process that can easily be performed at home – saving you some dollars.

In this post we’ve shared everything you need to know about replacing engine air filters, from how it’s done to duration between each replacement.  

So, without any more delays, let us get started!

How to Replace Engine Air Filter?

If you look up “how to replace an engine air filter” on Google, you’ll get swamped up by myriads of different methods and suggestions. But don’t worry, that’s what we are here for. Below we’ve listed five simple steps that can help you do the job in no time.

Step 1 – First and foremost, open the hood of your car. To find the location of the engine air filter, keep an eye out for a big (typically black), plastic box fixed on the side or at the top of the engine. In most cases, a big hose is protruding out of one side.

Step 2 – In this step, note how the air filter is secured in places. Generally, some elbow grease and two hands are needed to open it. But keep in mind that some vehicle manufacturers use screws, clips, clamps, wing nuts, or a combo of all these to secure the component in place. To undo these, you’ll need the right tools.

Step 3 – Open the air filter housing using correct tools and take the old, filthy air filter out. It’s recommended to wipe any residue or debris with a rag before installing the new engine air filter.

Step 4 – Once the housing is clean, fix the new air filter with the rubber rim facing upwards. Make sure that the air filter is placed securely and firmly the housing.

Step 5 – For the last step, close the box and re-attach any fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws, clips, etc.) detached in the previous steps. Close the car’s hood and that’s it. You are done!

How Often to Replace Engine Air Filter?

There is no fixed answer to this question since the duration varies from vehicle to vehicle. Maintenance schedules for the replacement of engine air filters of every vehicle model is different.

For instance, the suggested replacement interval for Chevrolet car engines is 45,000 miles. But on the other hand, Ford generally recommends its car owners to change air filters after every 30,000 miles. Hyundai walks in the footsteps of Ford with 30,000 miles, however, it shortens the interval (15,000 miles) for cars that have undergone severe driving conditions, such as extreme weather conditions, heavy traffic, frequent driving on dusty, rough, and unpaved roads.

Please note that these rules are applicable to other vehicles as well. If you frequently drive in the above-shared condition, your engine air filter will need replacement sooner than cars that do not.

Generally, you can tell when an engine air filter needs a replacement simply by looking at it. If there are several black spots on the area from where external air enters, it might be a good indication of a replacement. The engine air filters of most vehicles are fairly easy to access. If you’re sure, feel free to reconfirm the location in the owner’s manual.

If you are unable to conclude whether the air filter needs a swap or not just by looking at it, don’t worry. If you’ve used the car for more than 30,000 miles or 3 years, consider getting a new air filter. But all in all, keep in mind that engine air filter replacements majorly depend on the vehicle’s mileage and condition.

Going to a professional is highly recommended for people who don’t want to risk harming their engines at home by undertaking the task themselves. If you decide to take your car to a workshop, just make sure that they’re technicians are well-trained and know what they’re doing.

Conclusion

We know that it can be surprising how much engine air filters of a car can affect its overall driving comfort and performance. But replacing engine air filters is a different story altogether. Lucky for you, you do not have to do it all. Just remember, like every other car component, the engine air filter can too benefit from regular maintenance and cleaning.

We strongly recommend you to regularly perform at-home inspections of your vehicles’ engine air filter or take the car to an expert like Kwik Kar. This way you can get it serviced, replaced, and/or repaired to prevent more serious issues. Not only will you be able to avoid malfunctions, you’ll also be able to enjoy a more pleasant driving experience.

So, that’s all for today. We would love it if this blog post on “How Often to Replace Engine Air Filter” helped you in any way possible. Let us know if you any queries and, more importantly, if there is more to add!

If you’re searching for more informative articles on vehicle maintenance, service, and inspection, do give the rest of our blog section a look. The Kwik Kar experts endeavor to make sure every client is equipped with the necessary knowledge to decide what’s best for them.