Dirty Cabin Air Filter Symptoms

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.

Dirty cabin air filter symptoms.

As noted above a bad air filter can significantly affect the performance of your car s engine. But what are the signs of a clogged air filter. If you re noticing that the engine does not start up easily it may be due to a dirty air filter. 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.

Clogged air filter symptoms. When to replace the engine air filter. Luckily dirty air filter symptoms are easy to identify once you know what to look for. One of the easiest symptoms to recognize is the appearance of the filter itself.

The filter traps dust pollen and other foreign particles preventing them from entering the vehicle and polluting the cabin. Air filter appears dirty. An overworked air conditioning system with reduced airflow is less able to keep the a consistent cabin air temperature. Here are eight tell tale dirty air filter symptoms.

A dirty or clogged air filter can restrict the engine s airflow thereby decreasing the amount of air available for combustion while also throwing off the air fuel ratio. These conditions will reduce performance in acceleration and fuel economy. Symptoms of a clogged fuel filter. An excessively contaminated filter may produce a dusty dirty or musty smell.

An unclean air filter greatly impedes the amount of airflow to the engine which in turn causes an overly rich air fuel blend. The cabin air filter is the filter responsible for filtering the air that is fed into the vehicle s heating and air conditioning systems. Highly concentrated air fuel mixtures can pollute the spark plugs which will cause your engine to misfire or miss. Over time the air filter can become dirty and clogged and the lack of air can affect the overall performance of your car.

Most auto companies recommend that you change the air filter every 10 000 to 15 000 miles or every 12 months. Another symptom of a bad or failing cabin air filter is an unusual odor coming from the vehicle s interior vents. Since they work in essentially the same fashion as a regular engine air filter cabin air filters get dirty and should be.