Ask a Technician: Why should I change my cabin air filter this season?

Cabin air filtration is quite easily the most easily forgotten auto maintenance item in passenger cars. Since their introduction in roughly the early 1990s, more and more cars are equipped with cabin air filters – from a sub-compact to a full-sized luxury car, nearly all cars available in North America now come equipped with them and thus there’s a pretty good chance your car is equipped with one, and a fair to middling chance that it needs replacement. Read on for the details from Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville.

Cabin air filters tend to be buried deep within the dashboard of your vehicle, where the heating, air conditioning and ventilation system are located. They are usually about the size of a standard sized sheet of computer paper, and can vary in terms of material, most common being a cellulose mesh. The cabin air filter is responsible for removing particulate from the air, which can include a whole litany of things you don’t want to be breathing; diesel exhaust, rubber particles, pollen, dust and general air pollution among other things. 

Since the air entering the car through the heating and air conditioning system has to pass through the cabin air filter, the filter can get clogged quite quickly depending on environmental conditions, and a clogged cabin air filter drastically reduces the overall effectiveness of your HVAC system as it struggles to get air flow that a clean cabin air filter would provide.

Other excellent reasons to change your cabin air filter, besides better circulation, include fresher smelling air and fewer allergens entering the cabin. Many cabin air filters accumulate leaves and other debris that your car winds up ingesting which can lead to musty or stale odors. Ultimately, switching out your cabin air is a small expense that keeps you from inadvertently sneezing months later.

As your cabin air filter is “out of sight, out of mind”, it’s definitely a good idea to get in the habit of having it inspected and replaced regularly. What are the right intervals for you? Talk to our service department about where (and how much) you drive, and they’ll be able to suggest how often your cabin air filter should be replaced or inspected. It’s a small and affordable maintenance item that will ensure you have many miles of driving comfort ahead.