Spring is almost here and with this change in weather, you also need to make a few big changes in your life. That doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way to bring in new things in your life, rather just take care of all the work that’s been pending for a long time because winter’s chilly season made you too lazy to do them. This includes cleaning up your surroundings and possessions. And one such possession comes in the form of your vehicle.
You may be a pro at getting your vehicle maintained after every interval, but sometimes even the best of us may overlook detailed maintenance requirements such as cleaning up your vehicle’s air filters, etc. This is especially important to get done during spring since this is the time when pollen starts entering the environment again, meaning if your air filters aren’t clean enough, they’ll attract this pollen and cause breathing problems for you as well as a dirty filter means performance issues for your car. Below, we’ve listed down some reasons you need to change your car’s air filters during the spring.
Performance Issues
At times, you might feel like your vehicle is slow to respond when you press on the accelerator. When your car doesn’t seem to have any other issues, it could be that its air filter is too dirty and that dirt is interfering with your acceleration performance. This is because a dirty filter means your engine isn’t getting the appropriate amount of clean air, causing it to malfunction in its performance. Therefore, removing the dirty filter and replacing it with a clean one is vital during such times.
Spend Less Money on Gas
If you own an old vehicle, its fuel economy may drop, which is a common sign of having a dirty air filter. The carburetor of the vehicle creates a balance between proper fuel ratio and air to cause combustion. This is compromised when the engine doesn’t get the right amount of clean air, and during such times, the engine compensates by using more fuel to make up for the lack of clean air. In newer vehicles, this issue is taken care of since their fuel injection uses onboard automatic specs to achieve the right amount of air-to-fuel balance and adjust the flow of fuel accordingly. Meaning the air filter doesn’t have much of an impact on its gas mileage; though, even then, it’s important to have clean air filters for your own sake.
Cabin Air Control
Dirty air filters mean the pathways of clean air to enter the vehicle’s cabin are blocked due to the dirt accumulated on airways. Furthermore, the dirt and debris collected on the filters find their way elsewhere in the vehicle, e.g. the air conditioning and heating systems. And since spring is the season when most fluctuations occur in the weather, making you use AC at times and heaters at others, you’ll be at the mercy of dirty air in the cabin whenever you try to use these features. Or even worse, they will refuse to work due to the amount of dirt accumulated on them. Therefore, it’s extremely important to clean up your filters to not have any issues with your vehicle’s performance and, as a result, your levels of comfort when you’re driving the car.
Recommended in the Owner’s Manual
The biggest reason, however, for you to change your cabin’s air filter is perhaps that it’s recommended inside your owner’s manual that you should be changing it every 1200-1500 miles. So even if at times, your air filter may seem clean, you need to get it properly cleaned up or changed anyway after the recommended amount of intervals has been reached. This will help keep your engine’s life durable and give you a smooth car driving experience.
Spring is the ideal season to get detailed clean-ups done, whether it’s inside your house, your wardrobe, or your car. From regulating your vehicle’s performance and environment to increasing the lifespan of your car’s different features, cleaning the air filters is a very important task. Though your owner’s manual may state different times to get the air filters cleaned up, which is what you should follow as well, it’s good to keep in mind that spring is a time when this clean-up needs to occur more often than recommended. If you’re looking for more information, visit Toyota Creek Motors.
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