Bad air quality while you’re driving is nothing to sneeze at. But seriously, more and more vehicles these days come equipped with an cabin air filter. Since they’re fairly new on the scene, a lot of folks don’t know about them yet.

These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment, or cabin, of your car or truck. They do the same job as the furnace filter you have at home. They can filter out particles as small as thee microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.

So your cabin air filer can clean out dust, pollution, pollen and spores, to keep the air in your car nice and clean. And just like your furnace filter, they need to be replaced when they get dirty. Check your owner’s manual, but they typically need to be replaced at around twelve to fifteen thousand miles.

The filter is usually either under the hood or under the dashboard. Some are a little tricky to get to, so you’ll want to have your service center take care of replacing them.

As we said, many people don’t realize they have a cabin air filter and go to their shop complaining about a funky smell in the ventilation system. It turned out to be a cabin air filter that was long overdue for replacement – really dirty and starting to smell. A quick replacement and they were on their way and smelling fine.

People who are allergy sensitive can really benefit from a cabin air filter, as it keeps allergens to a minimum. If you’re one of them, you’ll want to stay on top of your filter replacement schedule.

Of course if you do a lot of driving in dusty or polluted conditions, you’ll need to change your cabin air filter more often.

What is a cabin air filter? Is it:

A.    A filter for a house in the middle of the woods?
B.    A fresh, piney scent?
C.    A filter for the passenger compartment of your car?

Clever you, it’s ‘C’.

A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment.  It filters out dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, sparrows, exhaust gas and odors.

These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns.  By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.

Now not all vehicles have cabin filters.  They are fairly new on the scene.  About forty percent of new vehicles come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year

Cabin air filters can make for a very nice driving environment.  Your car can be a haven during allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin.  However, the filter eventually gets clogged.  When this happens, your heating and air conditioning flow can become restricted.  The filter can even get kind of smelly.

Check your owner’s manual for recommended replacement intervals.  Often, the owner’s manual forgets about the cabin air filter, so ask your service technician for a recommendation.  It’s usually every year or 12,000 miles/ 19,000 kilometers.  Change it sooner if you drive in dusty conditions or if you start to notice an odor from your ventilation system.

So keep your cabin air filter clean.  It may not help with your brother-in-law in the backseat, but it will make your driving experience more enjoyable.

What is a cabin air filter?

Is it:

1. A filter for a house in the middle of the woods?
2. A fresh, piney scent?
3. A filter for the passenger compartment of your car?

Clever you, it’s 3.

A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment.  It filters out dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, sparrows, exhaust gas and odors.

These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns.  By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.

Now not all vehicles have cabin filters.  They are fairly new on the scene.  About forty percent of new vehicles come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year.

Cabin air filters can make for a very nice driving environment.  Your car can be a haven during allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin.  However, the filter eventually gets clogged.  When this happens, your heating and air conditioning flow can become restricted.  The filter can even get kind of smelly.

Check your owner’s manual for recommended replacement intervals.  Often, the owner’s manual forgets about the cabin air filter, so ask your service technician for a recommendation.  It’s usually every year or 12,000 miles/ 19,000 kilometers.  Change it sooner if you drive in dusty conditions or if you start to notice an odor from your ventilation system.

So keep your cabin air filter clean.  It may not help with your brother-in-law in the backseat, but it will make your driving experience more enjoyable.