education Has your vehicle been making strange noises or smelling like gasoline lately? Those could be signs that it’s time to replace your car’s air filter. Learn about these indicators below.
The easiest and quickest way to determine that it’s time to swap out the air filter is by visually inspecting it. Checking the air filter on your car is remarkably easy, even if you consider yourself clueless about cars and automotive components.
Pro-Tip: If you’re unsure where the air filter on your vehicle is, check your owner’s manual.
A clean air filter should be off-white and not have any dirt or debris trapped between the folds. If your filter looks gray, brown, or—in the worst case—black, you should swap it out for a fresh filter immediately.
Many drivers feel a tinge of panic when the check engine light comes on in their dashboard, but sometimes, it’s only an alert that you need to change the air filter needs. The check engine light can act as an alert for many problems with the car, including:
But one of the simplest issues that can turn on a check engine light is the engine getting insufficient air because the filter has become clogged. Before you take your vehicle into the shop, give the air filter a look. The light may turn off when you put in a new one.
If your car has been making strange sounds and idling roughly lately, that could be a sign it’s time to replace the air filter. If unsure, let the car idle for a minute and see how it sounds.
One of the main causes of a rough idle in a car is a clogged air filter. When the air filter is dirty, it’ll start to choke—the same way we might cough when we don’t get enough air. A new air filter is like a breath of fresh air for a car, and the rough idle sounds should disappear with one.
You should never smell gas coming from your car, but if you only smell it when you start the engine, that could be due to a filter problem. When your car doesn’t get the air it needs, it burns excess fuel to produce the same amount of power.
This excess fuel doesn’t get burned off and lingers. The tailpipe then expels it the next time you start your car, which is the gas you’re smelling. If you get a whiff of gasoline every time you start your car, check the air filter. Take the vehicle into the shop immediately if replacing the filter doesn’t work.
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