Current Events > How many air filters are in a car? Second time I'm letting my car dealer replace

(+) Yeah! (+)

replace one this year

This one is a cabin air filter forgot what they switched out last time

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Oil filter and cabin filter. Wait, I was thinking of the air filter. So at least 3.

But these days who knows, there could be 50 in there.

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Two one for the engine and one for the cabin

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There's an air filter for the engine air intake, and usually a cabin filter for the HVAC system inside the cabin of the vehicle. Some cars might even have a secondary cabin filter.

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Get a K&N filter and never replace it again. Buy a cabin air filter on RockAuto and DIY. Takes 3-5 minutes.

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Best bet is to tell then youre good and go to Walmart and grab one. A lot cheaper and take half a minute to put in.

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brestugo posted...

Get a K&N filter and never replace it again. Buy a cabin air filter on RockAuto and DIY. Takes 3-5 minutes.

Don't get a K&N filter. They are two to three times the price of a regular filter and you have to take it out, clean it, then spray it with a 'special' spray you also have to buy. Its way cheaper and easier to change out a regular filter. Both the engine and cabin filter will take you ten minutes to change out

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Damn okay Ill just watch a YouTube probably gonna save me atleast $50 I couldve spent on Magic cards

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A cabin filter is usually a 2 minute job including watching the YouTube video

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I went in for an oil change once and the woman ripped my air cabin filter out destroying it in the process before telling me I needed to change it. Well not like I have a choice now is it

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theAteam posted...

I went in for an oil change once and the woman ripped my air cabin filter out destroying it in the process before telling me I needed to change it. Well not like I have a choice now is it

your ac isn't going to explode if you leave the dealership without that filter and pick up a much cheaper one at an auto store. that's just one of the many items car mechanics jack up the price on.

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brestugo posted...

Get a K&N filter and never replace it again.

yeah if you want your engine to blow up

TC, buy Wix brand engine air filters and replace it every who cares they're like 10-20 bucks just replace it when they look dirty

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You could be getting scammed. I recall seeing a news story a year or so back where they basically took a brand new car that was fully maintained beforehand to different mechanics, and would frequently be told they have all sorts of shit they need to replace and fix, despite the fact that the cars were as close to mint condition as you can get them.

There is definitely the potential for grifting when you have a professional like a mechanic looking into a car where the person doesn't really have any way of knowing what's actually wrong or needed, and convincing you to spend a bunch of money on "fixes" that were never necessary.

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I think it is probably easy but you guys are making it sound like you slip it in and out like a SD Card

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buddhamonster posted...

You could be getting scammed. I recall seeing a news story a year or so back where they basically took a brand new car that was fully maintained beforehand to different mechanics, and would frequently be told they have all sorts of shit they need to replace and fix, despite the fact that the cars were as close to mint condition as you can get them.

There is definitely the potential for grifting when you have a professional like a mechanic looking into a car where the person doesn't really have any way of knowing what's actually wrong or needed, and convincing you to spend a bunch of money on "fixes" that were never necessary.

yup its true.

i brought my car to a Midas for an oil change. usually i do it myself, but fucking whoever changed it last fucking welding the bolt shut on there and i couldn't get it off.

guy came to me said cars all good BUT, you need your transmission and radiator flushed. his reasoning was "if you want to sell the car itll show on car fax that you had them both changed."

OH

yeah im going to sell my 2000 acura with 258k miles on it. SURE.

also, with that transmission, you'd be an idiot to flush it. change it, sure, but flush it??? rip transmission

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buddhamonster posted...

You could be getting scammed. I recall seeing a news story a year or so back where they basically took a brand new car that was fully maintained beforehand to different mechanics, and would frequently be told they have all sorts of shit they need to replace and fix, despite the fact that the cars were as close to mint condition as you can get them.

There is definitely the potential for grifting when you have a professional like a mechanic looking into a car where the person doesn't really have any way of knowing what's actually wrong or needed, and convincing you to spend a bunch of money on "fixes" that were never necessary.

Quite possibly but I get free oil changes so might as well get it done, also I dont getting a cabin air filter replaced ever since I had the car so Im letting them do it this time

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Just do it yourself >_> Cabin is behind the glovebox and air filter is usually on top of the engine somewhere

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ColdRainAndSnow posted...

I think it is probably easy but you guys are making it sound like you slip it in and out like a SD Card

It kinda is in cars

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_BlueMonk posted...

also, with that transmission, you'd be an idiot to flush it. change it, sure, but flush it??? rip transmission

that's just called making business...

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its okay TC. there are things on the car that you can do yourself. air filter and engine air filter are two of them. they're super easy and super cheap to replace if you dont mind doing a little research on how to get to them.

only thing on my car i wont touch are my wheels. i dont have the right tools for them and i dont want them flying off going down the high way lol.

but i mean.... i could buy a torque wrench.. and an air powered drill... and a good car jack....

SCOTTY KILMER HERE I COME!!!

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monkmith posted...

that's just called making business...

"Good news and bad news boss. We flushed the transmission. That'll be 80 bucks. Bad news is that the transmission locked up and needs to be rebuilt. That'll cost about 3000 dollars. You want to get that done today or should we call a tow truck?"

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ColdRainAndSnow posted...

Quite possibly but I get free oil changes so might as well get it done, also I dont getting a cabin air filter replaced ever since I had the car so Im letting them do it this time

Fair enough.

Most times, it's probably nothing more then them trying to actually service your car, but if something seems off or they're particularly aggressive about "swapping out this and that, and fixing this thing and the other thing while we're in there!", you could be getting screwed over by them. Just something to keep in mind.

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ColdRainAndSnow posted...

I think it is probably easy but you guys are making it sound like you slip it in and out like a SD Card

.......cuz you do lol

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ColdRainAndSnow posted...

I think it is probably easy but you guys are making it sound like you slip it in and out like a SD Card

The cabin air filter is about that easy. Typically you have to push the hinge pins out of your glovebox, take it off, then pull out the cabin air filter. Sometimes you might need pliers or such if the filter is tight but since youre replacing it, you dont really worry about tearing it.

The engine air filter might be a little more work depending on your vehicle but most of the time it shouldnt need anything more than a screwdriver to open the housing.

But yeah, the reusable filters still have to be removed, cleaned, and sprayed with filter oil at regular intervals. If you put too much oil, it can seep through and spatter the inside of the air intake tube and possibly get on your airflow sensor, causing problems with the engine operation due to bad readings.

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K&N, and other oiled filters like those, are garbage for daily driver cars.

https://youtu.be/sJ3L-E-ufYo

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brestugo posted...

Get a K&N filter and never replace it again. Buy a cabin air filter on RockAuto and DIY. Takes 3-5 minutes.

Shit, less than that. It's usually in the glove box, takes like 30 seconds.

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steveoSEK posted...

Shit, less than that. It's usually in the glove box, takes like 30 seconds.

on my acura i have to unscrew all the hinges for the glove box and then theres a bunch of panels i need to unscrew in front of it. not hard, but yeah kind of annoying.

my 95 camry doesn't even have one so hey, no issue there lol

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ZEROWOLF posted...

Don't get a K&N filter. They are two to three times the price of a regular filter and you have to take it out, clean it, then spray it with a 'special' spray you also have to buy. Its way cheaper and easier to change out a regular filter. Both the engine and cabin filter will take you ten minutes to change out

Over the life of the car, the K&N is cheaper.

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