How Often You Have To Change A Car’s Filters
Car maintenance is vital to our safety and to the optimum performance of the vehicle. There are things that are clear to us, but others could make us have doubts, such as how often you have to change the filters of a car.
It is important to know this, since filters are an important part of the correct operation of the engine, and one of them has to do with one of the most important elements of the engine, the oil.
So that you forget these myths and legends, and take good maintenance of your vehicle to avoid greater evils, we reveal the keys on this subject. When you finish reading this article, you will have no doubts.
How often do you have to change a car’s filters
Surely you have also heard that there are times when just cleaning the filters is enough. However, you should be aware that, although this is true for the air filter (if it is one of the washable ones), changing them is the only viable option.
What are filters for
Every engine requires three essential elements for its operation: fuel, air and oil. Each of them must be free of dirt and particles that could damage the engine and prevent the vehicle from operating properly.
For each of them there are three filters available in an engine that correspond to each of the mentioned elements. Well, good maintenance of each of them will make the life of the engine more or less durable and its performance will be greater or lesser.
Can they be cleaned or better changed?
Fuel filter
This is a question that generates controversy, but one thing is very clear, the fuel filter is not recommended to be cleaned, but it will have to be changed whenever it is saturated.
This is because the incrustations cannot be completely removed and cleaning it will not notice any noticeable results. The change of this filter should be done every 40,000 kilometers if we are talking about a diesel model; in a gasoline they last twice as long.
In any case, for each specific model the manufacturer’s manual will indicate the change interval, with which you will ensure a long life and good performance of the injectors, circuits and pressure pumps.
Air filter
Although it is not recommended, if it does not look in very bad condition, it is possible to clean an air filter with a pressurized air hose. However, most drivers decide to change it, as it only has to be done once every 15,000 to 20,000 kilometers and the cost of doing so is very low.
Oil filter
The oil filter should not be cleaned, but changed. Normally it will last about 15,000 to 20,000 kilometers, but it is advisable to change it whenever the same is done with the oil.
In this way, the new lubricant will pass through a clean filter, so the oil will be less contaminated, the engine will be better preserved and consumption will be lower.
Changing this one is not expensive either, so the best thing is that every time you change the oil you choose a complete pack in your trusted workshop for the lubricant and the air and oil filter. It will be cheaper and you will stay calmer.
Do not forget to ask your workshop for a card with the date on which you have made the changes, and do not allow more than a year to do so if you have not reached the kilometers supposedly indicated.
