It's a hot sunny day, you just got out from the supermarket holding a few bags of heavy groceries. You make your way to your car under the hot blistering sun. You get in your car and crank up the A/C and then.... YOU TOOK A DEEP BREATH. What are you actually breathing in?
WHAT IS A CABIN FILTER?
A cabin filter is a filter that acts as barrier that prevents dust and debris from entering the car's cabin through the air conditioning system. As important as the air filter for your engine, a clean cabin filters ensure your air conditioning is functioning properly and also provides a steady stream of clean air for you and your passengers for maximum comfort.
TYPES OF CABIN FILTER.
There are two types of cabin filter in the market right now.
Standard Particulate Cabin Filter The standard cabin filter is made from paper and is pleated to filter dust and debris such as bugs, leaves from outside. This is a simple component that works. However, it is limited as it doesn't filter odours like the next filter which is;
Carbon Cabin Filter Like the standard cabin filter, it is made from paper with activated carbon mixed between the filter layers. The carbon filter not only filters out dust and debris but the porous nature of the activated carbon allows it to absorb odours, moisture and even have anti-bacterial properties. We personally prefer using the carbon cabin filters in our cars.
THE BENEFITS OF CABIN FILTERS.
Health & Comfort For most of us, we spend most of our time travelling inside our cars. Having a good filter to filter out the dust and debris ensures that the air we are breathing is clean. Carbon filters removes the odours and harmful gasses which increases our comfort while driving.
Improves Fuel Economy When the air flows efficiently, the A/C components are able to function smoothly and prevent excess load on the components which would ultimately affect fuel consumption.
Longer life for A/C Components When the A/C is functioning efficiently, less load would mean that the components would have a naturally longer lifespan and requires less maintenance aside from changing the filters regularly.
REPLACE OR CLEAN?
We would always recommend changing the cabin filters at every 15,000 - 20,000KM. Depending on where you drive often, you might have to replace it more often and earlier than recommended.
A cabin filter is fairly quick and easy to replace, it is also quite economical. You can contact us to find the right one for your car.
REPLACING THE CABIN FILTER.
First of all, we will need to locate the cabin filter. The cabin filter is normally located inside the glove box or right under the dashboard. For the car that we're working on, it is located right under the dash where we need to gain access from the bottom.
We have located the location of the cabin filter underneath the dashboard in our car. We start by removing the interior cover and the air blower unit would be exposed.
There will be a cover to where the filter would be. You just need to slide it to the side for it to open.
Once the cover is opened, simply pull out the old filter (Top) and slide the new filter (Bottom) in.
Once the filter is installed, just install everything back to its original place and you can take as many deep breaths you want in your car! Easy peasy!
(Top) A side by side comparison between the new (left) and old (right) cabin filters. Both filters here are ones with the activated carbon. You could see the old one is slightly darker in colour due to the dust and debris it has collected after 15,000KM.
(Top) This is why we recommend checking and replacing your filters often. Aside from dusts, there are many other stuff that could get into your A/C unit. A good filter will catch all the junk, keeping the air in your car clean.
We hope that this article has helped you in understanding cabin filters. We'd appreciate any feedback regarding this article as we are always looking to improve. Feel free to contact us anytime!
TL;DR
Cabin filter filters junk from outside air so air inside car is clean.
If your surrounding is always dusty, replace it often. Do it for health and comfort.