Is it time to change your car’s cabin filter?

On the news the other day, a reporter introduced a guest as a healthcare authority. While discussing the idea that passengers will probably be required to wear facemasks on airplanes for quite some time, the guest added that the air in an aircraft is actually quite good. Modern airliners have effective cabin filtration systems. With everything going on these days it’s nice to know that your car has a cabin filter cleaning the air inside your car, too.

The automotive cabin filter was designed and included in the manufacturing of automobiles long before the coronavirus began its pandemic. They were not designed for COVID-19. Frankly, while driving in your car, the risk of coronavirus spreading through the air coming into your vehicle is probably minuscule. But, at a time when we’re all a bit more conscious of the quality of the air we breathe, there at least a small comfort knowing the filter is there.

The reality is that a lot of people don’t know that their car has a cabin filter. They know about the air filter that cleans the air used by the engine. They know about the oil filter that cleans the oil providing lubrication for the engine. They might even suspect that there is a filter to clean the fuel as it enters the engine. But they may not know that there is a filter in most cars to clean the air they breathe while driving.

Since people don’t know about the cabin filter, it’s unlikely they think about replacing the cabin filter. And those cabin filters can get D-I-R-T-Y. For an idea of how dirty a cabin filter can get, check out the photo on this page. That’s disgusting. Who wants to breathe air that goes through that? You really don’t need to wear a facemask while driving but, after seeing that photo, you may want to. Or you may want to have the cabin filter replaced.

Fortunately, replacing the cabin filter is an easy and inexpensive fix. It’s the kind of thing you can ask your auto repair technician to do while they’re changing the oil.

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