OEM service interval.
How Often To Replace Air Filter?
- Thread starter Mr_Luke
- Start date
Not here!
15,000 miles
Well for my vehicles, Mitsubishi says every 45,000km, while Subaru says every 25,000km...whatever those are in miles...I just go with manufacturer recommendations, easy 
I live in the mountains and many of the roads, especially the side streets off of the State highway are dusty. When a car goes by you can see a dust cloud behind it like the Pigpen character in the Peanuts comic strip.
So I changed the filter in my Mazda at 2 years/10,000 miles. A WIX filter was about $25. No big deal. My Jaguar on the other hand takes two filters and requires putting it up on a lift and pulling the underbody panels to get at the filter housings. It's supposed to be a real PITA. But scheduled maintenance is covered under the warranty so I am going to let the dealer do it at some point.
So I changed the filter in my Mazda at 2 years/10,000 miles. A WIX filter was about $25. No big deal. My Jaguar on the other hand takes two filters and requires putting it up on a lift and pulling the underbody panels to get at the filter housings. It's supposed to be a real PITA. But scheduled maintenance is covered under the warranty so I am going to let the dealer do it at some point.
Every 40K miles on my Direct Injected Tahoe.
Usually if I have to push down my throttle more than I feel comfortable with during acceleration to get on the freeway, then I'll change it, otherwise the engine can breath well enough to drive fine.
I either:
- Hold the filter up to the light (sunlight or shop light) to see the dirt in the pleats.
- Follow the maintenance schedule.
- Change it when this tells me it's time for a change (it takes longer than you think):
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2022
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I take mine out and look at it every oil change to make sure it isn't developing a hole or something. Rare I know, but I am standing there anyway so why not?
If it looks "dirty" I change it. Yep, throwing money in the trash likely, but filters are cheap and engines are not. I have air filters on the shelf for every vehicle I own.
If it looks "dirty" I change it. Yep, throwing money in the trash likely, but filters are cheap and engines are not. I have air filters on the shelf for every vehicle I own.
I drive about the same amount in my small suburb. I plan to change mine every 3 years / 10k miles. I believe that will be sooner than needed but a good compromise between dragging it out to the last minute and just hurriedly throwing money away.
Corner case...
What is that device?
Wix 24801 - Air Filter Monitor - Diesel
Wix 10135 - Air Filter Monitor - Gasoline
The one shown is for diesel applications. The only difference is the scale calibration. I really should replace it with one for gasoline applications (if they're still available).
Either follow the maintenance manual.... or consider installing a Filter Minder, so that changes are based on air restriction.
It depends. On cellulose filters, the holes are inconsistent. So depending on the dirt, the smaller holes may plug up before the bigger ones.
But K&N cotton gauze filters do need to dirty to work better, vs a nice clean one.
I replaced the factory air filter in our 2017 Explorer at the recommended 30,000 mile interval. It looked good, not dirty, even after tapping it on a clean surface not much of anything came out. I replaced it with the equivalent Motorcraft filter. Ran that one for 40,000 miles and it was the same as the 30,000 mile filter as far as the dirt in it. I would think that a lot depends upon where you travel and live.
