Back to all

Breathe Free in Appleton: Cabin Air Filter Replacement at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center Appleton

October 28, 2018

There are a lot of new features, both optional and standard, on Appleton drivers' vehicles these days. One you may not have heard of is called a cabin air filter. Simply put, its job is to keep the air in the passenger compartment of your car nice and clean.

A cabin air filter is similar to the filter you use on your furnace at home in Appleton. Cabin air filters can catch particles down to three microns. By comparison, a grain of sand is 200 microns. So cabin air filters are effective against dust, dirt, pollen, mold spores and most pollutants in our Appleton area atmosphere. Good news if you suffer from any types of allergies, or if you live in an area in Wisconsin prone to air pollution.

Cabin air filters are generally located in the engine compartment or under the dashboard. They can be tricky to access and replace, so you'll probably want to go to your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center Appleton to get it done. Check your vehicle owner's manual to find out if your vehicle is equipped with a cabin air filter and how often it should be changed. Recommendations vary, but generally a cabin air filter should be changed every 12,000 to 15,000 miles (19,000 to 24,000 kilometers).

Of course, if you are an allergy sufferer in Appleton, you may want to replace it more often. Also, if you do a lot of driving in polluted or dusty areas in Wisconsin, you'll also want to shorten the cabin air filter replacement period. Dirty air filters just don't work well, and they can exude an unpleasant odor if ignored for too long.

Most Appleton folks know that good car care includes keeping your vehicle clean, including the air inside the passenger compartment, so changing your cabin air filter should be part of your routine preventive maintenance. It's good auto advice as well as good medical advice that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You really shouldn't wait until the interior of your car starts to smell and your eyes start to water before you change your filter. And trying to cover it up with a dangling green pine tree is not the right answer, either!

Cabin air filters can be a welcome relief to Appleton allergy sufferers, but they're also a great idea for anyone in Wisconsin who just wants to breathe better.

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center Appleton
2940 E. College Ave.
Appleton, Wisconsin 54915
920-954-8500

 

More articles from Tuffy Appleton

(Timing Belt)

March 30, 2025

You may have heard about an important part of your vehicle's engine called a timing belt, and many know that if that belt breaks, it can cause some very serious engine problems. Not all vehicles have them, and the ones that do generally have smaller engines. The timing belt keeps the engine sy... More

Differential Essential (Differential Fluid Exchange)

March 23, 2025

What's the dif? To an automotive technician, it's the differential, a part of your vehicle that helps direct power from the engine to the wheels. The differential is a gearbox that enables the drive wheels to turn at different speeds (they do that when you turn). Inside the differential is a f... More

That Vexing Vapor Venting (Vapor Coming out of Vents)

March 16, 2025

You may have noticed sometimes on a hot and humid day, vapor will come out of your vehicle's vents when you have the air conditioning on. Is that something to be concerned about? Well, it depends. Sometimes that steam or vapor can be caused by water accumulating in the vent system after it has c... More