Everyone says that the air filter is really important in consumption, but I exchange mine every two years like recommended and I see no differences in consumption when the filter is new. Does changing the air filter really makes the consumption smaller or is this a myth?
When it comes to replacing parts on a car, the "do it every X months" is a bit of a myth. So much depends on how frequently you drive, the type of driving you do - city or highway, and where you are doing the driving - near the ocean, in the mountains etc. This is the reason the guidelines often suggest the lesser of a time and a distance. The numbers are set low so that if you are driving in poor conditions for a particular part, the possibility of failure is low. Your air filter is needed to keep dust and debris out of the engine. If you drive a lot of dusty roads or are subject to a lot of oily exhaust, your filter will clog and limit the amount of air getting into the engine. Less air means incomplete combustion in the cylinders and lowers efficiency. If your air filter doesn't look dirty, it probably isn't. Nonetheless, an air filter is usually an easy thing to change and will often pay for itself.
Well said, I really agree with you on that! An air filter of a car that runs always on dust should be much worse than a car that always is on a cleaner road, there's nothing to compare here. My problem and possibly the problem of many drivers is that we don't even know where to look for the air filter under the hood...
