Check your car's filters and avoid breakdowns for very little money

The car filters are responsible for the proper functioning of the engine and its hydraulic circuits, cleaning and filtering all the impurities in the air that reach the engine and the cabin, thereby extending the service life of the components and preventing a possible breakdown in the future.

Cars have several types of filters, each with a specific function. In combustion-engine cars, the most important are the oil and fuel filters (whether petrol or diesel). Cars with electric propulsion do not need these filters for the engine, and only have the air/pollen filter found in all vehicles, which prevents harmful particles from reaching the cabin.

Air/pollen filter

The cabin air filters are designed to remove pollutants such as dust, pollen, mould spores and other allergens from the air that could enter the vehicle’s interior from outside. In spring, we encounter many types of pollen, so it is important to check the pollen filter.

Allergy episodes can directly affect our cognitive ability. To give you an idea, the vehicle can travel around a hundred metres at 90 km/h while the driver sneezes five times without paying due attention to the road. A millilitre of air can contain up to 3,000 types of pollen. A filter in poor condition can also lead to a reduction in fan capacity of between 50% and 70%, causing a slight increase in fuel consumption.

The efficient service life of car filters is between one and two years or 20,000 to 60,000 kilometres. However, if you want to keep all your car’s functions in good condition and look after it properly, it is best to replace it every 6 to 9 months or after covering between 10,000 and 15,000 kilometres, due to the high amount of harmful particles these components absorb. A cubic metre of air contains between 10 and 80 million particles.

Oil filter

This filter is responsible for removing and retaining impurities, particles and even metal fragments released through engine wear that end up in the oil, in order to prevent damage to the engine’s circuits and components and a more serious breakdown.

These components absorb a high amount of harmful particles, so it is recommended to replace them at the same time as the engine oil is changed, or every 10,000–15,000 km, although modern cars have a longer service life of up to 30,000 km. It costs between 10 and 20 euros, depending on the manufacturer.

Fuel filter

It is responsible for removing the impurities and sediment present in petrol or diesel before they reach the engine. In the case of diesel vehicles, this filter is also responsible for absorbing and removing the water that the fuel may contain. It must be in good condition to avoid a loss of engine performance and, more importantly, faults in the injection system that can be very costly.

The replacement of the fuel filter is included by the manufacturer in the maintenance schedule. Depending on the type of engine and vehicle, it may be around 60,000 km. The filter itself is not expensive, but replacing it may require workshop time depending on its location. This means labour charges follow, which can bring the cost of replacement to between 30 and more than 100 euros.