Cars Need to Breathe Too

Have you ever wondered what happens inside the motor when you step on the gas pedal?  Obviously more fuel is going to the engine, but there is also a lot of air being pulled into the motor as well.  Engines use a mixture of air and gasoline to create internal combustion.  Have you ever seen a hood scoop on a high-performance vehicle?  This is one way of getting more air into the engine.  Generally, the more air a car can get, the better it can perform.

Just getting the air isn't enough though, the air has to be clean to make sure that the motor can run smoothly.  This is where your air filter comes into the picture.  The air filter is a very simple part of your vehicle; most air filters are made of paper and can be replaced easily.  It is very important to make sure this happens regularly so that your motor is not stressed by having to draw air through a dirty filter.



Knowing when to replace the filter depends on the driving conditions.  If you do mainly city driving, the filter may be replaced around every 15,000 miles, or every year.  If you drive on a lot of dirt roads or in other conditions where there is dust or debris in the air, then the filter probably needs to be replaced more often.  The best way to determine if your filter needs to be changed is to inspect it.  This is a part of our regular maintenance inspection that we perform for free with every service.  If your car does need a new filter, we'll let you know.  If it doesn't, we can give you an estimate of how long it has left.

1426 Petaluma Hill Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 535-0720


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