what can happen if you don't change your air filter in your car?

Question

what can happen if you don't change your air filter in your car

Answer 1

1) poor gas mileage
2) poor acceleration/engine performance
3) engine will not idle well and may stall in severe cases

Air filters are cheap and a good thing to check and change often, especially if you live in a dusty area or in areas that have unusually high pollen count issues.

Answer 2

2 things. One it will not let in as much air as it should and this will cause poor gas mileage. The other thing is that the engine oil will get dirty quicker. All the air that passes the filter goes into the engine. So if you grossly neglect it the oil will get very dirty and the gas mileage will drop. Put a towel over your mouth and then add a layer each day and see what happens. The same thing with the engine. It wont be able to breathe.

Answer 3

I had this happen to me your filter can get so dirty it will plug and the car will be starved for air so bad it won't run. I blow mine out with compressed air and have used the same filter for years with no performance problems. There are millions of filters changed every year when they didn't need it. Mechanics make a lot of money convincing you that you need new parts. I might add I live on a dirt road so my car was in an unsual amount of dust.

Answer 4

Nothing.....if it says replace the air filter at 10,000 miles & you dont get round to it untill15,000 miles...no big deal..

however.. dirty air filter will make the car run rich. & use more fuel..( false economy .. air filters are cheap)

air filters keep the dust & stuff from entering the engine & damaging the internals...

so if your car is in a very dusty area you should change it more often than the recommended milage..

but dont fret to much if you forget to change it this month....next month will do..

Answer 5

Gas mileage for one. You'll starve the engine for air, foul plugs, screw up the ECM, get the carb or fuel inject rails plugged. Not to mention increase tail pipe emissions. But what the heck, gas is only going up to over three dollars per gallon, why replace the air filter @ seven to twenty dollars (de- pending on year, make & model).
Your choice!

Answer 6

It'll eventually start to run poorly. Imagine yourself trying to breathe through a straw, especially while jogging.

You'll also eventually start to run rich (more gas than air) since the carb or computer system won't be able to adequately compensate for the lack of air, killing your mileage and crudding things up a bit in the engine.

Answer 7

if you dont change the air filter you restrict the air flow in the engine, you will loose horse power becuase the fuel wont have enough air to burn completly, therefore wasting gas and leaving excess fuel waste in your engine, over time it will **** up the car to the point where you have to petal to the floor to accelerate, fill up gas every 100 miles, etc. just change it its easy and cheap

Answer 8

The same thing that happens to a bubble gum bubble when you put too much pressure in it. The filter will rupture or collapse & then start sucking dirt into the engine.

Answer 9

At the very least, your engine efficiency will be reduced; with the price of gas today, that's all the reason I need to change mine!

Answer 10

It won't let your engine breathe and your gas mileage will suffer and acceleration.