Symptoms
- The mixture runs rich, fuel use climbs, and power drops from a clogged filter.
What's included
- When it clogs, the engine receives too little air: the mixture becomes rich, fuel consumption rises, power drops and soot settles on intake valves and the airflow sensor. In city driving, the filter clogs before its scheduled interval, so we inspect it at every service. We advise against blowing it out with compressed air: this damages the filter material and defeats its purpose. During replacement, we remove dust and leaves from the housing and check that it closes tightly: air bypassing the filter is more dangerous than a clogged filter.
Additional checks
- Soot on intake valves and the airflow sensor — inspected
- Filter condition — checked at every service, since city driving clogs it faster
- Filter housing — cleared of dust and leaves during replacement
Why it matters
Blowing the filter out with compressed air isn't a good idea — it damages the filter material and undoes its job. Air leaking past a loosely seated filter is worse than a clogged one.
More details
The air filter protects the engine from dust and sand. When it clogs, the engine doesn't get enough air: the mixture becomes rich, fuel consumption rises, power drops, and soot builds up on the intake valves and the mass airflow sensor. In city driving the filter clogs faster than the rated service interval, so we inspect it at every service. We don't recommend blowing the filter out with compressed air: it damages the filter media and defeats its purpose. During replacement we clean the housing of dust and leaves and check that it closes tightly — air being drawn in around the filter is more dangerous than a clogged one.
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