MustBeTL

How frequent do you all change your air filter? Time wise or mileage?

My A1 service light came on and I've read that this means an oil change, air filter change, and tire rotation. Does this service come on at a set interval, or does it actually sense that it needs these things done?

My oil is at 15% so I know that is due, but I changed my air filter at the end of last season. Is it already time for another one?

The engine air filter is a piece of cake, but I wish the cabin filter was a bit easier. In my wife's honda all you need to do is remove the glove box and then there is a nice small opening. On the TL you have to remove the entire plastic piece and I break a clip every time i'm in there.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

check on a regular basis and replace when it's dirty

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^agreed.

if not dirty, dont replace.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

p.s. A1 does not include air filter inspection or replacement

I just looked it up
http://owners.acura.com/service-maintenance/minder?year=2006&model=TL#mid^UA6626JW

MustBeTL

Thanks guys, i'll open it up and take a look.

I read others on the boards saying A1 meant filter too, you are right that link just says oil. Car must know the oil is old since I don't drive it as much as the regular person and time passes.

BwhiTL13

A1 is Oil, Oil Filter, and rotation. the car doesnt know tread depth so ask for your tread depths before letting a shop rotate, front tires wear faster, so best tires should be in the front

I hate cars

Most people replace the air filter way too often. It's a mileage based interval based on how much air and debris is drawn through it. It's not getting dirty just sitting there without the engine running. The area you live in has a huge impact on when you need to change it, more so than mileage in a lot of cases.

A dirty air filter filters better than a clean one. A dirty filter does not hurt mpg. The only downside to a dirty filter is if bad enough you begin to lose power but only at heavy/full throttle and it has to be extremely dirty before that will happen. I live in a dusty area and mine has 40k on it and I'm almost ready to replace it.

The factory filter is one of the best I've ever seen. The gasket is silicone so it does not deteriorate with age. It has a 3 stage oil/gauze/paper media which will catch more dirt and it will look dirty quicker than a regular paper filter. I highly suggest using a factory filter and that says a lot coming from someone who uses only factory coolant with every other fluid and filter being aftermarket.

When it comes to engine wear, the air filter is the most important filter on the car.

Jesstzn

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52

Intuition suggests that since the front tires wore out first and because there is still about half of the tread remaining on the rear tires, the new tires should be installed on the front axle. This will provide more wet and wintry traction; and by the time the front tires have worn out for the second time, the rear tires will be worn out, too. However in this case, intuition isn't right...and following it can be downright dangerous.

When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning.

I hate cars

I know the lawyers would like to see the new tires installed on the rear and that's what tire shops will suggest. However, I always have the best traction (when there's a choice) on the front. I will take the rear end sliding out any day over the front just pushing in a straight line.

The reasoning is if the front loses traction the car just goes in a straight line. If the rear loses traction you might spin. I'm used to going sideways at triple digit speeds and I'll take my chances any day with the rear sliding which is almost always recoverable vs the front end sliding in which case you're basically along for the ride. When the rear slides, there's a lot you can do about it. I've had passengers that thought I was crazy when my TL got really sideways in the mountains and I pinned the pedal to the floor but it's just one of the ways to help get out of a slide in a FWD car.

Even if we're talking hydroplaning where the end that's experiencing it has virtually zero traction, I can lead the rear around by the front but short of pulling the ebrake and hoping the rear steps out in the right direction to get you on course, you're screwed if the front end hydroplanes.

If you can handle the car in a slide, I would have the worst tires on the rear. If you have no idea what to do, put the best tires on the rear.

pohljm

yeah thats a rediculous requirement that the attorneys have created. Love the other one where they cant rotate your tires if the wear differential is to large! WTF do you think I am rotating them for!!!

Jesstzn

I think Tire Rack had the best interest of the average driver in mind.

v8eatr

The only reason I could see for this is if the vehicle is AWD. A large tread depth bias can create problems with the diff. over time. And it can be a "well I only had a problem after they rotated my tires!"

tl-frank

I just did my a second oil change on my car since i owened it and finally replaced my air filter it was pretty dirty. ..so like may said if it's really dirty replace it if not leave it till next service time

StanCeD_J32

iTrader: (11)

if it's your daily driver year round it's good to change it atleast once a year. They get pretty dirty in the summer..too much construction going on.

I hate cars

Not really. Too many variables to make that claim. I live in a dusty area and mine gets changed maybe every 3 years if that. Mileage is the main factor. Time has nothing to do with it as long as you use a quality filter.

jacegeffy

The rule of thumb that i've always heard is to check your air filter and cabin air filter every 20-30 thousand miles regardless of where you live. If its dirty replace it if not leave it alone. That's always worked for me.

I hate cars

For me at least, I replace the cabin filter 2-3x more often than the engine air filter. I don't know exactly how much flow the HVAC system has but I think about the same as the engine, maybe 300CFM is a good guess. Mine is always on when the engine is on and in the summer it's probably going to be on high. The engine on the other hand is operating way below maximum power and airflow 99% of the time. I think it's a combo of the HVAC fan drawing more air through the filter on average and a lot of times (but not always) the cabin filter is a little finer. I'm not sure that's true in our case.

It might also be because the engine filter can let stuff fall back into the airbox while the cabin filter is gravity fed the crap that gets sucked in.

I'll also let the engine air filter get a little dirtier because I know it doesn't hurt anything but the thought of the air I breathe getting pulled past a bunch of nasty dirt is gross.

nfnsquared

I replace my cabin filter whenever Amazon sends it to me