Air & Pollen Filters

Engine Air Filters

The average person consumes about 7 litres of air per minute. In that same minute, cruising on the highway, your Civic needs 783 litres of air. That’s 47,000 litres per hour. Even on the clearest day, there are particles floating around in the air that we breathe in. Dust and pollen are hard to see, but stuffy noses are quite common. Unlike you, your car can’t sneeze or blow its nose, which means the task of keeping its air passages clean fall on the owner.

Your engines air filter has one purpose: to limit the amount of airborne contaminants that get in to your engine. Once past the air filter, air is mixed with gas and allowed to enter directly in to your engine’s combustion chamber. Each foreign particle that enters inevitably ends up sticking to cylinder walls and getting swept by a piston. This abrasive action causes undue wear on the engine, and shortens its useful life.

Additionally, replacing your air filter can actually help you save on fuel. As contaminants build up on the filter, air has more difficulty passing through. This increased resistance means your engine has to work a little harder to do the same job.

Your Honda’s Maintenance Minder will keep you alerted about filter changes. Remember: just like getting over a head cold, everything works best when air is flowing freely.

Pollen Filters

If your air filter is protecting your engine, why do you need a pollen filter? Believe it or not, the pollen filter is intended to keep your airways clean! Traveling at high speeds on varying road surfaces can kick up plenty of irritants. Rather than supply the interior of your vehicle with poor-quality air, many Honda’s pass outside air through a filter before allowing it to pass into the cabin. Pollen filters are so named as they filter particles down to the micron level - a level so fine that even the smallest pollen grains are caught. This can drastically improve occupant comfort, especially for those with sensitive allergies. Just like the engine filter, your Honda’s Maintenance Minder system will alert you when it’s time for a change. Keeping the filter clean will keep you breathing easy!