Upgrade to a K&N filter and a recharge kit. With a washable filter, you simply pop it out, clean it, let it dry and apply the oil... Pop it back in the vehicle... Good to go! Guess what? You SAVED money!!
P.S. this same Toyota dealership told me I needed a new air filter upon which I told him, “It’s a K&N...” he said oh, and walked back into the garage.
Rolled the dice and bought an Amazon Warehouse Chinese cold air intake for $42. Figured the bent aluminum tube was the most crucial part of the set up apart from the air filter so I bought a K&N air filter to replace the crummy one that comes with it. Makes some nice induction noises now.
I clean mine in a bucket with simple green, and re-oil with whatever motorcycle filter oil I have on my shelf. I do this once a year. Keep in mind, your filter does basically nothing after all the oil is saturated with dirt.I've had the recharge kits before and simple green is both cheaper and works better. I've been doing this for many years and have never had one degrade, as it is a very gentle cleaner.
The k&n cleaner has a lot of warning labels on it so I imagine it's a lot more powerful than soap and water. Plenty of dirty oil came out of mine when I cleaned it. I also rinsed mine with water and aired it out. Also need to re-oil the filter and let it dry in the sun and set in for ~ 12-24 hours to cure. Be careful on this step to not add too much oil.I plan on changing my K&N filter after ~3 years, just to be safe. I've had filters (from other brands) come apart on me in the past.
Truly worried? Just use a simple (read: OE / OE supplier, like Mann or Mahle) dry paper filter.
IMHO the performance gains from the K&N are marginal at best, especially on a 1.8 litre motor. It's less hassle to just replace the paper filter element every year with a freash one than cleaning the cotton filter annually. the K&N will likely require eight years to get your return on investment. Besides it you live anywhere where it's dusty you going to be doing your motor harm... I read about farm trucks with these installed the puke their motors because fine particles are getting into the motor. YMMV.
I just did the switch to a K&N filter recently on mine. Did not notice any difference. I remember feeling a greater difference in my VR6. Maybe its the fact one is N/A and the other F/I.
K&N filters are a scam. Anyone who installs them is a sucker. Anyone who recommends them is a rube who doesn't understand how their vehicle works.
If you care about your car, DO NOT install one of this shitty products.
THEY DO NOT MAKE MORE PERFORMANCE ON A STOCK OR NEAR-STOCK VEHICLE.
THEY ALSO DO NOT FILTER WORTH A CRAP.
YOU WILL NOT HELP YOUR ENGINE AND YOU WILL CAUSE EXCESSIVE WEAR.
IMO they're not worth it. Modern intake systems flow fairly well, adding a K&N filter will provide almost no benefit. Hell even adding an aftermarket intake these days add nothing but sound. they can also get oil residue on the MAF sensor which can be expensive to replace.
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