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How Often Should The Fuel Filter Be Changed?

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How Often Should The Fuel Filter Be Changed?

The fuel system is one of the main components of a modern car. A fuel filter, whose main function is to clean the fuel (gasoline and diesel) before it is fed into the system, ensures the proper functioning of the system. Below we’ll discuss everything you should know about the lifespan of your fuel filter

Symptoms That You Need To Change The Fuel Filter

Naturally, the functionality of the filter directly depends on the quality of the filter element, I don’t think that you should overpay for more expensive brands if you already change the fuel filter quite often. But if you rarely change it, then it is certainly better not to cheapen out on this part.

There are several signs by which you can determine that it is time to change the filter (except for visual inspection, even a child can tell the difference between a dirty/clean filter.):

  1. It is much more difficult to start a cold engine with a clogged filter since the necessary pressure is not immediately created.
  2. When the car is under heavy loads (trailer or mountain), the car picks up speed slowly because of poor fuel pumping.
  3. The same thing happens when you try to quickly accelerate. There are “dips” in acceleration and again, due to poor fuel pumping.
  4. Very bad engine performance at idle speed, and if it’s completely bad, the car will just stall.

How Often Should The Fuel Filter Be Changed? 

How often you should change the fuel filter is primarily determined by the vehicle manufacturer. Some manufacturers have 30,000 km, while others have 120,000 km of mileage. And frequent replacements are usually recommended by all manufacturers, who put the filter outside the fuel tank.

It is only worth changing the fuel filter early if you are sure that foreign particles or large amounts of water have entered the tank. If this happens, you should wash the tank as well and possibly replace the fuel pump. 

Fuel filters in diesel engines most struggle in winter because thickened fuel must pass through the filter material. That is why it is better to carry out filter replacement on a diesel car in autumn. It is caused by the fact that the capacity of the filter, already reduced by clogging with solids, will be insufficient to pass cold, thickened fuel.

How To Replace The Fuel Filter

The fuel filter is located either under the underbody at the rear of the car or installed under the hood. Sometimes it is right inside the gas tank. Filter replacement is an easy procedure that does not require special skills. All you need to do is remove the protection, unscrew the nuts, remove the old filter, and install a new one.

Diesel Fuel Filters

Until now, we have been talking about gasoline filters. Diesel fuel filters are always installed separately from the fuel tank, because, in addition to more frequent replacement, they also need water sensors, a water drain plug and, often, a heating system.

Conclusion: 

I hope you don’t underestimate the importance of replacing your fuel filter regularly. it’s much easier to prevent a problem than to cure it. In addition, replacing the fuel filter is not the most difficult procedure. Of course, you can try to replace the fuel filter yourself, but it is better to turn to professionals for the service, who will do it much faster and better.

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