There Can Be Some Terrifying Stuff In Your Car's Air Filters

Dust, dirt, broken-up leaves, and even little insects. These are all things you can expect to find when changing your old air filter. You should complete this maintenance task every 15,000 to 30,000 miles on average, but it's worth delving into your car's manual for exact guidelines. In the same way that changing your car's oil can be an easy DIY job, so can changing the air filter. It's unlikely that swapping your air filter will set you back more than $50 or so for just the part, unless you're driving something a little special.

Still, just because changing an air filter out is cheap and easy, that doesn't mean folks always do it. Leaving one in too long can lead to clogs that eventually impact performance, but dust and debris are far from the weirdest things ever found blocking one of these filters.

Auto Stop Elite shared a video on Facebook in 2018 of shop staff finding and releasing a snake from a customer's air filter housing. Another Facebook video from Summit Racing asked followers to share the strangest things they had ever found changing air filters. Answers ranged from pounds of dog food to half a burrito and even ammunition.

These responses beg the question: Where does all this stuff come from? The ammo had been taped inside by a previous owner, but as for food, it's almost always stored by animals looking to make a nest away from harsh weather.

A lot of air filter finds might seem random at first. However, there is always an answer to how these things get there, and that answer is almost always rodents attracted to engine bays, which offer warmth and shelter. Plus, if there is a nearby food source — such as pet food in the garage, or stored vegetables — then it's just like moving in next door to a grocery store. 

Rodents won't necessarily go straight for the air filter and its housing, but they do seek out nooks and crannies in which they can build their nests, and many air filter housings provide this. While pulling out fistfuls of dog food and old chickpeas is hardly terrifying, when a snake decides to make that same corner of your car its home, things can get a little scary.

Replacing your air filter each year will help to keep the area clean. Alternatively, you can buy reusable air filters that can be cleaned. These steps will ensure your air filter housing is rodent-free annually, but for keeping rodents out of a long-term stored vehicle, you could try using rodent repellent, peppermint oil, or traps near obvious entrance points.