What consequences will occur if the air filter of a car is dirty and not replaced?

There are various filters in household vehicles, and the air filter element is one of them. Its function is to filter the air entering the engine and at the same time remove leaves, willow catkins, dust, small sand and stones that enter with the air. Each type of filter element has its own replacement time/mileage. Failure to replace it beyond the specified time will not directly cause any impact. It's the same as if you have fatty liver and can eat two small pieces of meat a day, or you can still use a disposable mask after wearing it for two days. However, if you act willfully and recklessly, the chance of minor problems occurring may increase significantly. Such as dirty throttle, clogged fuel injectors, carbon deposits in the engine, etc. What may follow then are increased fuel consumption, weak acceleration and so on.

The condition of the air filter is closely related to the lifespan of the engine and the fuel consumption of the car at the same time

The following situations need to be dealt with promptly:

If you find that the engine is not working stably, when you continuously press the accelerator pedal, the engine makes a dull noise, the acceleration response is slow, and the operation is weak; Moreover, the car exhaust is thick and black, indicating that the air filter needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Check the surface color of the air filter element. If the filter paper remains grayish black after cleaning the dust on its surface, it indicates that the filter element can no longer be used and should be replaced immediately.

Just like the masks people wear, if they are too dirty and not replaced, it will affect the filtering performance of harmful substances

For the engine, the more direct impact is still reflected in the intake volume. Moreover, if a large amount of impurities are not cleaned in time, they may enter the engine interior, thereby affecting the engine's service life.