Should you try air filter replacement yourself?
If you would like to skip reading my advice and just see how to do an air filter replacement yourself then skip to the bottom of the page. Otherwise, keep reading. - Air filter replacement is easy! The truth: -Replacing your own air filter IS indeed USUALLY easy! Most new cars are made with the air filter easy to get to, but NOT ALL. Many of them are tucked inside the engine compartment in such a way that it is hard to get the air filter housing open to get to the actual filter. The key here is to do it once, then after you know how to do it, it will be much easier. Usually the air filter housings are held together with screws, bolts, or some type of clips. Once you figure out how to get these off, the rest is easy. Air filter replacement will become a simple task. Keep in mind that even if you take your car to a shop to get its scheduled maintenance done you should still know what kind of condition the maintenance items are in. This way, if the person working on your car says "hey, you could use a new air filter" you can say "I just checked it, and it looked just fine". You will know whether air filter replacement, as well as other maintenance items, are necessary. 
The key is to be armed with knowledge. If the mechanic knows that you know your car they will be less likely to try to sell you unneeded services and parts, and less likely to think they can rip you off.-Anyone with any mechanical inclination at all can check and/or change their air filter. If you are unsure about trying it, just take it down to your mechanic and ask them to show you how. Any good mechanic will be happy to do this. -While it is not always true that you don't need tools, you will only need basic tools at most. There are many air filters that you can change without tools, and the ones that require tools generally will only require a screwdriver. While changing your air filter is something that the average car owner should be able to do themselves just fine it doesn't mean that you should have to do it yourself all the time. This is normally something that is checked when you have your oil changed and if you trust the person doing your oil change then you can trust their advice about whether you need a new air filter or not. Regardless of whether you actually change it or not you should still know how to change your air filter, and you should know what they look like when they are good and what they look like when they are bad. This part is pretty easy. A good air filter will look fairly clean and it will not have any dirt or debris build up between the creases. A bad one will have dirt and debris and often this "stuff" will fall out if you gently hit it against your tire. Basically you just want to be sure that it looks fairly clean. If you aren't sure and its been a while since you replaced it, then either replace it yourself or have it done at your next routine maintenance check. Now that you know more about replacing air filters you can watch this video to get more information. Good Video That Explains How to Replace Your Air Filter
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