Fizzboy7

Being I only drive 6k miles per year, I am off with the normal every 5k mile service. I have been judging my service intervals by time. So with 14k total miles on the clock and 10 months since the last service, I recently took my 2008 IS250 in for a basic oil change at the dealer thinking that would cover the essentials. On the invoice they noted I declined an "engine air filter and a/c filter," but stated the "engine oil and filter" were replaced. Did I just skip over something essential? What's the difference between engine air filter and the oil filter? So if I have never used my A/C, can the A/C filter still get dirty and need replacing? And being I drive so little, can certain filters last longer than usual? Not sure this is what I originally wanted, but I thought most everything else above the oil change was pretty much BS and three times the price. If I missed a crucial item to service, I don't mind taking it back.

pewterss

14K i wouldn't worry about the a/c filter, but i prolly would get he air filer changed. doesn't matter what they put on the invoice... how do they know if you changed it yourself...etc.

huntarrr

I certainly would not change the air filter at the dealership before taking a look at it. Plus, it's most likely cheaper to do it yourself. Just take the air filter out and make a judgment call on whether or not it looks dirty. The oil filter is used to filter out debris in your oil. Your engine air filter is used to filter out debris in the air that can get in to your cylinders.

Not much experience with a/c filter but I assume if you dont use it much you probably do not need to replace that, either.

EJC

First, if you are going longer time intervals between oil changes i would use Synthetic oil. That is what I do in my wife's car that only gets about 5Kmiles/year.

Second, at 14Kmiles they should be inspecting the air filter not replacing it.

I would suggest that you do the cabin filter yourself annually. It takes 5 minutes to do. Filter can be found online or at dealer

Fizzboy7

Much thanks to all the responses. I will check the air filter myself and see how it looks.