The primary purpose of cabin air filters, located on most vehicles since 2000, is keeping the air inside your vehicle’s cabin clean.

It’s typically located behind the glove compartment or under the hood or dashboard on most modern vehicles.

Its job is to filter all of the air that comes through the car’s HVAC system to prevent pollutants, such as dust, pollen, smog and mold spores from entering. The filters can also catch rodent droppings, leaves and other unwanted debris.

However, it is usually not the top of people’s list for vehicle maintenance. But it does play an important role in filtering pollutants from entering the vehicle’s cabin.