Should a retail air filter purchase require taking a couple of minutes to pop open the box and inspect the actual contents before making a payment? That may seem like a paranoid and irrational move in most cases, but a Michigan mechanic scoping the aisles in a Walmart warned there are signs every driver should know to look for before buying from a mass-market outlet and installing one on their engine.
The TikTok from mechanic Blondie&herOBS (@blondieherobs) doesn’t take long to find filters for sale in a Walmart automotive aisle that very clearly shouldn't be headed for installation. One oil filter had visible debris on its rubber sealing gasket, and the boxed air filters looked dirty enough that the mechanic believed they had already been used in another vehicle.
