When I was getting my oil changed on the car we just bought, the mechanic said I had a _________ air filter. I wasn't paying that much attention. He said it never had to be changed and that I only needed to get a chemical to clean it. Does anyone know anything about this?

Probably a K & N air filter. They are very good.

I guess the smartest thing for me to do would be to open the hood and look for myself. But would you believe up until the very moment I was reading your post the thought hadn't even crossed my mind. I think I need to get more sleep.

I was going to say K and N, too...I am curious to what you found when/if you opened the hood? Was it something different?

If It's K&N you sure can't do any better than that.

Thats the air filter I use. I like the fact that it doesn't have to be replaced.

If it is a K&N air filter, keep it. It's very good. It also make the car go faster.

I thinking of getting one for my car too.

If its a K&N, take it out, throw it in the trashcan and put the OEM paper filter in.
Sorry folks, but K&N sucks! They dont filter as well as a paper filter and they do nothing to gain you fuel economy.
I used to use one in my F-150 and after about a year of using it I had a thin layer of dust in the ducting that goes from the filter housing to the intake on the engine.
Ive also heard from many, many people on other forums who had the oil from a K&N filter ruin their MAF sensor.
Heres an interesting read: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

Interesting, but if you read the fine print, it says it was not done scientifically and did not use the standard tests.

I think this is time for a poll on this.

ok... here's the poll...

http://www.toyotafans.net/index.php?showtopic=2185&hl=

Still will stick with K&N Filters, never had any trouble with them and always performed well.

My mechanic says it's the best so he put it in. My car seems to like it.

Use what you like. I had bad luck with mine and would never buy anything from K&N again.

Everyone has their opinion about K&N it seems. I've heard from both sides so I can understand everyone's point. I even had two mechanics disagree about K&N filters. So who knows.