Do You Keep Your Car AC To Re-Circulation Mode?

[ToughGuy]

I drive with AC in Re-circulation mode in summers, In fresh air mode smell of diesel vehicle exhaust from traffic is quite annoying. Even after driving for hours I never feel suffocated inside the vehicle even with 5 persons on board.

Whenever I rotate the temperature knob (even slightly) for hot air mixing fresh air button mode activates automatically in my Polo so I leave it in that way in winters.

 

[shrid]

Most of the times yes, but my eyes start aching after some time. Also, I feel sleepy. In my particular car, the re mode makes lesser noise and cools better

 

[aysrinivas]

I do not use recirculation mode 95% of the time. Only when fast cooling is needed or if there is something in the outside air ( like smoke ) I use recirculation mode.

Please refer to your car manual- It should suggest car AC should be in a fresh air mode by default rather than recirculation - and this is for a reason - mainly safety purpose. you are more likely to get exposed to toxic chemicals in air if you use recirculation mode all the time ( for example the concentration levels of car perfume can quickly reach higher levels - and you will be safe to assume that these concentrations levels were not tested on humans ,let alone children, before perfume was released into market)

The logistics of house AC and car AC are completely different . A normal room is not fully air sealed and can hold enough air for a day or more even if fully air sealed - so you may not notice any difference when using your AC in recirculation mode.

On the other hand car interiors are more airtight and only hold limited amount of air. Infants are usually more sensitive to air oxygen level changes and some times you notice them to be irritable or crying when driving for longer hours with recirculation mode on ( especially when there are more people in the car).Not every one drives with recirculation mode on and open windows occasionally - many people just drive with recirculation on.

 

[yoscenario2000]

I am a frequent highway cruiser and I am not sure if this has direct connection to the topic, but I've experience that my kids always get sick (throat infection/cold/cough) whenever I am on highway with re-circulation mode off.

 

[aysrinivas]

I am a frequent highway cruiser and I am not sure if this has direct connection to the topic, but I've experience that my kids always get sick (throat infection/cold/cough) whenever I am on highway with re-circulation mode off.

Hi

Upper respiratory tract infections are completely different ball game. Pathogens can be transmitted by many number of ways including air, touch , food etc. What I mentioned in previous post was in relation to symptoms of high levels of Carbon Dioxide in air. Infant brains are more sensitive to changes as they were not fully developed.

In case of your children before you conclude it is "recirculation off" please consider other variables like car ( air filter to be precise), atmosphere, season, route, eating anywhere outside during journey, signs of infection for anyone in car prior to journey etc.
These variables are very difficult to control and thus you cannot attribute this to "recirculation off" alone.

Please remember, in medical research one rule is:

"Correlation does not mean causation "

 

[teamsachinf1]

Every morning when I start my car I roll down the windows, switch the ac on, change the mode to fresh air, and then keep it like that for a few minutes, then close the windows and back to re-circulation mode. And while on a long trip I occasionally change the mode to fresh air for a small duration.

 

[AshBabu]

Please refer to your car manual- It should suggest car AC should be in a fresh air mode by default rather than recirculation - and this is for a reason - mainly safety purpose. you are more likely to get exposed to toxic chemicals in air if you use recirculation mode all the time ( for example the concentration levels of car perfume can quickly reach higher levels - and you will be safe to assume that these concentrations levels were not tested on humans ,let alone children, before perfume was released into market)

About 98% I use re-circulation mode only. The dusty atmosphere in Chennai and heavy traffic smoke makes it impossible to go for fresh air mode. On highway driving I use to lower the window to get fresh air. I need to change my habit and use fresh air mode at least on the highway.

 

[gadeokar]

For initial few minutes I put it on outside air mode, but then re-circulation mode.
But when I am outside of city limits and in a less polluted area I always put it on outside air mode or roll down the windows.

 

[dhoom9]

Like most said, I used AC in recirculation mode, except windows rolled down when car parked in sunlight or early morning drive or hill station.

All car used by me in past had default selection (e.g. recirculation) no matter how many times car started or stopped, but with my T-Rex (Mahindra SsangYong Rexton RX6), default setting is "fresh air" despite whatever setting was when car engine was stopped.