Recirc Air Button

[rockwall]

I have a 2003 Limited V8 with 32k miles. I have recently noticed that the recirc air intake button on the dash seems to have a mind of its own.

Sometimes when I start the truck the button is on and sometimes it is off. It does not seem to matter in what position it was left when the vehicle was turned off.

Any ideas?

 

[rdrunner]

I think it's tied to your climate control. When it's very hot, it will recirculate the air with the AC on to cool it off quicker (like MAX AC on some GM cars). It turns off as the car begins to cool off letting fresh air in.

 

[rockwall]

Re: Recirc air button

Thanks. I figured it was just something I did not underatand.

 

[Jeffrey_VB]

Great question. I have noticed my recirc button doing its own thing of late as well.

 

[Falls]

It will do that depending on temp and humidity.

 

[4runDiZZLe]

i have noticed this too... i looked at it and distinctly remember turning it off when i turned off my runner... then when i got back in it was on... i was thinking "i thought i turned that off?"...

But that's kinda cool how it will automatically do that for us... and cool us down even faster...

 

[ndrwdvs]

I have noticed it, too. However, when I turn it off, I want it off until I hit the auto button again. I lke the flow-through most of the time, and the truck doesn't necessarily know what I want.
I normally will hit the auto button, then hit the recirc button to turn it on, then off. It stays off for the remainder of the trip, but once in awhile, in turns itself back on when starting up, even when it's cool outside.
If I want to drive without the A/C, I usually don't want the thing to recirc inside air.

 

[JP4RNR]

If your temperature is set on "Lo" below 65 degrees, the recirculation mode will always turn on automatically when you start your engine. If you set the climate control to 65 or above recirculation mode will not automatically come on each time you start the engine

 

[Uneek]

If your temperature is set on "Lo" below 65 degrees, the recirculation mode will always turn on automatically when you start your engine. If you set the climate control to 65 or above recirculation mode will not automatically come on each time you start the engine

It also seems like it automatically recirculates when temperature is set lower than the outside temp.

I'm guessing the engineer/designer thinks that when the inside temp is lower than outside it should not pull in warmer exterior into the cabin, which is great when the AC is running for maximum efficiency. They neglected the fact the interior is no different than a green house and the interior can heat up to two times the exterior temperatures.

 

[Vizwar]

My garage fools this system too. It can be 45F outside but the car was left in the garage, hot engine, the night before. The heat is trapped inside when I start it up in the morning so it's thinks it needs to do something about that. I pull out to the street and then notice the recirc is back on.

 

[AmbideXtrous]

If your temperature is set on "Lo" below 65 degrees, the recirculation mode will always turn on automatically when you start your engine. If you set the climate control to 65 or above recirculation mode will not automatically come on each time you start the engine

I don't find this to be the case at all. I can have my system in manual mode. Fan off, AC off, temp set at 65 and recirc button not on. Turn off the engine and then turn it right back on and the recirc button is lit. Every time. It really is very annoying.

 

[alaskaman]

Cabin air filter

If you have not changed it do so and it will cut down on the back and forth. I changed mine at 15K and it was filthy. problem solved.

 

[Vizwar]

Re: Cabin air filter

If you have not changed it do so and it will cut down on the back and forth. I changed mine at 15K and it was filthy. problem solved.

My car is brand new though, 1700 miles and it does it nearly every day.

 

[alaskaman]

hmmm.not sure then.

 

[Bossman]

I'm sure the Toyota engineers have the recirculation button function that way so we would have something to talk about

Mine seems to come on all the time at start up ... (but the explanations provided in this tread have helped me to understand what is going on) ... and it has become a little game now that each time I just turn it off. I like the fresh air coming in.