Well, it's another beautiful autumn and I've been trying to drive around the a/c off, but alas I see once again that with the recirc/outside air button set to outside, the air flow into the car is just too warm so I have to turn the a/c back on or it gets too stuffy. Why can't it deliver the nice cool air from outside without mucking it up? It even fogs the windscreen! Is there a fix?

 

Press and hold the recirc button until you hear a beep. This will change it from inside to outside or visa.

 

I didn't know about the 'hold the button trick', will definitely try that, but I get the same 'warm' air when want to get some fresh air (via just the dash vents open, and an outside source). I assumed the air is just heated from the engine/non-circulation, and will take 10-15 seconds to be exchanged with the cooler exterior air.

 

I also get the 15 sec burst of warm air when changing from AC, but then it settles to the ambient temp of the outside air. (You do have to turn down the temp setting as well.)

 

So the button trick actually reverses the recirc and purges the air in the system, then you can hit the button again after 15 seconds and it'll be the same temp as the exterior air? Am I reading that correctly?

 

Once the Climate Control Plenum chambers have been warmed up from Engine Heat it takes a Long time for them to cool down as a result of External Air flowing through them. Part of the ductwork can be cooled down by temporarily turning on the A/C Compressor.

 

I was intrigued by the mention of holding the recirc button until you hear 2 beeps, so I looked in the owner's manual and there it is. But it is still not clear what this accomplishes. The "normal" short push of the button will change the mode from inside air (recirc) to outside air, and vice versa. In my case, I generally wish to get outside air so I typically push the button once and that turns off the recirc light and it stays off. But if I read the manual correctly if you want inside air and hit the recirc button, the recirc function will only stay that way for about 15 minutes and then automatically revert to outside but pushing for the 2 beeps will override that and keep it on indefinite recirc--is that right?

Doug

 

What it does is keep it in recirc mode, otherwise it will always change back to getting air from the outside. In Miami(90F+ temps), it's important to keep it in full recirc "ALL" the time in order to have nice cold air.

 

I have tried that, and as soon as I turn the a/c back off and the outside air starts coming in again, it gets all warm and humid again. I realize it's a small passenger compartment, but w/out a/c (or heat when it's very cold outside), it's always got that stuffy feeling unless I drop a window.

I had a Mitsubishi 3000GT for years, and used the vent w/outside air on cool days routinely and never had this problem. Was always very comfortable w/windows up, and it had a very tight engine compartment as well. Can't imagine the two cars' systems being that different.

 

Hey Skid Mark, Next cool day try turning off the AC, turning off the recirc. and turn down your temp setting to match the outside temp. It works for me when the top is up, or down.
Alfred

 

I'll give it a try!