Auto Recirc?

[yostopia]

Just wondering if anyone knows what the criteria is for "Auto Recirc".... does the car have some sort of sniffer that turns recirculation on and off depending upon what it senses in the outside air? Because if it does, it doesn't work. When Auto is on, I can drive through areas of noxious fumes and the fumes come through loud and clear.

??

 

[LeftieBiker]

No cars sold in the US (that I know of) use a "sniffer" for auto Recirc. Those that vary recirculation do it based on temperature and time.

 

[SeanNelson]

My guess is that if the outside air has a temperature that's way different than the target setting (i.e., you're trying to warm the cabin in subfreezing temperatures or cool it in super-warm temperatures) it will select recirculation mode so that it doesn't have to work as hard heating or cooling the cabin air which is closer to the target temperature.

Note that virtually all cars blend in a little outside air even in "recirc" mode.

 

[yostopia]

Hey thanks for the responses and yup that makes sense... especially for managing defogging (100% recirc has a lot of potential for that). It appears that the times that my cabin has filled with skunk or whatever smell, the auto mode must've been bringing in fresh air.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Those of us who are sensitive to odors and fumes pretty much have to forget that Auto mode exists, and use manual climate control settings, with manually controlled recirculation. The Leaf has an under-documented feature that will mix about 30% fresh air in if the Recirc button is help down for exactly 2 seconds while Recirc is on. This is very useful for both "floor defrost" (probably also limited to the Leaf) mode and for limiting exhaust fume intake in marginal situations. Can anyone try to find a similar mode for the Bolt? The Leaf's Recirc light flashes twice and then shuts off, but no "Fresh Air" notice appears on the screen, when in partial recirculate (Nissan calls it "Auto Recirculate" I think) mode.

 

[gpsman]

I don't have documentarion in front of me, but I think I read there is an inside humidity sensor.

"Comfortable" humidity is generally defined as 35% to 65% relative humidity. Perhaps the auto mode targets this?

 

[LeftieBiker]

I don't have documentarion in front of me, but I think I read there is an inside humidity sensor.

"Comfortable" humidity is generally defined as 35% to 65% relative humidity. Perhaps the auto mode targets this?

That would be much easier than using a sniffer. I have a nice Japanese-made plasma wave air cleaner with a sniffer. It doesn't much object to cat excrement odor but finds any food odors very offensive. ;-)

 

[wwhitney]

I don't have documentarion in front of me, but I think I read there is an inside humidity sensor.

Yes, it's directly underneath the rear view mirror. I laid eyes on it when I swapped my rear view mirror for a Homelink rear view mirror (LT with Comfort and Convenience).

Cheers, Wayne

 

[yostopia]

Is anyone else having problems with the Recirc mode when it's NOT on Auto and just supposed to not let any outside air in at all?

On my Premier, if traditional 100% Recirc mode is on and I'm in a stinky environment (skunk, diesel trucks, etc), there's plenty of outside air coming in. Anyone else seeing that or is my Recirc control broken? I can imagine that something like this could malfunction.

??

 

[LeftieBiker]

Is anyone else having problems with the Recirc mode when it's NOT on Auto and just supposed to not let any outside air in at all?

On my Premier, if traditional 100% Recirc mode is on and I'm in a stinky environment (skunk, diesel trucks, etc), there's plenty of outside air coming in. Anyone else seeing that or is my Recirc control broken? I can imagine that something like this could malfunction.

??

Many cars lock out Recirculation in any or most modes that involve defrosting. It's stupid, because if the A/C is on then that actually helps defrost, but it's common. Does the Bolt have any indicator that shows if Recirc is actually engaged or not?

 

[EldRick]

I'm pretty sure Volvos use a sniffer to control recirc.

 

[yostopia]

Yup.. it has indicators for Auto Recirc and just plain old Recirc. But even in PoR mode, it lets in outside air. Just wondering if anyone else is seeing (er, smelling) this.

 

[flamaest]

BMW had a car some years back with a smell sensor, not sure if it was only sold in EU.

My Bolt Recirc setting blocks all outside air. It's a pretty tight seal. I also get no air into the car unless I turn on the fan (Recirc or not) BTW.

You can always get a carbon air filter to replace your Bolt cabin air filter. They work great. My VW Jetta has one and I can't sense any foul smells from the outside, in areas which a notorious for being smelly in areas where I live.