I’ve noticed my truck automatically turns off recirculate after a few minutes, and it’s really frustrating. I prefer driving with it on to avoid smelling diesel fumes or exhaust from other cars, especially with all the poorly maintained vehicles around here. It’s annoying because recirculate is buried in the menu, so I don’t notice until it’s too late. Is there any way to force recirculate to stay on? Or maybe a better cabin air filter to deal with the fumes?
Kind of related, but more of a “why Ford?” thing, why are their two buttons for Max Defrost, one of these could have been recirculate…
@Derulo
I think it’s redundancy. If the screen fails, you still have physical defrost and heat options for emergencies. Extreme cold is a bigger issue than extreme heat if you’re stranded.
Uma said:
@Derulo
I think it’s redundancy. If the screen fails, you still have physical defrost and heat options for emergencies. Extreme cold is a bigger issue than extreme heat if you’re stranded.
You must not live near the desert. When it’s 110°F every day in the summer, that heat becomes an emergency real quick.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Why does it default to pulling outside air? It feels less efficient to cool or heat fresh air compared to recirculating the already-conditioned air.
Galen said:
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Why does it default to pulling outside air? It feels less efficient to cool or heat fresh air compared to recirculating the already-conditioned air.
Fresh air circulation is common in commercial HVAC systems. They monitor CO2 and bring in fresh air to maintain air quality. Maybe it’s the same principle here? Not sure if that applies to vehicles, though.
I’ve had the same thought. It seems like recirculate would be more efficient since it doesn’t need to work as hard to condition already-warm or cool air inside the truck.
I think turning off the climate control might block outside air, even if recirculate isn’t on. You lose heat and AC, though. Ford really should fix this and make the button more accessible.
Stevie said:
I think turning off the climate control might block outside air, even if recirculate isn’t on. You lose heat and AC, though. Ford really should fix this and make the button more accessible.
I don’t think it works that way. I can still smell roadkill when the HVAC is off but not when recirculate is on.
This happens on my F-150 too. My GMCs would keep recirculate on until I manually changed it. It’s definitely a Ford thing.
I’m still trying to figure out how to keep the AC on by default when using auto. It’s been bugging me since I got the truck.
Does Forscan have an option to default to recirculate?
Andi said:
Does Forscan have an option to default to recirculate?
I’ve been wondering that too. Maybe Forscan could even reprogram Max Defrost to automatically use recirculate?
This is my biggest annoyance with the truck. Come on, Ford!
It’s all software-controlled, so unless you modify it through Forscan or mess with the hardware in the dash, you’re out of luck.
Emlyn said:
It’s all software-controlled, so unless you modify it through Forscan or mess with the hardware in the dash, you’re out of luck.
I read on another forum that it might be possible to force it to stay on with Forscan if you don’t mind leaving the system on Max AC.
@Derulo
There’s a Forscan setting that disables the auto-recirc turning off. It’s called ‘Enhanced Windshield Anti Fogging Strategy.’ Here’s the code:
HVAC
733-01-07 xxxx x8xx xx (If OEM is A)
This should stop recirculate from turning off automatically.
@Emlyn
Interesting! Thanks for the tip. I’ll dig into that and see if it works.
I think if you turn off auto mode, it stays on recirculate. At least on my XLT, the recirculate button doesn’t turn off unless auto is active.
Mine used to reset every time, but one day it just started staying on. I have no idea why!