Auto recirculation mode (Pollution control?)

[Cnixon]

Whilst watching Bjorn recently slating some HEPA filters I noticed him setting his HVAC to Auto recirculation. The Recirculation switch has 3 modes in Auto mode - On, Off and "Greyed out" the latter being Auto control. Took a while to see what Bjorn was actually doing.

 

[M3LR21]

I noticed the auto setting for reculation just now and went to see what the manual might say about it - nothing! Does anyone know what causes it to recirculate or revert to fresh air? I've only ever used it manually to exclude ICE vehicle fumes or road work dust.

Mind you, the way it currently works may change shortly following this recent news story about Musk picking up on a report of increased CO2 levels when recirculating (Elon Musk Suggests Not Using Tesla Air Recirculation For Now - Benzinga).

 

[kelvin 660]

I think I've seen that when the intera is hot (been left in the sun) it set the recirculation to be ON to cool down faster. After a while it turns it OFF when the temperature has dropped closer to the set temperature...

 

[Andywil]

I noticed the auto setting for reculation just now and went to see what the manual might say about it - nothing! Does anyone know what causes it to recirculate or revert to fresh air? I've only ever used it manually to exclude ICE vehicle fumes or road work dust.

Mind you, the way it currently works may change shortly following this recent news story about Musk picking up on a report of increased CO2 levels when recirculating (Elon Musk Suggests Not Using Tesla Air Recirculation For Now - Benzinga).

Why does it surprise anyone that CO2 levels wold rise in the vehicle when recirculation is on. Humans exhale CO2 therefore the level in the restricted volume of air on the cabin must increase and also the level of O2 must decrease.

 

[Pink Duck]

The older S manual included “To prevent the windshield from fogging in some conditions, briefly change the setting every hour to draw in outside air.”

Depending on the level of external air blend into cabin with recirculate on, it may not be necessary to do periodic cycling to keep an acceptable Oxygen level in the front. Tesla on newer vehicles might even dynamically adjust the ratio to guarantee a certain O2 percentage.

Also previously for non-recirculating mode, “this setting draws more air into the rear seating areas, and is recommended when occupants are seated in the Tesla built-in rear facing child seats.”

 

[MrT3]

The idea of auto recirculation based on a smog sensor is that it goes back to fresh air mode automatically when the pollution level is low enough and therefore the CO2 levels don't rise to dangerous levels. I first had this feature on a car back in 1998 so hardly anything new.

However knowing Tesla they won't want to use a dedicated sensor and will try and 'see' pollution with the cameras - and we all know how well that will work

 

[ACarneiro]

The idea of auto recirculation based on a smog sensor is that it goes back to fresh air mode automatically when the pollution level is low enough and therefore the CO2 levels don't rise to dangerous levels. I first had this feature on a car back in 1998 so hardly anything new.

However knowing Tesla they won't want to use a dedicated sensor and will try and 'see' pollution with the cameras - and we all know how well that will work

I wish I could think you’re joking…

 

[Cardo]

The idea of auto recirculation based on a smog sensor is that it goes back to fresh air mode automatically when the pollution level is low enough and therefore the CO2 levels don't rise to dangerous levels. I first had this feature on a car back in 1998 so hardly anything new.

However knowing Tesla they won't want to use a dedicated sensor and will try and 'see' pollution with the cameras - and we all know how well that will work

My BMW i3 had auto-recirculation and it worked really well. Stuck in traffic behind a stinky ICE or going through a tunnel it would automatically recirc. Unfortunately, my M3 doesn’t seem to have this feature. Tesla.