Automatic recycle of air in the Model S?

[GamboTurbo]

Hi guys.

First of all. Big thanks to all of you forum friends for great posts and sharing of information. This site is a true pleasure to follow for good discussions and to get knowledge of personal experience with the spectacular Model S.
Now, one theme I haven't seen any discussions around is how the Model S reacts to changing outside air quality. On my -07 Volvo there's a, in my opinion, great function which automatic switches ACC from external air inlet to recycle of internal air if you for example enter a tunnel. Exactly what triggers the air switch I don't know, but I can ofcourse speculate in some kind of CO2 measuring device...
My question is, does the Model S have this kind of functionality or will this be a manual operation from the touchscreen? It would be really useful when daily driving in/out of loads of tunnels in western part of Norway. Would anyone know?

Turbo
EU #1472

 

[AnOutsider]

Hi guys.

First of all. Big thanks to all of you forum friends for great posts and sharing of information. This site is a true pleasure to follow for good discussions and to get knowledge of personal experience with the spectacular Model S.
Now, one theme I haven't seen any discussions around is how the Model S reacts to changing outside air quality. On my -07 Volvo there's a, in my opinion, great function which automatic switches ACC from external air inlet to recycle of internal air if you for example enter a tunnel. Exactly what triggers the air switch I don't know, but I can ofcourse speculate in some kind of CO2 measuring device...
My question is, does the Model S have this kind of functionality or will this be a manual operation from the touchscreen? It would be really useful when daily driving in/out of loads of tunnels in western part of Norway. Would anyone know?

Turbo
EU #1472

I haven't heard anything about this, but would love it (had never heard of it before). Air recycle is a button that I don't use often enough to have muscle memory, so whenever I go through a stinky area (cow or mushroom farms, NJ Turnpike) I always fumble trying to find the button and by then, not only have I had my eyes off the road for far too long, but the smell has won.

 

[jerry33]

Would anyone know?

Most cars in North America default to outside air for humidity and CO reasons and stay in recirc mode as short a time as possible. In the Model S, CO isn't an issue. I've never heard anything about what the Model S does--and whatever it does now is likely to change about five times over the next ten upgrades anyway

 

[DrComputer]

The Model S does not have an air quality sensor and seems to use some very strange logic on when it decides to change from outside air to recirculate. My Lexus had a "smell" sensor to determine when it should change modes. The bigger issues with the Tesla design is that there is a very noticeable sound difference between outside air and recirculate mode. So it is very apparent when it switches. You can, however, turn off this auto switching mode from the touchscreen.

 

[roblab]

Most cars in North America default to outside air for humidity and CO reasons and stay in recirc mode as short a time as possible. In the Model S, CO isn't an issue. I've never heard anything about what the Model S does--and whatever it does now is likely to change about five times over the next ten upgrades anyway

CO is an issue. Depends on what you're following.

I don't think automatics can ever figure out that there is a semi pulling onto the hiway a block away spewing diesel particulates which I don't particularly want to breathe. Yeah, I know that in Europe, people want to see what they breathe, but not in USA. Also, seeing someone pull off onto a dirt shoulder ahead and seeing the wind drifting the opaque cloud of dust across your roadway. At least I can be almost quick enough to hit recirc before I enter these circumstances. And then there's the fun of trying to stop the outside airflow as you drive past a roadkill with white stripes down the back....

In none of these instances will any auto recirc be able to react before I can.

 

[NigelM]

The Model S does not have an air quality sensor and seems to use some very strange logic on when it decides to change from outside air to recirculate. My Lexus had a "smell" sensor to determine when it should change modes. The bigger issues with the Tesla design is that there is a very noticeable sound difference between outside air and recirculate mode. So it is very apparent when it switches. You can, however, turn off this auto switching mode from the touchscreen.

I've wondered what this does, but can also say that I haven't noticed any difference in sound so I haven't actually seen it switch.

 

[ahimberg]

Maybe the auto recirc vs not is related to most cars switching you out of recirc when you turn on front defrost? Reminds me of a question I asked awhile ago, when you turn of front defrost, can you stay in recirc or does it not allow those options together?
On my Prius, it turns off recirc but you can turn it back on. In my Subaru recirc is disabled completely.

 

[brianman]

I've wondered what this does, but can also say that I haven't noticed any difference in sound so I haven't actually seen it switch.
View attachment 11700

On some (all?) of my prior vehicles, "auto" toggles to recirc sometimes to deal with fogging windows situations in cold weather. Or something like that. Nothing related to smell or air content.

 

[sfriedrich]

Just got the car Tuesday (Nov 13). Storm blew into California and I've been driving in rainy conditions. The HVAC tabs were all set to auto and the windshield kept fogging easily. I would reach down and turn the windshield defroster on for a bit and then off again. Finally noticed that I could select multiple air destinations from the airflow section. That fixed the fogging. Perhaps this is an area of adjustment for later software revs?

 

[Doug_G]

On some (all?) of my prior vehicles, "auto" toggles to recirc sometimes to deal with fogging windows situations in cold weather. Or something like that. Nothing related to smell or air content.

The last thing you'd want to defog is recirc. That will keep cabin humidity high. The exception would be if it turns on the A/C - that would allow the cabin to dry out faster.

When defogging my Roadster I turn on A/C, recirc, and sometimes the heat (yes it'll heat and A/C at the same time).

 

[jerry33]

The last thing you'd want to defog is recirc. That will keep cabin humidity high. The exception would be if it turns on the A/C - that would allow the cabin to dry out faster.

Even with A/C you'll use less energy if you don't use recirc as the outside air is still drier than the inside air with recirc. (Not applicable in high humidity areas such as Houston)

 

[brianman]

(Not applicable in high humidity areas such as Houston)

It might have been these exact scenarios.

 

[ahimberg]

http://www.city-data.com/top2/c485.html WA & TX top the high avg humidity lists. Houston - #27.

For whatever reason (traffic situations, stinky trucks on my commute, sensitive nose..) I hit some really frequent stinky cars in front of me so I made regular use of the recirc -- I just leave recirc + front defrost on (no-ac, minimal heat, on low), in my prius. in the Subaru its a choice between leaving the AC on, or toggling the defrost on/off every few minutes.

 

[jerry33]

For whatever reason (traffic situations, stinky trucks on my commute, sensitive nose..) I hit some really frequent stinky cars in front of me so I made regular use of the recirc -- I just leave recirc + front defrost on (no-ac, minimal heat, on low), in my prius.

i do too, but it's never soon enough.