Should You Use Recirculated or Fresh Air Mode in the Car During Winter?
2 Answers
During winter, it's recommended to alternate between recirculated and fresh air modes. Here's some relevant knowledge about using these modes: Use recirculated mode when warming up the car: When warming up the vehicle, since the antifreeze coolant hasn't reached optimal temperature yet, it's best to use recirculated mode once the coolant temperature starts rising slightly. This helps retain initial heat, allowing the car to warm up faster and benefiting the warming process. Use fresh air mode when the car is full of people: If the car is fully occupied, you must periodically switch to fresh air mode to maintain air freshness inside the cabin, which will improve passenger comfort. Switch to fresh air mode before parking: A few minutes before parking, turn off the heater and switch to fresh air mode. This helps equalize the temperature between the AC ducts and outside air, maintaining relative dryness in the AC system and preventing bacterial growth.
When driving in winter, there's a lot to consider about using the recirculation mode versus fresh air mode. At the start when the car is freezing cold, I turn on recirculation mode - this makes the warm air from the engine heat up the cabin much faster, getting comfortable more quickly and saving a lot of hassle. But the problem is once it's warm, the windows easily fog up completely, making it hard to see the road - especially dangerous on icy days. So after the temperature stabilizes, I switch to fresh air mode to let the dry cold air from outside come in, and the fog gradually disappears, restoring clear visibility while making the air much fresher - avoiding that stuffy, dizzy feeling. Using recirculation mode for too long makes the cabin air stale and can cause drowsiness. Though fresh air mode heats more slowly, having outdoor fresh air blowing in really improves your mood. My suggestion is to switch flexibly: use recirculation mode during the cold start phase for quick heating, then switch to fresh air mode after warming up to defog and maintain safe driving.
