recirculate air button turns of automatically

[davemcd]

I've noticed the past few cold mornings that when I have the heat on, with the vent on front+floor, and the recirculate air button on, that after a few minutes, the recirculate button turns off by itself. Any ideas why?

Note: I do not have automatic climate control. I have the base model.

There doesn't seem to be any correlation with the temperature inside the cabin. Even if its still freezing inside the car, the recirc will turn off by itself after 3-4 minutes.

[katekebo]

Yes, it's normal. Most Japanese and European cars built in the past 10 years are like this. It's a safety feature. Cars have become more and more air-tight and you need fresh air to breath. It also prevents moisture accumulation. In some cars you can override it by pressing and holding the recirculation button for 5 seconds.
BTW, it's mentioned in the manual. Sometimes reading the manual is a good thing.

[cu52]

my 2011 tacoma does the same thing. I read the owners manual however and it explains that it has to do with the delta in temperature or something along those lines and pressing the recirculate button for 2 seconds turns that off. That way it stays on recirculate. Guessing it is the same for the manual control highlander. check the manual.

[MmmHotdogs]

You typically want fresh air when using heat and recirculate when the AC is on. Both prevent humidity and save power.

[05Moose]

Originally Posted by katekebo

In some cars you can override it by pressing and holding the recirculation button for 5 seconds.
BTW, it's mentioned in the manual. Sometimes reading the manual is a good thing.

Yes, press and hold the button to keep it on recirc. Be aware that when you turn the vehicle off, it resets. So each time you start it up, you have to hold the button in. IIRC, it will only switch back to fresh air automatically if the temperature is in the 50's or colder.

I really don't like this feature because there's a reason we use Recirc. Smoke from everyone's outdoor burning and fireplaces prevents us from having fresh air in the vehicle for the last couple of miles on the freeway before getting home. It's hard for me to breathe in the smoke and even worse for my wife with asthma (which is part of why we live in the mountains to get away from all the pollens in the lower elevations). Unfortunately, we sometimes forget to hold the button in and it comes back on triggering an asthma attack. Thanks a lot Toyota. Another poor design decision. They should have made it a programmable feature like the headlights!

[takuel]

As anyone in the north can tell you, recirc is not a good idea in the winter as it will cause condensation and frost on the inside of your windows. On the other hand, in the summer, recirc works great for keeping out the humidity when the A/C is on.

[AVConsult]

While we're on the subject of design intent.... I loathe the MAX AC function, especially in the winter. If all you want is cooler air and No AC and accidentally rotate the knob too far it engages the A/C, but of course doesn't turn it off if you rotate it back.

Don't suppose someone has figured out how to change that behavior short of disabling the Max A/C contacts on the head unit?