Issue- Recirculated Air Turns Off Automatically (UPDATE 1/27/24)

[richarducla]

[Original Thread 12/28/23]
Dear Ford Staff: Please reprogram the MachE to allow us to keep the recirculating air turned ON at all times so long as we keep the AC on. Currently, the MachE switches the recirculating air OFF automatically after 5 minutes of use.

I live in Los Angeles, and on the 405 freeway, I always encounter vehicles that emit too much exhaust smoke or an old vehicle that emits way too much gasoline fumes.

I have been driving all sorts of Honda vehicles for 20 years and not once did I have the recirculating air turned OFF automatically by the vehicle computer nor did my windows fog up so long as my AC was always ON at a low setting; and more importantly, I never smelled other car’s exhaust fumes. It’s ironic that now that I drive a clean air vehicle I am exposed to more toxic air than I ever did in my gas powered vehicle.

Ford staff please remedy this health issue and inconvenience.

[Update THREAD 1/27/24]- Matter above RESOLVED- The Ford Power-Up update (Enhancing your Heating System- Priority Update 23-PU0725-CLM-FX), resolved this issue. I will test further, but so far after 10 minutes of use, the recirculating air was not automatically turned OFF by the MachE. Thank you Ford Staff for addressing this matter!

Here is the Ford Description of the Ford Power-Up (Enhancing your heating system): We've made enhancements to your heating system (HVAC) to improve heat capability and help your vehicle respond to humidity. This should help reduce fogging under certain conditions.

Sponsored

 

[Mach1E]

Dear Ford Staff: Please reprogram the MachE to allow us to keep the recirculating air turned ON at all times so long as we keep the AC on. Currently, the MachE switches the recirculating air OFF automatically after 5 minutes of use.

I live in Los Angeles, and on the 405 freeway, I always encounter vehicles that emit too much exhaust smoke or an old vehicle that emits way too much gasoline fumes.

I have been driving all sorts of Honda vehicles for 20 years and not once did I have the recirculating air button automatically turned OFF automatically by the vehicle computer nor did my windows fog up so long as my AC was always ON at a low setting; and more importantly, I never smelled other car’s exhaust fumes. It’s ironic that now that I drive a clean air vehicle I am exposed to more toxic air than I ever did in my gas powered vehicle.

Ford staff please remedy this health issue and inconvenience.

It’s on everyone’s wish list but will probably never happen.

The workaround is buy a better air filter. I did and it got rid of 90% of the smells.

 

[Mike_Hawk]

I changed the cabin filter 300 miles after buying my MME just because I knew it would be a pain to keep recirculation on, like I do with all my other ICE vehicles. It seems to be an EV specific thing, my BMW i3 is the same way, but at least it had an easy physical button and an auto recirculation mode tied to the air quality sensor.

Consider the Pureflow PC99542HX (HEPA, only on pureflowair.com) or PC99542X (non-HEPA, also available on Amazon); both are $23.55. LINK

They both have the baking soda/charcoal/antimicrobial elements. Not sure if there will be a detrimental restriction with the HEPA but it's something to consider.

I got the non-HEPA originally since the HEPA wasn't in stock a year ago, but it's currently available. In fact, I just placed an order for a HEPA for the next replacement to give it a try.

 

[Stimulant]

I think auto off with vents only keeps recirculation on.

 

[OcSteve39]

I changed the cabin filter 300 miles after buying my MME just because I knew it would be a pain to keep recirculation on, like I do with all my other ICE vehicles. It seems to be an EV specific thing, my BMW i3 is the same way, but at least it had an easy physical button and an auto recirculation mode tied to the air quality sensor.

Consider the Pureflow PC99542HX (HEPA, only on pureflowair.com) or PC99542X (non-HEPA, also available on Amazon); both are $23.55. LINK

They both have the baking soda/charcoal/antimicrobial elements. Not sure if there will be a detrimental restriction with the HEPA but it's something to consider.

I got the non-HEPA originally since the HEPA wasn't in stock a year ago, but it's currently available. In fact, I just placed an order for a HEPA for the next replacement to give it a try.

Thanks for this! Grabbed the hepa.

 

[Tomatoboy]

Ford seems to be particularly aggressive with recirculate and adjusting fan speed. My observation was that it started around when the Explorer was having exhaust issues in the cabin, and has now spread across their line. My truck seems turn off recirculate after a set time as well, although it’s long enough I’ve never managed to time it out. Our Explorer used to shut it off whenever you accelerated hard, and would adjust the fan speed on its own when it did so. I’d love to know Ford’s logic behind doing it in an EV, though…

 

[RickMachE]

This is not going to change. Been this way on Ford vehicles for a long time.

 

[Flyboy]

Two comments:
For me it is a matter of battery drain. Why bring in that much outside air when you are trying to keep the cabin comfortable?

HEPA does almost nothing for vapors, gases, or smells - only reduces particulates. You need a suitable adsorbent material with enough capacity to last. I thin layer of carbon on a HEPA filter will make a difference but may not last very long & will not be effective for some smelly things. A large canister of activated carbon and XAD2 and Tenax would work well and last a few years, but…

The best solution is to give us the ability to control how much & when outside air enters our cabins.

 

[Vgkfan]

Dear Ford Staff: Please reprogram the MachE to allow us to keep the recirculating air turned ON at all times so long as we keep the AC on. Currently, the MachE switches the recirculating air OFF automatically after 5 minutes of use.

I live in Los Angeles, and on the 405 freeway, I always encounter vehicles that emit too much exhaust smoke or an old vehicle that emits way too much gasoline fumes.

I have been driving all sorts of Honda vehicles for 20 years and not once did I have the recirculating air button automatically turned OFF automatically by the vehicle computer nor did my windows fog up so long as my AC was always ON at a low setting; and more importantly, I never smelled other car’s exhaust fumes. It’s ironic that now that I drive a clean air vehicle I am exposed to more toxic air than I ever did in my gas powered vehicle.

Ford staff please remedy this health issue and inconvenience.

Mine used to do that but I thought they made a change a while back. Mine will stay on as long as i don’t change anything. Temp, fan speed, auto speed, etc. I Prefer having my vents closed all the time.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Ford seems to be particularly aggressive with recirculate and adjusting fan speed. My observation was that it started around when the Explorer was having exhaust issues in the cabin, and has now spread across their line. My truck seems turn off recirculate after a set time as well, although it’s long enough I’ve never managed to time it out. Our Explorer used to shut it off whenever you accelerated hard, and would adjust the fan speed on its own when it did so. I’d love to know Ford’s logic behind doing it in an EV, though…

Yeah the Explorer carbon monoxide poisoning episodes really changed the approach to limiting recirc on all future HVAC strategies. They used to always give you 10-15 minutes at a time before it opened, but now is much less.

The Mach-E strategy is primarily driven by reducing fogging potential since heat is limited. If the sensor detects high cabin humidity, recirc is cancelled.

 

[Mach1E]

I changed the cabin filter 300 miles after buying my MME just because I knew it would be a pain to keep recirculation on, like I do with all my other ICE vehicles. It seems to be an EV specific thing, my BMW i3 is the same way, but at least it had an easy physical button and an auto recirculation mode tied to the air quality sensor.

Consider the Pureflow PC99542HX (HEPA, only on pureflowair.com) or PC99542X (non-HEPA, also available on Amazon); both are $23.55. LINK

They both have the baking soda/charcoal/antimicrobial elements. Not sure if there will be a detrimental restriction with the HEPA but it's something to consider.

I got the non-HEPA originally since the HEPA wasn't in stock a year ago, but it's currently available. In fact, I just placed an order for a HEPA for the next replacement to give it a try.

Looks like both the HEPA and non HEPA are available on Amazon now.

I had the non HEPA for 2 years so just ordered the HEPA. The non worked great for smells for about a yr and a half I would say.

https://www.amazon.com/Pureflow-PC9...d=1703886818&sprefix=pc99542hx,aps,165&sr=8-1

 

[Mike_Hawk]

I have almost 20k miles/1 year on the non-HEPA at this point. The carbon & baking soda is probably worn out by now. I understand the HEPA does have it's limitations for vapors, smells, etc, but I feel it's nice to get that extra filtration. The HEPA arrived a few days ago and I'll probably get it on this weekend if I get a chance. I took a look at the filter and it's certainly a quality filter, much like the non-HEPA Pureflow it'll be replacing.

 

[BigMach-E]

Yeah the Explorer carbon monoxide poisoning episodes really changed the approach to limiting recirc on all future HVAC strategies. They used to always give you 10-15 minutes at a time before it opened, but now is much less.

The Mach-E strategy is primarily driven by reducing fogging potential since heat is limited. If the sensor detects high cabin humidity, recirc is cancelled.

The problem with this is that it gets cold, with recirc off, blowing cold air in and trying to heat the cabin is a losing strategy .

Sponsored