# Recirculate mode



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Just got my car back from the dealer for the AC not working well. I suspected the recirculate mode wasn't working as I could smell exhaust in traffic. 

They replaced the expansion valve which got my AC cold (I believe - it noticeably colder this morning under 80) and the head unit for the HVAC which was traced out and shorted. I still don't hear any change on recirculate mode with the fan on 3 or 4. 

So my question is: _*do any other Cruze owners notice a change in fan noise with recirculate mode turned on vs fresh air mode?*_ Every other car I've seen gets louder.


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## dannylightning (Jun 24, 2012)

i cant tell any difference, yes other cras do seem to blow harder on recycled mode but i cant tell a bit of difference on the cruze, mine only has 500 some miles on it and i di dnot notice any differecne from day one..


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## mrbean8686 (Jun 23, 2012)

Yes it does get louder when I press the recirc button, I hear this on all the vehicles I driven. I believe it gets louder because the door that allows fresh air to come in closes. The reason it gets louder is not because the fan is going faster its because the system is now closed and its reflecting more noise in to the cabin.

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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

I've never notice a difference in the sound of air coming out when on or off recirculate mode. What I can hear is the electric motors moving the doors when I change any setting on the system. But I can hear it only when the fan speed is on one and the engine is idling.


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## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

Just hit 6k and I've never heard anything.


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## wstadnick (Feb 9, 2012)

I'll have to check on the way home today. I was thinking the same thing, on all my other vehicles when you hit the recirculate it seems to blow harder then with out, with the cruze though i don't believe it does.

In all honesty though i don't think I'd want it blowing any harder then Max as it is. If anything I'd rather have setting 1-3 a little harder, and 4 can stay it's hurricane setting it is now.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I haven't noticed a difference in noise.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

fan is twice as loud on recirculate for me.


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## The Wolf Wagon (Mar 5, 2012)

Fan is much louder on recirculate.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

That is quite strange. Makes me wonder if my recirculate is even doing anything. I'll have to try it a few more times and see what it's doing. I know it is louder on my other two cars, so it was a bit strange for me.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> I've never notice a difference in the sound of air coming out when on or off recirculate mode. What I can hear is the electric motors moving the doors when I change any setting on the system. But I can hear it only when the fan speed is on one and the engine is idling.


That may explain it. I was playing with it this morning while driving on fan speed 2/3. May have been too noisy inside the car for me to hear. They said they replaced the control module and that supposedly got recirculate mode to work, but I can't hear any motor move a flap like in my other cars, or hear any difference in airflow.



> That is quite strange. Makes me wonder if my recirculate is even doing anything. I'll have to try it a few more times and see what it's doing. I know it is louder on my other two cars, so it was a bit strange for me.


I know that mine was NOT doing anything, because I could still smell exhaust odors.



> In all honesty though i don't think I'd want it blowing any harder then Max as it is. If anything I'd rather have setting 1-3 a little harder, and 4 can stay it's hurricane setting it is now.


The point of recirculate is to cool down the car faster. The air gets colder since it's not being drawn in from directly outside when it's 90+ outside. On our Camry, it makes the air much colder to cool down the car more quickly after it's been sitting in the sun.

2 of you say that yours does get much louder - that's because the air intake is now inside the car. That sucking from the fan has the same effect as if you turn up a vacuum cleaner while you're vacuuming, and I believe that's how the recirculate mode SHOULD behave.

Hmmmm...still thinking mine's not working, but I only had about a 5 minute drive this morning from the dealer to the Metro stop. I'll see if I can hear anything different tonight.


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## dby2011 (May 14, 2011)

I never really noticed the difference either in fan speed when using the recirculating mode. No you guys got me wondering. I hope this is normal.


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## wstadnick (Feb 9, 2012)

Just checked mying when i ran to Timmy's, there is absolutely no difference in my when switching the recirc on and off. Even at different speeds there's no sounds difference or speed difference.

With people stating its working do you actually feel a difference in the amount of air being pushed?


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

I was thinking about this yesterday as well. Mine seems to not change went recirc mode is hit. I was thinking about getting the GF to spray some air freshener around the base of the windshield to see if I get the smell inside with recirc on. If I do, it's not working.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

mcg75 said:


> I was thinking about this yesterday as well. Mine seems to not change went recirc mode is hit. I was thinking about getting the GF to spray some air freshener around the base of the windshield to see if I get the smell inside with recirc on. If I do, it's not working.


Yeah, I have scented windshield washer fluid (Prestone Bug wash stuff). The smell comes right on through. That's an idea! I'll check that tonight.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

Maybe you could check your cabin air filter. There's a thread and vid somewhere here about it. You might even be able to actually see the recirc door with the cabin air filter removed. I'm not sure. I can see it in another GM vehicle I own but I haven't looked at the Cruze yet.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The car is 2 months old; I can't see the cabin filter being clogged yet.

I'll take a look to see if I can confirm operation of the flap if I can't hear it. You can definitely see/hear the arm move on my old Volvo behind the filter.


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## Cruze572 (Dec 20, 2011)

Checked mine today and there is a difference in noise when I switch between modes. However it felt like i didnt even have the ac on as mine does not seem to blow very cold.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Sigh. Yep, I can still smell the fluid from the inside of the car, and do not hear anything move or the blower change pitch. 

You'd think the dealer technician would check their work after what they did. This is getting tiring going to the dealer and having to get a ride to work/a loaner car (this will be its 3rd time back and I've owned it since May). 

Here's the repair sheet for any that are curious. 


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

On a side note, the air is much cooler out of the vents after sitting in a parking garage. I was able to keep it on fan speed 3 @ 95 degrees outside and was comfortable. But the real test will be when it sits in the sun. Although I do use a sunshade and have tinted windows, it still gets hot in there!

Hurray for a new expansion valve!


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## rbtec (Feb 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Sigh. Yep, I can still smell the fluid from the inside of the car, and do not hear anything move or the blower change pitch.
> 
> You'd think the dealer technician would check their work after what they did. This is getting tiring going to the dealer and having to get a ride to work/a loaner car (this will be its 3rd time back and I've owned it since May).
> 
> ...


I tried this experiment to see if my recirculate was working.
1. With the motor off (key in accesory position) turn the fan speed to 4 and the recirculate set to ON.
2. Light a couple matches and blow out. 
3. While the matches are smoking put them directly over the air intake on the drivers side by the wiper.
4. The smoke should not be sucked in to the intake.
5. Turn recirculate OFF.
6. Repeat steps 2 and 3.
7. The smoke should be sucked into the air intake.

This worked perfectly for me, my recirculate is working.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Do you notice any change in noise from inside the car? Even on recirculate, I can still hear my fan running faintly on setting 4 from outside the car.


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## rbtec (Feb 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Do you notice any change in noise from inside the car? Even on recirculate, I can still hear my fan running faintly on setting 4 from outside the car.


When I sit inside my car, I hear a change in noise as it changes from recirculate to non-recirculate. The noise is the same at either state. Try this running speed 4 with the engine off.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Yeup, no change in noise for me at all - engine on or off. I can faintly hear the floor/vent motors moving on low fan speeds, but nothing from the recirculate damper. 

Thanks to all of you that responded for taking the time to check yours out!


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

No change in fan noise for me either. And I know for a fact that recirculate mode works in my car.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

Recirculate causes a change in the sound of the system at all fan speeds on my ECO. Pretty much use recirculate all the time with vents set at both floor and dash. This combo is quietest and cools the car best/quickest.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

I checked this on my car yesterday and I can hear a difference. It's not as much of a change as my GM pickup, which is at least twice as loud in recirc, but the Cruze sound does change for me. My Cruze A/C is pretty good.


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## rbtec (Feb 3, 2012)

If people want to verify that recirculate works, perform the 'smoke test' I described earlier. You don't have to try and listen for a sound change, that may or may not be there.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Found out something from a visit to the dealer today.

On the COLDEST setting on the air temp dial, recirculate mode is activated regardless of whether or not the push button switch is on. A small bit of fresh air is designed to be let into this system even on recirculate mode, so that's why I can still smell things sometimes. I always just thought the car had a charcoal filter or something that got rid of MOST outside odors. 

Turn the dial up one notch to the beginning of the blue arc itself, and it's still on the coldest setting, but will let you choose whether you want fresh air or recirculate by yourself. The service manager said that there was no documentation about this, but it's the same with the new Camaros, and his tech went on a hunch with that. I confirmed it myself - you can hear the motor move and the airflow change a bit when the air temp knob is turned off that very lowest setting.

So turns out my HVAC system now functions fine after it was repaired the first time - but still just kinda wimpy (for my liking) when it's 90+ outside. 

Learn something new every day. That's actually a pretty cool feature - I've known a few people that do complain that their AC isn't cold enough until they're told to use the recirculate button.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

That is interesting. You'd think making a change like that from previous cars would warrant a note in the manual so everyone doesn't think recirculate is not working properly.


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## steadylaughing (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks for the info, jblackburn. I'll have to try that the next time I'm in my car.


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## OLS (Jul 24, 2012)

Well, I thought I was the only owner with this "can't keep the bus exhaust out of my **** Cruze" problem.
I refuse to take it in, because naturally, they will cut my lower engine shroud without telling me and make
me very mad. So I just tolerate the dumptruck smoke. I know its a recall, but I don't want it done.
But **** that recirc not working is ROUGH!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

OLS said:


> Well, I thought I was the only owner with this "can't keep the bus exhaust out of my **** Cruze" problem.
> I refuse to take it in, because naturally, they will cut my lower engine shroud without telling me and make
> me very mad. So I just tolerate the dumptruck smoke. I know its a recall, but I don't want it done.
> But **** that recirc not working is ROUGH!


Don't be afraid to take your car back to the dealer for warranty work. You can decline the recall on the shield - I have, and mine's been back 3 times since. They will have you sign a waiver saying that you're declining it and it's no longer your fault if the car catches on fire from oil.

You can still smell very, very strong smells with the AC on recirculate mode. There's a paper processing plant or something outside Richmond that gets through mine every time.


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## coinneach (Apr 10, 2012)

I drive by a feedlot several times a week. Doesn't seem to matter whether the AC is on or off, recirc or outside; that incredible stench burns its way through every time. Unfortunately I can't avoid the **** place as it's right down the street from one of my data centers.


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