Fresh air automatically comes in every hour

[Daviddnv]

Hey there,

I have a 2022 1500 Bighorn, I’ve noticed that every hour or so fresh air comes in the A/C vents. Without any changes. This lasts maybe 2 to 3 minutes, then it goes back to recycled. The recycle light stays on the entire time. I live in Florida, so have the A/C on all of the time and it’s always on recycled air, unless I purposely change it. So I start the truck with the A/C on and on recycle, all the time. Its fine, but an hour in to driving and I can smell the fresh air coming in and even the pressure on my ears when it happens.

Not a big deal, just wondering if others have noticed it or if it’s “By Design” for some reason.

--David

 

[chopperdog45]

I have noticed the same thing in my truck. My wife has an Explorer that does the same thing, but on the Explorer, it actually kicks off the recirc mode and you have to re-enable it manually. I'm sure there is a reason for it - maybe to keep us from smelling the same farts over and over?

 

[Daviddnv]

Maybe it is by design. I had a 2011 Expedition before the Ram, and it did not do it. But maybe it's a new thing. It's so air-tight that we would run out of oxygen...

 

[chopperdog45]

Maybe it is by design. I had a 2011 Expedition before the Ram, and it did not do it. But maybe it's a new thing. It's so air-tight that we would run out of oxygen...

Maybe. My wife's explorer is 2021, so it's relatively new. I have a '12 Jeep. I will have to check it out in my Jeep at some point. Not my daily driver anymore, though.

 

[brian42]

A lot of vehicles do this.

It's to keep the air in the cabin from getting stuffy/stale or getting low on oxygen (making the driver drowsy). You can also throw in that it traps moisture (fogs up windows) and can short-cycle the compressor which can freeze up the condenser.

We (customers) are not to be trusted as anything that can happen (even through user negligence) will result in the manufacturer being sued for the occurrence.

We, as a society, have driven businesses to be overly cautious with everyone quick to find others to blame for their misfortune(s).

 

[Tulecreeper]

My manual says, "Recirculation mode may automatically adjust...for warming, cooling, dehumidification, etc."

 

[Daviddnv]

I guess that explains it. It's pretty much working as designed. I just never had it happen in my many other vehicles over the years. I doubt it's based on actual conditions as it seems to be a scheduled type of thing, about every hour in my case.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[brian42]

"Older" vehicles may be time-based but there are sensors for everything now so I would not be surprised if there's some advanced equation/algorithm for the re-alignment.

 

[18CrewDually]

Mine does it too but I just thought it was a part of the Auto climate control and was down to or below the temp setting.

 

[Papa Red]

Mine does it. Perfectly normal for our trucks. It did have me wondering about it when the truck was new.

Red