HVAC Recirculate: still bringing in external air?

[jblc]

Remember that the interior of your truck itself releases VOCs from the various plastics in it, especially for the first few months after new (and even after that new car smell - which is plastic off-gasing) is gone, as well as on hot days.

Agreed, but mine does not outgas anymore. On a smokeless day, the VOC readings are normal, so it's not the car itself.

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[D Fresh]

Thanks, and totally agreed. I'm just confused by the large AMOUNT of air entering, not that there's some air exchange. A high-flow filter (That's blasting full speed) should definitely be more than enough to account for normal leakage inside a moving vehicle with a small cabin.

Since the filter is ineffective beyond 30 mph, that means there is SO much air leakage, that it's greater than the blasting max-speed HEPA filter.

That seems unreasonable to me, and also unnecessary.

That seems odd to me as well.

Wish I could help. Have you experimented with any other vehicles?

 

[jblc]

That seems odd to me as well.

Wish I could help. Have you experimented with any other vehicles?

Yes, I have, and every other vehicle that I've tried has been sealed significantly better and filters worked fine to clean the air.
Since my '97 and '21 ranger both did, I suspect this is a Ford and/or Ranger issue...

It's frustrating, since I mainly got rid of the '97 because I needed a better-sealing vehicle due to all the wildfire and other smoke in this area -- breathing clean air is very important. The new ranger's sealing is actually WORSE than the old one.

 

[bobobama]

I'm guessing you're from California, or else somewhere out West. Never heard of a "smoky climate/smoke country", but with all the hellacious wildfires the past few seasons, I get it.

Wherever you are, you can only expect so much from your truck's ability to deal with the problem. I know this doesn't help you, but really, you're probably going to need more extreme measures than just your truck's systems to deal with it. Curious how you deal with it when you're not in the truck.

 

[jblc]

I'm guessing you're from California, or else somewhere out West. Never heard of a "smoky climate/smoke country", but with all the hellacious wildfires the past few seasons, I get it.

Wherever you are, you can only expect so much from your truck's ability to deal with the problem. I know this doesn't help you, but really, you're probably going to need more extreme measures than just your truck's systems to deal with it. Curious how you deal with it when you're not in the truck.

What's the point of a recirculating setting at all, then, if so much ambient air gets through other sources that outside air overwhelms the inside recirculation?

All other vehicles that i've tried do not have this problem. When going on a road trip, or driving to work, etc, it's no fun to be breathing smoke. Putting on a mask for 10 hours on a drive doesn't make sense either, and isn't needed in other cars.

Since other cars are fine for this, I'm trying to understand how to resolve it for the Ranger -- the only vehicle that this air filter strategy HASN'T worked in.

So it's less that I'm being unreasonable, i think, and more that the ranger should work as other cars are. There's not much point in a recirc setting, if it actually doesn't recirculate.

 

[bobobama]

Don't know if you've seen this from another thread, but your point about the current cabin air filtration system certainly seems justified:

https://www.autoweek.com/news/indus...w-cabin-air-filter-to-help-you-breath-easier/

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