Do I run my A/C on "fresh" or "recirc"?
 

On my 2006:
Which should I run my air cond on:
Fresh air
or
Recirculate?

I thought it wouldn't run on both, but it seems like it does

Whichever you want.
Fresh air is gonna draw in outside air which is warmer plus any odors from outside.
Recirculate won't draw in that warmer air, so it will usually be cooler in this mode.

And it defaults back to fresh air every time the key is cycled off/on, so you'll have to manually select recirculate every time you restart the car.

thanks, that is what i found, the default to fresh, and cooler w/ recirc;
and that is what made me ask
thanks!

What George said plus when you first start up car on a Hot day the inside is super hot so it will cool faster on recirculate as like George said it recirculates the cabin air! So yes the air is colder a +, In some cases using recirculate will dry out you sinus FYI... The mix of outside air keeps the fresh air missed in the cab . What is better ? what ever makes you happy :)I use recirc on super hot days but I use mixed air after all is cooled down as I like the extra fresh air since I love Mex food and Hot wings the mix is nice :)

Have you read the https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...owners+manual?

This is one of my pet peeves of this car. The air runs cooler on recirculate, so I run it there. But when you cut your car off and cut it back on, it defaults back to fresh air. I would like for it to stay where I put it.

It can be done. A member did it here a couple of years ago. Depends on how good you are with electrics. I'll see if I can find the thread.....

Found it!! Be sure to also go the the link in post #20 (though I don't think NatCh ever got the problem sorted out):

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...control-36661/

Don't forget to run the blower for a few minutes with the A/C off before you park your HHR on a humid day. Doing that helps prevent mold growth on the evaporator, and the possibility of having "stinky" A/C.

It's a trick we use here in the Southland where mold growth in automotive HVAC systems is widespread.

The only times I run the A/C on recirculate is when I spot a dead skunk in the road or VDOT is kicking up a lot of dust when working on the road.

Down here in "Humid Country" the forecast for today is 96,97 w/ heat index of 110-112.
IF, I go out in the car today, you can bet I'll need that little bit of extra cooling that the recirculation setting will give.

Omg thats so anal ...bbbut youre right

(Wonder who how many actually does that)

I do that (when I think about it) but I learned of it during my HVAC/MVAC training.

Recirculating air in winter can fog your windows.

If you smoke in the car set to recir. the smoke is terrible.

Rant on: Smoking in any vehicle under any circumstances is terrible...../Rant off.

I do! I think I finally have my wife trained to do this, too.

There is an important reason to use the fresh air mode. The outside air is going to be more oxygen rich, which helps to keep the driver more alert. This is why the majority of cars default back to outside air rather than recirculate.

All cars that I have had default to fresh air when started, unless they have climate control, then it will switch to recirculate automatically based on the the temperature difference between the thermostat setting and the actual cabin air temperature.

My Owners Manual tells me that the A/C compressor runs when in recirc mode with no indicator light.
That must be why the air is cooler!