What Exactly Happens When You Push the “Recirculate” Button in a Car?

When it comes to pretty much every car on the road, there are some basic functions that all drivers should know. However, if the view count on one video from KHOU 11 says anything about that topic, it’s that some people certainly don’t.

One example of something on a vehicle that might not be used every day is the “recirculate” button. However, the button can serve to not only make a vehicle more efficient when it comes to cooling. It could also help out with maybe saving a little bit on fuel economy as well.

Essentially, the button is used to help cool down a car. By enabling it, it will allow air already in the vehicle to recirculate through the cabin. This means that the car won’t be working as hard to cool new air that’s introduced to the inside environment. Instead, it’ll make the most of the air that’s already cool.

Naturally, this means that it’s going to be able to help cool the cabin down more quickly. Therefore, somebody starting up a hot car would probably find it in their best interest to use the button if they want to get down to a nice and desirable temperature in the middle of the summer. In addition, it should help to keep pollutants outside should that be an issue but also won’t allow fresh air when in use.

In practice, these are probably the most obvious effects that will come into play with the recirculate function. However, there are some other situations to be considered. By following along with the video below from KHOW, we get the full rundown of everything that the recirculate function is going to do.

Even those who are already kind of knew what the button was up to might stand to learn something new here!