Air Recirculation Mode- no effect anymore... dealers explanation is fishy...

9986 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by licor4, Apr 19, 2017

PJG

Discussion Starter · Aug 22, 2013

I have a 2012 Cruze, and I love this car… but…My problem is the ventilation system (I do not have the automatic type) and my recirculation seems to have NO effect anymore. I am fairly sure RECIRC is stuck always ON. The reasons for this are:

defogging mode is very ineffective (because you want outside AC’d warm) air
On recent 5.5-hour drive I felt extremely groggy, and cracking the windows a bit made a HUGE difference and I was fine the rest of the drive. Closing the windows I started to feel groggy again after a while.

I've taken the car now to two different dealerships that can’t find any problems, and they both insist that if there were any issues- there’d be “codes” and there are not any.I get it- but I believe it is still stuck or malfunctioning. I pointed out that turning the temp dial to full cold and then backing off ONE notch (just above the blue dash mark) the air sound does change dramatically- yet this is not mentioned anywhere in the manual. Pressing the Recirc button lights on/off, but you cannot sense any other changes (airflow, sound all stay the same). The first dealer said they do not really DO recirculation like they used to- it’s now a 60/40 fresh air mix and that RECIRC ONLY works with the AC on. Really?The last dealer now claims that if you put the air TEMP to FULL COLD (AC on or off) that the system will recirculate the air even if the light is NOT on. Does this make sense to anyone? Has anyone else had a similar issue? I really feel like I’m getting the runaround here and the first dealer had my car for 10 days while they fixed my transmission surge issue from the TSB- and left my glove box disconnected from the soft open feature that the last dealer had to fix! Grrrr. Any advice will be appreciated. So far, I like the car much better than the dealership experiences.

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obermd

· #2 · Aug 22, 2013

Contact GM - either the GM rep here on CruzeTalk via PM or by phone. It's very possible the recirc control isn't working and it won't throw a code. Dealerships that don't look beyond a code should be shuttered.

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Chevy Customer Care

· #3 · Aug 22, 2013

Hi PJG

I would like to help you get this issue diagnosed and resolved. I am so sorry that you are dealing with this frustrating concern. If you would like for me to open a service request for you could you please send me a private message? I will need your VIN, current mileage, full name, phone number and the name of the dealership that you took your Cruze to. I will do everything that I can to assist you in getting this resolved.

By the way I just got back from Orange County, I was in San Clemente and I have to say it is a VERY beautiful place.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jackie
Chevrolet Customer Care

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jblackburn

· #4 · Aug 22, 2013

Yes, lowest click on the temp dial is auto recirculate and this is by design. Lets them undersize the AC for max fuel economy. Run it on fan speed one and fiddle with the temp knob and listen just behind the glove box. One click up for "fresh air".

The Camaro does the same thing. I think it should light up the recirculate light like our other car does.

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PJG

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 22, 2013

jblackburn said:
Yes, lowest click on the temp dial is auto recirculate and this is by design. Lets them undersize the AC for max fuel economy. Run it on fan speed one and fiddle with the temp knob and listen just behind the glove box. One click up for "fresh air".

The Camaro does the same thing. I think it should light up the recirculate light like our other car does.

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You are just too logical to expect that if it is actually on, than the switch and display should reflect it.

They should also add that detail that in the owners manuals. Fords have something similar but they at least clearly label it MAX AC on their temp dials and I always felt it was a useless redundancy when you also have a recirculation button.

All I can say is the lightheadedness I was having on my long drive- I've made the drive a half dozen times before and never felt that way before. If I hadn't cracked my windows- ugh. On the bright side, I averaged about 34 miles per gallon including the horrible Los Angeles traffic and over the grapevine!

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2013LT

· #6 · Aug 22, 2013

When you drive on the highway and the circulate mode is "off" and your fan is "off" does air blow into the car anyway? If not circulate mode is stuck on.

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obermd

· #7 · Aug 22, 2013

2013LT said:
When you drive on the highway and the circulate mode is "off" and your fan is "off" does air blow into the car anyway? If not circulate mode is stuck on.

Thanks for this tip. I could never figure out if my recirc button was working or not so I tried it this morning. It works.

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licor4

· #8 · Apr 19, 2017

Help!!!

Hello Jackie,
I am in CT and have this same exact problem with my 2017 Cruze and the dealers. My cruze recirculation system needs to be fixed ASAP. Needless to say that I cannot continue to breath into the fumes of trucks, van, etc, every morning when I comute from Fairfield CT to Stamford CT for an hour, maybe more. This morning I almost died inside my cabin forced to breath a van's fumes during a traffic jam due to an accident. This is a health issue, not a request for luxury.
Thanks.
Adriana

Chevy Customer Care said:
Hi PJG

I would like to help you get this issue diagnosed and resolved. I am so sorry that you are dealing with this frustrating concern. If you would like for me to open a service request for you could you please send me a private message? I will need your VIN, current mileage, full name, phone number and the name of the dealership that you took your Cruze to. I will do everything that I can to assist you in getting this resolved.

By the way I just got back from Orange County, I was in San Clemente and I have to say it is a VERY beautiful place.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jackie
Chevrolet Customer Care

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