Car A/C Caution!!!

[steve1-18]

Now this is very interesting! My car's manual says to roll down the windows to let out all the hot air before turning on the A/C. WHY ?

As I read this, it makes me feel guilty and ill. Please pass this on to as many people as possible. Guess its not too late to make some changes.

Car A/C (Air Conditioning) MUST READ!

Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows after you enter your car, and then turn ON the AC after a couple of minutes.

Here's why: According to research, the car's dashboard, seats, a/c ducts in fact ALL of the plastic objects in your vehicle, emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin. A BIG CARCINOGEN. Take the time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car, when you open it, and BEFORE you start it up.

In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia and increases the risk of some cancers. It can also cause miscarriages in pregnant females.

Acceptable Benzene level indoors is: 50mg per sq.ft.

A car parked indoors, with windows closed, will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene.

If parked outdoors, under the sun, at a temperature above 60 degrees F. the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level. People who get into the car, keeping the windows closed, will inevitably inhale, in quick succession, excessive amounts of the BENZENE toxin.

Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidneys and liver. What's worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff from your body. So friends, please open the windows and door of your car - give it some time for the interior to air out -(dispel the deadly stuff) - before you enter the vehicle.

Do Automobiles Produce Potentially Cancer-Causing Levels of Benzene?

Automobile components do not emit dangerous levels of cancer-causing benzene fumes.

www.snopes.com

 

[hydralique]

I don't believe this is as big a problem as you think. Ventilation systems in cars are designed to normally pull in fresh air which is then passed through the car and exits out vents concealed in door jambs or rear quarter panels. So, when you turn the sytem on you're clearing the car of any trapped air. The exception to this is if you set the system to recirculate. Even on this settings outside air will be brought in, but it will be mixed with recirculated interior air. Thus, it makes sense to initially turn the blower on "high" to rapidly exhaust stale interior air but to avoid the recirculation button or setting. Sometimes the latter will be labeled "Max A/C", so it pays to read the owner's manual.

If you're concearned about plastics off-gassing in the car, then it would be a good preventative measure to crack the windows slightly on hot summer days before parking the car.

 

[tomturbomatic]

It makes sense to roll down the windows to let the hot air out. Also the heat radiating from the hot glass right beside your face makes the car far more uncomfortable than it has to be so lowering the windows helps with that. I keep an insulated foil sun shade against my windshield when my car is parked, so while the interior is very warm, it is not as hot as if the sun had been shining thought the glass onto the interior parts like the old Philco "broil under glass" feature in their ranges. If the Benzene is gonna get me, it probably already has at my age, but thanks for the tip.

 

[sudsmaster]

If my Chrysler is any indication, modern A/C systems with automatic modes typically switch to recirculating the interior air until a certain temp is reached (it may take 10 minutes or more) and then they switch to bringing in fresh air. So for that recirculation time you're inhaling all the out gassed toxins that have accumulated in a parked car.

As previously noted, it also makes energy sense to roll down the windows and let as much heat out as possible before asking the A/C system to take over. This obviously helps to flush the toxins from the air as well. I've also noticed that leaving the doors open (while parked of course) flushes out the hot interior air much quicker than just opening the windows.

 

[gadgetgary]

Clouded windows?

Is the 'Benzene' what we see on the car's interior windows over time?
They always seems to build up some type of film
Microfiber with water seems to clean them really well.

 

[retropia]

"New car aroma" is basically the gases escaping from the fresh plastics. As the new car aroma starts to dissipate over time, that also means the gases are largely gone.

As far as cooling down the car, a car sitting in the sun is going to be hotter inside than it is outside, no matter how hot it is outside.

Ideally, you want to start the car's A/C using fresh air, not recirculation. That will bring the inside temperature down faster, cooling outside air coming in, than trying to cool the hotter air trapped inside the car.

After a few minutes of running fresh air, then it can help cool further by switching to recirculated air (the "max" setting on old cars).

 

[ronhic]

Like most people...

....in hot countries, I've lived with airconditioned cars since it became an affordable option in the late 1970's and have followed the 'operating proceedure' my parents were advised in 1977 with great results...

- always open at least 2 doors (4 is best) on very hot days for half a minute or so to let hot air out before even contemplating getting in.
- crack a back window 1/4-1/2 inch
- start car and have the airconditioner on 'recirculate' on highest fan speed and direct to both face level and footwells until the air is cool (pushing cold air at the feet forces the hot air out of there)
- move to 'fresh' and reduce fan speed
- close back window if you can...

Never fails to have the car cool in under 5 minutes.

 

[jasonl]

Before I had to sell the VW.

The VW Beetle has a feature when you turn the key to unlock and hold it, the windows will go down and you can just feel the heat coming out of the car. Then when I get in, I start it, turn the AC to high, recirc. When the air starts getting cold, I close the windows and let the ac do the work, turning down the fan step by step as I go for comfort level. If it's really humid out, but not hot, I will turn on AC and adjust the thermostat for a little warmer air.

I never used the "Fresh" setting because it seem counter-productive to let in hot humid air instead of just recirculating the cool, dry air.

 

[jasonl]

Nissan Titan

My father-in-law's Titan has automatic window down using the remote. Hold the unlock button for 3 secs and the windows lower. Great feature!

 

[mistereric]

I usually leave the sunroof open to the 'vent' position on the Five. Its got little drains so in a light rain no water leaks in. Unlock the doors with the remote and then click and hold, and the windows roll down and the sunroof opens fully. Can also put the key in the lock and hold it in the lock position, and close the windows and roof. Car is a year 2000, and my 1994 318is did the same - try it on your car!

 

[dirtybuck]

All of the suggestions on here are pretty good..and most of them I follow. My Cavalier is a 2 door with a sun roof, so on hot days, I open both doors for a few minutes, and then roll the windows down about an inch or so then do the same with the sun roof.

However, I have a very "funny" sun roof. I recently had to have the gear to open and close re-timed as it wasn't closing all the way. Now, on hot days, it'll open all the way, but as the day goes on and it gets cooler, especially if it's been closed, it will only open part way. The same thing happens if it's humid or rainy. The place that fixed it told me that I'd have to bring the car back in when it's doing what I just explained, but will will more than likely have to charge me another $50.00 to fix it. For right now, I'm "satisfied" with what it's doing.

And Gary, I know all too well about the nasty film you're referring to. My car is due for an interior cleaning. Generally, it's the windows and windshield that I do first, followed by dashboard, console and sides of the doors.

 

[super32]

Ford

Im now among the remote window openers. Its a neat feature except it "vents" the moonroof and if the shade is closed i tend to forget its open. I guess i end up doing the 30 second door rule and start the car and fasten in. By this time its been 30 seconds or so. I let the auto a/c take it from there. My last car had remote start so i would leave the moonroof vented then use the remote start if it was really hot. For what ever reason ford felt the need to make it an option only on the model i now have. I will have to address this as winter gets closer.

 

[ronhic]

I never used the "Fresh" setting because it seem cou

By switching to fresh, you get just that...fresh air that has been cooled and de-humidified.

Assuming that you have no windows cracked, keeping an airconditioner on recirculate will make the air in the car go 'stale' in no time at all....to the point it will start to actually smell stale...and on journeys longer than 1/2 hour it isn't actually good for staying alert...

...and additionally, humid air that has been cooled actually feels cooler on the skin than dry climate air that has been cooled....as there is still some moisture in it....continually recirculating the air drys it out and reduces its cooling ability....

 

[qsd-dan]

A/C is for the weak and the elderly. I'm the original owner to my '99 Accord and it probably has no more than 2 hours of total run time in nearly 12 years of ownership. Most of that 2 hours of run time is from bitching passengers....which is why I prefer to drive alone.

 

[whirlcool]

But you live in northern California. The weather there is more bearable than in the rest of the country!

 

[super32]

I guess i am among the weak.............

 

[brianl]

Me too!! Anything 80 and above; on goes the a/c!

 

[toggleswitch]

Quote: A/C is for the weak and the elderly.

Come to NYC when it is 95*F to 100*F and 65% to 85% relative humidity and we'll talk!

Some of us perspire profusely and the prospect of the stench on my person, my clothes, and my car does not quite appeal to me.

And for those of you that only understand being cheap and miserly and tight with money <grin>...er sorry "careful" with money, closing the windows makes the car more aerodynamic, so any energy used by the A/C is gained in efficiency by actually moving the car without wind-drag caused by open windows.

 

[qsd-dan]

Come to NYC when it is 95*F to 100*F and 65% to 85% relative humidity and we'll talk!

Visited my brother in North Carolina back in '07. 92F and 100% humidity. Uncomfortable? Yes. Did it kill me? No

I will admit that I would probably use central A/C at night if I had job there and actually wanted a good nights sleep.

People survived thousands of years long before A/C was invented.