When is the cabin air filter in use?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by lrisius, Apr 20, 2018.

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  1. lrisius

    lrisius Member

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    2015 Prius v- when is the cabin air filter actually in use and what does the button for it actually do? And is it in use when the button isn't pressed? The below is the info from p. 364 of the owner's manual on the Toyota website. From this, they seem to be saying that it goes into recirculate mode (because of the dehumidification kicking in) and that it runs to some degree all the time. I would like to know because this impacts how often I will change the filter.

    • Micro dust and pollen filter Pollen is removed from the air and the air flows to the upper part of the body.
    • In order to prevent the windshield from fogging up when the outside air is cold, the dehumidification function may operate.
    • The pollens are filtered out even if the micro dust and pollen filter is turned off.
    Thanks!
     
    #1 lrisius, Apr 20, 2018
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    The system is filtering the air all the time, recirc or not. The normal recirc draws a small amount of fresh air from outside while recirc off draws large amounts of fresh air. Prius v also has a separate "micro dust and pollen" timed button to temporarily shut off the small amount of fresh air in recirc, forcing all of the cabin air to recirculate. Useful in heavy traffic when you might be pulling in heavy doses of exhaust. recirc.JPG
     
    #2 rjparker, Apr 20, 2018
  3. lrisius

    lrisius Member

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    Thanks for the good explanation!
     
    #3 lrisius, Apr 20, 2018
  4. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    In 6 years I'm not sure I ever used the "micro" button. Except by accident.

    If the light is on, is it on total recirculation mode, or is that when it is off? IOW, should the light be off or on typically?
     
    #4 mikefocke, Apr 21, 2018
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Light on is total recirc. It has a timer that shuts off automatically after a few minutes.
     
    #5 rjparker, Apr 21, 2018
  6. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    RJ, thank you. Learned something and used it today. Dusty windy horse hoves stirred up sand from a riding rink and blowing in a cloud. As I pulled away in 80F I wanted a quick cool down so used the button.
     
    #6 mikefocke, Apr 22, 2018
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