I have the 2001 Supercrew Lariat, but the one thing I miss is an aircondition system that matches the price we pay for these trucks. The system is very simple, and I miss climate control, or just a basic recycle air button. Anytime I'm driving behind some nasty diesel, or a recent plowed farm, I would like to close the outside air. Does anybody know if the 2004 has a more advanced air system?

 

I do not know anything about the 2004 A/C but I believe that the "Max A/C" recirculates the air. I may be wrong, though.

 

Blueflairside,

Yes Max air recirculates the existing air inside the passenger compartment on most vehicles. The Ford f-150 might be one of them but I am not sure. It would be nice if a Ford rep could help us out.

 

Yep, Max A/C recirculates, then adjust temp dail warmer if you need to. Or if you want to be stuffy for a while, turnign the switch to Off closes the vents.

For 2004, this is what the Ford site says: "Other special features help define F-150 Lariat and the people who own them. Features like electronic automatic temperature control, power adjustable memory seats and pedals, an in-dash message center and more."

 

I hope the "electronic automatic temperature control" does not require us to run the airconditioning.

My reason for this question is since almost all "non trucks vehicles" have an option to resurculate air without having to run max air. It should be possible to turn the panel on, flip a switch and shut off the outside air. To me it seems insane to run the aircondition unit during the winter if I want outside air to be blocked.

But I guess I will just have to wait and see what the "electronic automatic temperature control" does, maybe all my wishes are taken care of.

Thanx for your response.

Robert

 

It seems like a lot of domestic vehicles do not offer a separate switch for recirulating the air vs. fresh. I prefer a separate switch like you do. Impletmentation can vary, but I would not be surprised if there is not one in the 2004 F-150 auto climate system. Although there is always a manual override, automatic leans towards less control, and just setting a temp and forgetting about where the air coems from and where it shoots.

I have a Lexus IS300 with auto climate control and it has a separate switch for me to choose fresh/recirculate. It works in automatic mode as well, that is if the temperature is attainable by using fresh air.

 

Nowadays, if you want a little fresh air on a cool spring day or nice evening and it's not hot enough to need the A/C, the so-called "vent" setting runs outside air through the entire system which makes it about 15 degrees warmer and a whole lot "staler" smelling.

I miss the simple lever or **** that opened a door to the outside air that was seperate from the A/C system. I'm not sure why they went away from that.

 

I miss the simple lever or **** that opened a door to the outside air that was seperate from the A/C system. I'm not sure why they went away from that

Careful,

you're giving away your age.

 

There was once an airconditioning system called 460. It consisted of 4 windows down going 60 mph

 

I like air conditioning as much as the next person, but the fact remains that the "vent" setting on 90% of systems is lousy. You're better off opening the windows...and that effects gas mileage. You should be able to open a direct fresh air "vent" IMHO.

 

One of the main reasons the manual selection of inside vs. outside air has been removed is that many customers didn't know how or when to use it properly. You'd be amazed how many customers would complain about their windows fogging up in the winter, only to have their dealer find they had the lever/button in the "recirculate" position. People would often use it in the winter thinking the interior of the car would warm up faster (which it may have) without realizing that the moisture from their breath would then have nowhere to go. This isn't a problem in warmer weather...but is a MAJOR issue in cold weather - especially when it's too cold for the a/c compressor to come on when operating in the "defrost" mode (which is automatically done to remove moisture from the air in cold weather).

 

I miss vent windows !

 

I think they got rid of them for two reasons:

1. They make a great way to break into a car
2. One more place to leak

I had a couple of cars with them, the ones that cranked open and shut seemed a little better than the clamp-with-button-release type.

 

I miss power rear windows like the Broncos and station wagons used to have. The Sport Trac has it.... why doesnt the F150? This could have been integrated into the 2004 redesign. Guaranteed people would buy it if it was an option.

 

That was a great option....very handy if a passenger has a nervous stomach. I saw a Chevy truck with that set-up once, I'd heard there was a company that made a conversion kit. It sure looked cool.