Kia Optima: Manual heating and air conditioning / Air intake control

This is used to select the outside (fresh) air position or recirculated air position.

To change the air intake control position, push the control button.

Outside (fresh) air position

With the outside (fresh) air position selected, air enters the vehicle from outside and is heated or cooled according to the function selected.

Recirculated air position

With the recirculated air position selected, air from the passenger compartment will be drawn through the heating system and heated or cooled according to the function selected.

Prolonged operation of the heater in the recirculated air position (without air conditioning selected) may cause fogging of the windshield and side windows and the air within the passenger compartment may become stale.

In addition, prolonged use of the air conditioning with the recirculated air position selected will result in excessively dry air in the passenger compartment. Continuous use of the recirculated air within with result in a musty or stale smell within the passenger compartment.