Lesser known dashboard button quickly cools car down as alternative to AC

Pressing this little-known button on your dashboard can instantly help cool down your car instead of just whacking on the air-con at full blast.

We’re currently experiencing a little burst of heat to end the summer, which is such a nice gesture from the sky after months of clouds and rain.

But, with the average driver in the UK spending 25 whole days in their car per year, the hot weather can really make our vehicles unbearable - like a sauna on wheels.

Aside from air conditioning, which is an absolute saving grace 90 percent of the time, there is another feature on your dashboard that can help keep your car cool during warm weather.

Using this will also stop all those awful smells from outside entering in. If you live in the countryside, then you know exactly what we’re talking about…

The button you want to keep a lookout for is usually a small outline of a car, with a circle of arrows inside it.

The arrows represent all of the air that is already in your car recirculating.

In 2022, TikToker Megan’s Bubble went viral for bringing the life-hack to the attention of motorists.

In her video, she explained: “Essentially what it's going to do for you, it means that you are recirculating the air inside the car.

"So if it's extraordinarily hot inside of your car when you first get in you want to turn this off so that you suck in the outside air.

"If you're sitting in front of other cars where you'll be getting all the exhaust fumes sucked into your car, you use this button so that the air inside your car recirculates and you don't suck in all that bad air.”

Viewers were left shocked by the revelation, with one saying: “I literally just leave it on all the time I have no clue what it does."

TikTok/@megansbubble

Another said: “I thought it was pumping air throughout the car.”

One person joked: “Actually it’s for when you crash your car and then you press it to undo the damage.”

It’s fake news, people!

How it actually works is that it ensures your air-conditioning is working at its 'optimum level' and allows your car to get 'cold quickly as possible', Eden Tyres and Servicing say.

It also helps with fuel consumption by lessening the strain on the engine when using the AC.

And another good thing about this feature is that it reduces the amount of pollen in the car for all of you hay fever sufferers out there.

Pretty nifty button if I do say so myself.