What Does This Button Do?
CARS.COM — Situated among the heating and ventilation controls of the 2011 Lexus IS 250C is a mysterious button with connotation that, when pressed, affects the driver’s face (apparently) through a jar of cotton balls?
We hit the button with the air conditioning running and heard the vehicle’s climate system’s inner workings change their operation. But what exactly did it do?
Related: More Lexus Coverage
The Lexus IS 250’s button activates a climate system mode that takes advantage of the car’s micro dust and pollen filter, commonly called a cabin air filter. These types of particulate air filters — which do not look like a jar of cotton balls in real life, by the way — help remove dust, allergens, pollutants and reduce odor in the vehicle when systems suck in air from the outside to blow inside through the heating and ventilation system vents. It’s a separate air filter from the engine’s air filter and commonly located in the glove box area or under the hood near the passenger compartment.
Two things happen when the button inside the Lexus is pressed. First, the climate control’s recirculation mode is triggered, and cabin air is exclusively routed through the cabin filter instead of taking air from the outside. At the same time, the air vent mode is switched to the upper vents to deliver the freshly filtered air up occupants’ nostrils.
It’s pretty much a one-touch button to get as much fresh air to the face region as possible, and having one button that does the same thing as hitting two or more is always nice but not a necessity. The mode turns off automatically after about one to three minutes. (This button is found in other Lexus models including the CT200h, IS 350 and GS 350.)
A cabin air filter is a common filter in new cars, and replacement is typically recommended every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, depending on where you live — possibly sooner if you drive in an urban area with poor air quality or where there’s a lot of dust. The cabin air filter on a Lexus IS 250 sedan is located behind the glove box, and you can watch a video on how to replace the Lexus IS 250’s cabin filter, as well as purchase a replacement cabin filter, here at Cars.com.
The 2011 Lexus IS is available in sedan (IS 250 or IS 350) and convertible (IS 250C) versions. When our experts reviewed the IS 350 sedan, we determined it as one of the most athletic Lexus model with great driving dynamics, but you pay for that with a small interior and poor ride quality. The IS 250C, which is where we spotted the cabin air filter mode, was the softer riding IS of the bunch, but don’t expect the cabin air filter mode to do much good with the top down.
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