Freezing Inside

[allycomet]

Hi All,

Met up with my brother-in-law last night who also has a 2008 Rav4 XT-R. It was -7 when we returned to our motors to set sail for home when I noticed his RAV had considerable frost on the INSIDE of the windsceen whereas mine was completely clear. He told me this had been happening a lot during this recent cold spell. Only difference between the cars is that mine has a leather interior???. No noticeable damp areas in the car except the mats but then again mine are the same.

Any thoughts?

[Phoenix999]

Your car is not unique..... it is quite typicaal for this time of year given the temperatures we are experiencing.... my car suffers and a few of my others did. Don't worry about it but of course it is damn annoying :ffs:

[allycomet]

Your car is not unique..... it is quite typicaal for this time of year given the temperatures we are experiencing.... my car suffers and a few of my others did. Don't worry about it but of course it is damn annoying :ffs:

Thanks Phoenix,

Just thought it strange that his car was frosted inside and that mine was clear, as always has been during this spell.

[GS John]

Does he use the aircon a lot?

I try and keep as much snow / water out as possible, but a couple of weeks ago when it was almost -20 here, the carpet had frozen where the mositure had collected where my heel normally is.

[Jan&tone]

Like others, it's a feature of this time of year, we've had it on all our cars that live outside Roll on spring....

[allycomet]

Does he use the aircon a lot?

I try and keep as much snow / water out as possible, but a couple of weeks ago when it was almost -20 here, the carpet had frozen where the mositure had collected where my heel normally is.

As far as I am aware the CC is set to auto except for the initial blast to clear the screen. May be possible that my RAV isn't affected because after the wife's been driving, it normally takes a couple of days to cool down

[shcm]

shcm senior always reckons that leather interiors are much better at absorbing moisture from the air, so you get less condensation.

[allycomet]

shcm senior always reckons that leather interiors are much better at absorbing moisture from the air, so you get less condensation.

mmm.... interesting. Certainly sounds plausible.

[Mstock3]

Not too familiar with the features of your Car , but we havent had a problem on our 2010 Avensis since we stopped using the recirc function on the AC not the most efficient way to use it, but I much prefer to see where I'm going. With the recirc function the moisture laden air from wet shoes and occupants is not being exhausted and once the car cools this warm moisture laden air condenses on the cold surface of the windows and subsequently freezes. In fact just recently we ensure that the AC is off and only using it for cooling the car in the warmer summer months, relying on the normal heater functions and haven't had a problem since. We can still use the auto function on the CC but without the recirc or AC being on. Our 98 rav has never frozen on the inside despite the -7 temperatures down here at sea level Somerset and thats with the car being used to transport some very wet dogs, again the AC has not been used at all this winter.

Trust this helps, I would experiment, try not using the recirc function or in fact the AC, the other bonus is better fuel economy more BHP at the wheels.

[pmb]

However my leather equipped Rav suffers badly from this. I think there have been threads in the past about this.

[shcm]

Cabin air filter (behind glove box) condition?

[MarsKy]

However my leather equipped Rav suffers badly from this. I think there have been threads in the past about this.

There have been old threads - I was searching for one which I think came from St Thicket in Norway.

I think he said they let the car cool down before arriving at their destination, and then on arriving, they let the cold air in, so that there is no warm air to form condensation which would later freeze.

I tried it a few times recently, and it seems to work.

[shcm]

I kinda go along with mstock3 about the aircon. It's great for quick demisting, but then if turned off it makes matters worse. I find if you don't use it a pain to begin with, but over a longer time the car is less prone to re-misting. Air temp/humidity same as inside and out makes sense

[Mstock3]

Found this on another forum which deals with some poorer UK manufactured cars, which confirms my thoughts:

"It's simply excessive moisture inside the car and at the moment it is cold enough for that to condense and freeze on the inside of the glass.

It's not necessarily leaks or anything of that nature. If you've been getting into the car with wet clothes or, at the moment, snow on your boots, that is where it is likely coming from. It's exacerbated by having the ventilation on "recirculate", get air into the car by setting it to fresh air and when you can open a window. That will air the car out and help with the problem".

Remember if the AC is consatntly on recirc, where does the moisture laden air go, it just evaporates when hot and condenses when cold and is retained within the car. Car AC units are not fitted with dehumidification units, we need to get the moisture out of the car, which is what MarkSy thread is recommending.

Sorry for the mail sounding a little officious, but as a Building Services engineer this is a similar subject that I have to deal with fairly frequently - damp in buildings, condensation on double glazing units etc all generally due to poor ventilation

[jonjosar]

Cabin air filter (behind glove box) condition?

I,ll second that.

[anchorman]

I,ve been using mine for short trips over the last 2 weeks and sometimes it freezes on the inside and sometimes it doesn't. I know for a fact my cabin filter is OK so I tend to think it must depend on on what the temperature is, what the humidity is and if it is left parked and the sun comes out then it warms up more on the outside than it does on the inside and you get the reverse pint of lager effect - condensation on the inside. As soon as the sun goes down it freezes. It changes from day to day and as along as these fluctuations exist it will keep doing it. I don't think the A/C will affect it much either as even conditioned air that is present in the car when you turn off the engine is dissipated quickly if it isn't lost altogether when you open the door to get out.

[Notebook]

Hi

Had this for about a week a few weeks ago when the cold weather set in - on the weekend gave the windows a damn good clean with maguires? glass cleaner to remove all grease etc - stopped happening straight away.

[bothwell_buyer]

Quite possibly due to the occupants suffering from flu; pneumonia; chest infection; or simply breathing to heavily. Humans exhale massive amounts of water vapour. Thats I why I drink so much - it means the air I exhale already has a de-icer in it

[Notebook]

Ha Ha