Windows Steaming Up

[nam-thip]

I have a problem in that my windows keep steaming up making it difficult to see out of the windows. Can anyone tell me what causes this problem.

[Lorna2]

Have you got the air set to recirculate? If you set the heater to 'fresh air' and put the air con it should clear the steam quickly :)

[Geoff Peace]

I have a problem in that my windows keep steaming up making it difficult to see out of the windows. Can anyone tell me what causes this problem.

Examine underneath the carpets particularly the passenger side if there is a rainwater leak it will cause this problem as the felt underlay will be wet.

Regards Geoff Peace.

[alfiejts]

It may just be that your floor mats are wet after all the recent rain.....

Any dampness that's got inside the car from wet clothes, wet umbrellas & off wet footwear will need to dry out and be vented from the car otherwise you'll continue to get steamed up windows.

You may not have a "real" problem, but if you never vent the moisture from the car, it will just stay there steaming up the windows every time the car gets warm and it evaporates.

Firstly, if the floor mats are wet, take them out of the car and dry them against a radiator in the house. I check them every couple of weeks when I was the car.

Next, when the car is warmed up and youre driving down the road, open the windows and let the warm moist air get out of the car.

Make a habit of doing that on a dry day when the car is warm and you'll get rid of any trapped moisture. If you are lucky enough to live in a "safe" area and have a driveway, you can open all your doors for 5 minutes on a warm dry day to completely change the warm moist air in the car with fresh dry air....

As others suggest, you may still have a leak letting water in from somewhere that is causing excess moisture, but it may simply be that you don't allow the water that gets into your car naturally to vent out.

[kingsimz]

the last post is brill advice!!! thank you :)

[Gasmater]

If it's none of the above check your cabin filter

[Julesta]

I've got a new Yaris ( brand new in January) and mine does  exactly the same. 

I took it back to the dealership as a piece of the foam around the windscreen came out and also it was ( still is) steaming up. 

They tested and said everything is water tight and could find no leaks. I now need to take it back again. The only issue as love the car.

[stantheman1]

Make sure the air vent is set to outside air and not set to recirculate.

[Elaine1]

I got a brand new Yaris 2 weeks ago, windows also steaming up. Never had this before with previous cars to anything like this extent. Very odd.

[FROSTYBALLS]

As in the previous post, check that the air control is not set to recirc.

[Elaine1]

Yes I found that I had to do this and did set it to recirculate after checking the manual. The fact remains that the fogging is excessive and impedes visibility until it clears and it also doesn’t clear completely from the windscreen drivers side.  It’s not what I expect from a brand new car which I otherwise like a lot.

[FROSTYBALLS]

My post advised not to set it to recirc.

If you want efficient demisting, especially in winter, use the air conditioning or climate control together with the heater. The air conditioning dries the air.

[Elaine1]

It wasn’t recirculated, used wrong terminology, was the fresh air option. Aircon constantly I imagine will use up petrol and not something I’ve had to use with previous cars. Find this disappointing, seems to be a flaw.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I didn't advise using the air con constantly.  

If you think you have an issue, take it back to the dealer.

[Sooty]

Try putting a couple of Silica Gel bags under the front seats. You get those bags in any electrical goods wrapping.

[Mick F]

8 hours ago, Elaine1 said:

 Aircon constantly I imagine will use up petrol and not something I’ve had to use with previous cars. Find this disappointing, seems to be a flaw.

Aircon does not use more petrol.

Leave it on permanently.  We've done that for the last three cars, and one of them we had for 12years and the aircon was never turned off nor was ever a problem.

Aircon is just that, an air conditioning unit.  It dries the air and you can be hot, warm, cool or cold.  Dry air in a car makes for a happy car.

Mick.

[Stivino]

27 minutes ago, Mick F said:

Aircon does not use more petrol.

That's not the case; you don't get something for nothing.

[mrpj]

54 minutes ago, Mick F said:

Aircon does not use more petrol.

Yes it does, the energy required has to come from somewhere. e.g. the energy contained in fuel.

In the context of total consumption, not much though.

Steaming up when parked for a few hours, steaming up when driving? Wet clothes, wet carpet from those wet clothes, wet seat(s) from those wet clothes?

[Catlover]

9 hours ago, Elaine1 said:

It wasn’t recirculated, used wrong terminology, was the fresh air option. Aircon constantly I imagine will use up petrol and not something I’ve had to use with previous cars. Find this disappointing, seems to be a flaw.

If your Yaris is a hybrid (you not given details) then the air con would be electrically driven so not using petrol. 

[stantheman1]

It's the time of year when fogging/misting starts to show and it'll be even worse come winter time, every time someone gets into the car when it's been raining are dramatically raising humidity levels, this is made worse from short journeys where the cabin has not had sufficient air changes, coupled to the fact that outside humidity levels are extremely high if not at saturation point then the car's ventilation system will be fighting a loosing battle unless the AC is used. Yes it does consume a little more fuel when it's in this mode but only marginally but so would using the rear window demister or anything that loads the engine/electrical system. So fogging or misting is normal under certain conditions unless there's a leak somewhere. I use my AC on such occasions at this time of year as I prefer to be comfortable and safe

[Stivino]

31 minutes ago, Catlover said:

If your Yaris is a hybrid (you not given details) then the air con would be electrically driven so not using petrol. 

Even that has to be paid for.  I repeat, You don't get something for nothing.

[Parts-King]

11 hours ago, Elaine1 said:

Yes I found that I had to do this and did set it to recirculate after checking the manual. The fact remains that the fogging is excessive and impedes visibility until it clears and it also doesn’t clear completely from the windscreen drivers side.  It’s not what I expect from a brand new car which I otherwise like a lot.

You will also need to have the blower motor ON at least at lowest setting. I see no end of people complain that the car steams up yet they insist on turning the blower off. Personally my blower/AC is never off, I use it all year round and just turn the heat up/down as required. People often think AC is only used on the cold setting in the summer, you can use the warm setting for winter as well 

[stantheman1]

10 minutes ago, Parts-King said:

You will also need to have the blower motor ON at least at lowest setting. I see no end of people complain that the car steams up yet they insist on turning the blower off. Personally my blower/AC is never off, I use it all year round and just turn the heat up/down as required. People often think AC is only used on the cold setting in the summer, you can use the warm setting for winter as well 

I never thought for one minute people don't use the blower motor, it's no wonder the glass fogs up. We use ours all year round as well.

[Parts-King]

Yep, happens on a regular basis, and also only thinking you can use A/C in the summer 🙄

[Mick F]

2 hours ago, Stivino said:

Even that has to be paid for.  I repeat, You don't get something for nothing.

Of course not.  Plain physics.

I was replying to the assumption that "aircon uses more petrol".

There are many things - or driving styles - that use "more petrol", and aircon doesn't use any more petrol than driving badly, in fact far far less.

Once the car is dry, and once the car is running and the engine is warm, the aircon demand is minimal, and perhaps miniscule.   It's a myth that "aircon uses more petrol"  because it doesn't.  Hybrids use electricity and non-hybrids use a belt driven from the engine.

This is me.  Speaking as a long-term aircon user with conventional ICE cars and as a hybrid user too.  Believe me or not, it's up to you.

Mick.