Front Windscreen Misting Up

[Jonaldo]

Hi All

I've had my SR180 for a few months now and i absolutely love it!

Just one quick question. My windscreen seems to mist up very easily. now i'm not sure if this is down to the weather outside or conditions inside.

I've tried no fan, low fan, high fan, changing the mode to the windscreen heater symbol but nothing seems to work.

Yesterday i was driving to work with the fan off and all was fine. It started to rain and after a few minutes my windscreen started to mist up. Despite putting the fan on etc it seems the only way to get a clear windscreen is by putting the air con on. Which is ok now and again but not all the time.

I'm wondering whether it is the humidity outside compared to inside etc but just wondered if anyone else has any suggestions?

I just find it a bit strange that on my old Nissan i could leave it on low fan and temperature 24/7 hardly ever use the air con and the windscreen would never steam up.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, definitely hasn't put me off the car though!!!!

[Johan007]

I had this issue when I first had the car. It was very difficult to drive the car away from the dealer with it so misted up.

1. I solved it by leaving it to dry on one or two hot days by leaving the windows fully open problem solved.

2. Obviously make sure you do not have the air circulation light on that prevents fresh air from coming in.

One person on this forum found a slight water getting through but I do not know the details...

[GregP]

Check if there is no water in the car: carpets, boot etc. You can turn on A/C hot blow and leave it for a while. That helped with my Auris.

[mbrennan29]

As suggested ensure there is no water in the vehicle. My T-Spirit used to mist up very easily and i couldnt figure out why. I discivered quite a bit of water in the spare wheel well as one of the seals had sprung a leak. Have a good check over the vehicle.

[moonstone mart]

The easiest and quickest way to demist a screen is with the A/C on. Also as said above make sure its not set to re-circ too.

There is no problem with running the A/C everyday for a few mins - this should be done anyway really as it lubricates the A/C system ensuring you dont get dry seals which the gas escapes from.

Mart.

[Beachbuggy]

I have found in my rolla (1999) that when it rains suddenly but heavily, then my windscreen mists up, and to NOT use the air con and use more petrol, I have to make my wipers go faster rather than just fast enough, and aim the fan at the screen and on full blast I have no water in my car either. It only happens to me when it is very heavy rain though.

You can remove the mist quickly using you air con, and in my car i need it to be re circulating to do this, but all the Auris owners above are saying differently. if mine is in re circ without my air con on though then it mists up no matter what the weather very slowly.

[cabcurtains]

My Peugeot 308 (08 Reg) did this, i found that there was a light film of dirt on the inside of the screen that had dried on from the air con. After cleaning the glass with normal glass cleaner it didn't steam up again.

[tdleon]

I too had this problem, both rear doors had water in them as the drain holes had been blocked by wax!, since then its been a lot better but is by far the worst car Ive had for this problem

[keithlittle]

On 7/12/2008 at 1:22 PM, Jonaldo said:

Hi All

I've had my SR180 for a few months now and i absolutely love it!

Just one quick question. My windscreen seems to mist up very easily. now i'm not sure if this is down to the weather outside or conditions inside.

I've tried no fan, low fan, high fan, changing the mode to the windscreen heater symbol but nothing seems to work.

Yesterday i was driving to work with the fan off and all was fine. It started to rain and after a few minutes my windscreen started to mist up. Despite putting the fan on etc it seems the only way to get a clear windscreen is by putting the air con on. Which is ok now and again but not all the time.

I'm wondering whether it is the humidity outside compared to inside etc but just wondered if anyone else has any suggestions?

I just find it a bit strange that on my old Nissan i could leave it on low fan and temperature 24/7 hardly ever use the air con and the windscreen would never steam up.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, definitely hasn't put me off the car though!!!!

I have the same car and same problem. It has been suggested to me that this may be caused when the Air Con is turned off when you try to demist the screen in the first instant and makes it worse. This problem is a real safety issue so I will try the suggest cure and talk to my local Toyota dealer as well.

[FROSTYBALLS]

12 minutes ago, keithlittle said:

I have the same car and same problem. It has been suggested to me that this may be caused when the Air Con is turned off when you try to demist the screen in the first instant and makes it worse. This problem is a real safety issue so I will try the suggest cure and talk to my local Toyota dealer as well.

According to your profile, you don't have the same car - the OP had a 2008 first generation Auris, whereas your profile shows you have a 2015 second generation Auris.

As regards demisting have a look at 

 

[yossarian247]

8 hours ago, keithlittle said:

I have the same car and same problem. It has been suggested to me that this may be caused when the Air Con is turned off when you try to demist the screen in the first instant and makes it worse. This problem is a real safety issue so I will try the suggest cure and talk to my local Toyota dealer as well.

This has been the case on every aircon-equipped car I've driven, and certainly not unique to Toyota. Turning on the aircon demists the screen very quickly, but if you then turn the aircon off the residual moisture trapped in the system evaporates and steams the screen up again. In damp weather to avoid this problem you've really either got to leave the aircon running continuously or just never use it at all. Exactly the same as on the VWs, Fords, Peugeots etc I've owned with aircon too. 

[Steve Whits]

Both the Auris and the Yaris are the worst cars I've had for condensation either when they're parked up or in damp cold weather conditions when driving.  I now carry paper toweling in both vehicles to wipe the screens when necessary.  No water leaks at all and I can't explain it.

[TonyHSD]

No, Toyota is not different from any other car regarding that issue. As already been mentioned, if you tend to use air con to clean the windows  you should keep it on all the time, or for a very long period than when switch off you have to open the windows a bit to let the moisture out, air con helps but also make things  worse. 

1. First of all have you check cabin filter condition, if any dirt is accumulated there can attract and lock moisture in, also after a super heavy rain some water can get there too. This is very often neglected by the dealer service and recommended time for change it’s too long, everyone should change that filter at least twice a year or every 10k miles max. I can show you pictures why. 

2. Air con evaporator drainage may be blocked causing water to stay inside the car and or even leaks inside footwell, this should be check too.

3. Leaking windshield seals are often found to let water goes inside the car and help moisture buildup on the windscreen.

4. There is a drainage gutter under the wipers mechanism outside the car that let all the water from the windscreen drain down and out, if this is blocked by some leaves and dirt it’s also possible to cause flooding and water trapped in and around the air inlets. This can happen to fairly new cars , especially those who are parked under trees and not driven very often. 

Because you mentioned that when the  fan doesn’t run you don’t get much moisture it’s very likely to have on of the above problems or combination of them. 

Worth checking all 4 if you haven’t done so. 

5. The worst and most expensive trouble is a leak in the heater core, but if that is the cause of your moisture than you will notice sweet smell from the coolant and lost of coolant in the coolant reservoir. 

Hope this helps.

Regards 

[eygo]

i have heard of people using household moisture traps in their car

if they couldn't find any leaks to help remove excess moisture.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24627/Lakeland-Non-Spill-Moisture-Trap?gclid=CjwKCAjwhbHlBRAMEiwAoDA344x8GvWowujChMlkx50vRkFrjjVDkOTJsqWTNeJ2xBtszBc65K7YpxoCxocQAvD_BwE&src=gfeed&efid=CjwKCAjwhbHlBRAMEiwAoDA344x8GvWowujChMlkx50vRkFrjjVDkOTJsqWTNeJ2xBtszBc65K7YpxoCxocQAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!105382676909!!!g!43864967885!&ev_chn=shop&ef_id=CjwKCAjwhbHlBRAMEiwAoDA344x8GvWowujChMlkx50vRkFrjjVDkOTJsqWTNeJ2xBtszBc65K7YpxoCxocQAvD_BwE:G:s

 

[Gerg]

I agree with all the above but, whilst unlikely, just to complete the answer, the waterproof membrane just behind the door card would appear to be incorrectly sealed at the factory on some Aurises.  And some water can come in here.

For what it's worth, I have taken the door cards off only four Auris front doors but, two had visible marks where water had leaked into the car, one had a hole where water could leak in but hadn't, one looked perfect.

I think the water entry is most likely if the door membrane mastic seal has come apart by itself, and you often park your car, say, with two wheels on the curb.  The water can drip off the bottom of the window glass and onto the inner membrane.  That much is fine, but the water runs down the membrane, past the mastic that is supposed to stop it and into the car  This would be less of a problem if you were parking with only your front, or,  back wheels on a kerb (perhaps if you learned to drive in southern Italy?).

To see if there is a leak, the entry point is often underneath the front door speaker grille, where the plastic trim rests against the metal door.  Between the two is some foam which can just be felt with your fingertips when you press into the join, if it is wet after rain then some water is entering the car here.  A coloured paper napkin (we have some lovely, red ones left over from Christmas) is often a useful tell-tale to see if there is water, it will go dark if it gets wet when you press it against the foam mentioned above.

HTH.

[eygo]

talc is also good for checking for leaks.

as the talc will be washed away with any drips of water

[Graham47]

After suffering windscreen icing up earlier in the winter months I bought one of these ...

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/interior-car-accessories/air-dry-classic-car-dehumidifier

Happy to report no problems since, even during the current cold, damp mornings when the outside is covered in either condensation or light frost.