Condensation, Anyone else suffering?

[guest4871]

...and the spare wheel well for swimming pools.

I know the rear leaks are generally a mk.1 thing, but door seals can fail on anything.

The rear ventilation holes in the boot should be clear to air too (not blocked by stuff in the boot).

[RayS]

Mine also gets a lot of condesation. So did my previous mk1 also. In addation to what has been suggested, remember to set your air vents to "recirculation" overnight. This will prevent moist air from entering the car during the night. Also a little tip I picked-up off the radio that does seem to work, is to lower both sun visors while demisting. This reflects air from the blower back onto the windscreen & does help to demist the top sections of the glass. 

[SuperCNJ]

Contrary to the advice a lot of car manufacturers give about clearing condensation (i.e. using the A/C to clear it) I personally think this is the worst advice to give particularly if you're on a long journey.

Yes the A/C does clear the condensation and usually quite quickly. But as it makes the glass colder, as soon as you turn it off, it attracts even more condensation. So you have to keep it running all the time, which is fine if you're not concerned about fuel economy, losing engine power or a very cold cabin in the winter. Although in my experience I do find that using the AC is a bit hit and miss, it doesn't always clear the whole windscreen.

The best way to do it imho is to use the hot air.

Blast hot air onto the windscreen on full fan speed and max heat with the windows closed but recirculation off.  Once it has cleared, you need to open the windows for a few seconds to let the now humid air out. Then turn down the fan and heat to lowest settings to maintain the clear windscreen.

This does several things.

1. Raises temperature of the glass so its less susceptible to further condensation
2. Evaporates the condensation on the glass
3. Keeps the cabin nice and warm
4. Uses less fuel
5. Melts any snow left on the windscreen in the winter
6. Doesn't zap engine power

I've been doing this for as long as I can remember and this is by far the best method in my experience.

[culzean]

Well I have never had a problem with misting windows in warmer weather,  but it happens in colder weather when the glass is cold anyway and the inside of the car is warm - so i doubt that in cold weather the aircon is gonna make the glass any colder than it already is... but by removing the moisture from the air with aircon it robs the air in the car of the moisture it requires to mist up the glass.  Using warm air without aircon warms the air inside the car without taking the humidity out,  and because warm air can hold more moisture than cold air it jut creates a fug in the car like a sauna.   I'll stick with aircon ......

[Jocko]

SuperCJN. I do not have AC on my Jazz, but I did on my previous car, and it made no appreciable difference to fuel consumption, no detectable diminishing of performance, and the heater was perfectly capable of blasting out hot air with the AC on. Apart from a couple of early tankfuls, when I didn't use it to check its effect on mpg, it was on constantly for over 9 years.
What I do agree with is it can chill the windscreen. On a humid summers day, when the heater was turned off, condensation would form on the outside of the windscreen, just above the demist vents.

[ColinB]

... it makes the glass colder, as soon as you turn it off, it attracts even more condensation. So you have to keep it running all the time, which is fine if you're not concerned about fuel economy, losing engine power or a very cold cabin in the winter.

This sounds like a misunderstanding, you need to use both heat and A/C together to clear condensation. You need to direct warm, dry air onto the screen, so you use the A/C to dry the air, and the heater to warm it. So to clear initial condensation you need A/C on, full heat, full fan, vent selector set to screen. Doing it without the A/C means you’ll be directing warm moist air onto a cold screen. Running the A/C does not make the cabin cold if you select a comfortable heat setting ... but I certainly notice the increase of humidity if I turn the A/C off !

As for “zapping the engine power”, and using more fuel, I suppose that strictly you are correct (the power to run the A/C has to come from somewhere), but any such effects seem undetectable.

[nrgmilano]

Seems to have been a problem with every jazz we have hadand yes aircon gets rid

[plasma]

I have found Aircon needs to be on almost continually in winter months, in conjunction with the heater.

Ditto - I run mine permanently - always have, always will.

+1

Plasma.

[peteo48]

On the aircon/fuel economy conundrum I think I'm right in thinking that modern systems are much more efficient these days. You hear claims that it reduces fuel consumption by 10% but I absolutely have not found this to be the case on the more recent cars I've owned.

[ColinS]

On the aircon/fuel economy conundrum I think I'm right in thinking that modern systems are much more efficient these days. You hear claims that it reduces fuel consumption by 10% but I absolutely have not found this to be the case on the more recent cars I've owned.

In hot weather it is far more efficient to run aircon than it is to increase the air drag on the car by winding the windows down.  Mine is on all of the time, summer and winter.

[springswood]

My Mk1 will only properly demist with the air con on. Warm air without the air con will keep the windows clear now the weather's cooler. I suppose because the greater heating of the air means its relative humidity drops further.

I tend to keep a close eye on economy but I can't say I've been able to notice a significant difference when the air con is running. 10% I would notice.

[Jocko]

My Mk1 will only properly demist with the air con on.

My Mk1 doesn't have air con but I find that as long as the blower is on 3 or 4 the windows don't mist up, with the exception of the rear screen. It benefits from the rear screen heater.