All steamed up

[Dev]

Hi all,

I'm having some problems with my A2 windows (all of them) fogging up while I'm driving. I don't think there's a water leak, and no personal problems in that area, so my guess is poor ventilation. The doesn't respond too well to turning the heating right up. I can see how air gets into the A2, but how does it get out? If I knew that, maybe I can check for a blockage.

Thanks.

[ben]

Hi,

Do you have A/C or climate? Is this a recent occurence? My other car's A/C compressor packed up - leading to lots of internal condensation.

Ben

[Dev]

Sorry, I should have said. I don't have A/C.

Thanks,

Dev

[ULP]

When I switch the climate off (i.e. use the Econ button that stops the compressor) the car soon steams up and I think this is probably down to it's tight-fitting seals to get a smooth external shape. In particular, I find the horizontal part of the rear window steams-up because of heat rising and condensing on the cold glass.

My suggestion would be to crack the window open a little bit, turn the fan-up and keep the heating to comfortable rather than maximum-heat

[hollyrescue]

I always understood that best and fastest de-misting was with the air con ON, by switching to econ you are switching air con OFF. This was certainly true in the last 4 cars I have owned. Switch econ Off if you want efficient de-misting. Try it.

[ULP]

I always understood that best and fastest de-misting was with the air con ON, by switching to econ you are switching air con OFF. This was certainly true in the last 4 cars I have owned. Switch econ Off if you want efficient de-misting. Try it.

Yes, that's what I do. However, Dev hasn't got A/C and I was illustrating the car steams up quickly without it, with my suggestion being to crack the window open instead.

However, I just turn 'econ' off and the misting-up goes!

[hollyrescue]

Sorry , I didn't look far enough back in the threads.

[GrayB]

I used to find that from time to time I needed to go round the insides of the windows with a leather when there was plenty of condensation formed. This certainly removes the water from the car, rather than evaporating it only for it to condense again later.

Also, check for dried leaves etc. in the air intake blocking drain holes there. My father currently has this problem in his A6 (old model 1995).

[Alan_uk]

This is my first winter with the A2 and it's annoying, if not dangerous. I have climate control which I normally leave on. The problems seems worse where there are 2 or more people in the car. It can happen very suddenly. Last week I was returning across Salisbury Plain with 2 people including myself. I thought for a moment we had hit fog but it was misting on the front windscreen and front side windows. The outside temp had dropped to 4 or 5 I recall.

I then pressed the front screen demisting button but had to quickly resort to dropping speed and using a cloth. After some minutes it began to clear. The fan is so noisy that I have to turn demisting off, but the condensation appears again quite soon. I find that the side windows do not clear with the demisting on making it difficult to see the wing mirrors.

I've been experimenting with increasing the fan speed to moderate and selecting the top vents option with demisting off. This helps a bit. Maybe the answer is to wear warmer cloths and have a cooler cabin temperature (I usually have it set at 22).

[ben]

This is precisely the problem I was having with my other car when the temperature sensor on the A/C compressor packed up - the system thought it was cool enough outside - so switched the cooling/dehumidifying system off. However - it was fairly obvious the system had failed as it was blowing warm air out.

It would be acceptable to have internal condensation when the car is cold, but your windows shouldn't suddenly start misting up whilst driving (unless one of your passengers suddenly starts to produce loads of hot air).

Does your CC feel as if it's working correctly - i.e. does it push out cool air?

Probably worth getting the garage to check it out anyway (assuming it's still under warranty).

Ben

[Shaf]

Hi Alan uk,

It sounds as though you are overriding the climate control system and thereby not utilising it at its optimim efficiency.

The inside of the windows misting up suggests you have the red light lit up in the Econ button. This in fact indicates that the air con is switched off, hence your windows misting up.

Set your ideal temperature, press the auto button and make sure the red light in the Econ button is off (this means the air con is on) and let the system get on with what it's designed to do. If you need to override it for a short time for any reason do so but then make sure you press the auto button to reset it to auto climate control.

Hope that helps.

Shaf

[Alan_uk]

Hi Alan uk,

It sounds as though you are overriding the climate control system and thereby not utilising it at its optimim efficiency.
Shaf

Thanks Shaf. Sorry, I forgot about this thread.

I definately had it on Auto. As I said, it suddenly started to mist up. From memory it happened when the outside temp suddenly drop as I went over Salisbury Plain. That would make the windows colder and cause condensation. Though something similar happened some weeks earlier in Swindon (nothing is high in Swindon!).

Ben seems to suggest the CC has an outside temperature sensor that may not be working. But I would have thought that the CC is governed by the inside temp and comparing that to the setting on the CC dash.

If it happens again I will check that when the front demist is on whether the air blowing onto the window is warm or cold and then check with Audi. I would have thought that it should be blowing warm air on as warm air absorbes moisture and will "soak up" the moisture on the windscreen.

[spike]

Hi Alan
The sudden misting happened to my car a couple of months back. As it's almost 5 years old I assumed the air con needed re-gassing. Although there were no warning lights on, I had it checked for fault codes and found the sensor which measures air temp after the condenser core had failed. The sensor was only £15 - but I had to remove the whole dashboard to fit it.
As your car is in warranty, have it checked out by the dealer

Cheers Spike

[hmy7k]

The climate control will switch off the compressor when the outside temp drops below 5 to prevent the condenser freezing. You will find that climate will not help to demist the car when the external temperatures are below 5. You have to resort to the demist button and put up with the noise.

This doent help with the original question but it might explain why a car with climate can suddenly start to mist up.

HTH

Nigel

[SimonT]

I recently has a problem with condensation in my car, I later found a pool of water sitting in the boot... Water was coming in through a grommit under the nearside rear light cluster (behind the bumper)...

[GrayB]

I recently has a problem with condensation in my car, I later found a pool of water sitting in the boot... Water was coming in through a grommit under the nearside rear light cluster (behind the bumper)...
Hmm, someone posted a picture of this in another thread! Time for a quick search back...