After the first snowfall of the season, I noticed that on the inside of the car there was significant condensation on the inside of the front windshield. I had to wipe it with my gloved hand, which caused all kind of smearing. I'm sure it's due to bringing snow / water in with me when getting in, and it evaporating. However, I haven't noticed this problem in cars I've owned in the past. Does anyone know more about this and if there's anything you can do to reduce interior window condensation?

 

I don't know what to tell you. I never had this problem yet. I bought my Fit in the middle of last winter (Jan.) I never had this issue once even when we had 5+ inches of snow.
Hope you figure it out.

 

Been having cold, wet weather here too. Just have to leave your defrost on for the first 5 minutes or so and then you can run your heater as you please.

 

Be sure that the outside air intake is clear (remove snow) and use the AC with the fan on high for a few minutes.

 

Ditto here, I just sit in the car for a few minutes....

 

Did you leave the switch in re-circulate mode? That would make it harder for the moisture to escape.

 

I almost always leave it on recirculate, maybe that's my problem.

 

I never use recirculate.

 

yeah I don't get the recirculate craze. My wife does it all the time and then cycles the A/C on and off to clear the windows. It drives me nuts. But she has other redeeming qualities and besides I have an automatic.

Even on outside air, I find I have to turn on the A/C some days when the temp is above 50 and it's a rainy day in GA. I don't wait for the windows to drip to do that.

OK when it's hot out I use recirculate to help the weak A/C do its job. But I flip it back on outside air before leaving the car so the evap coil dries out.

 

my car does that too sometimes. worst is when that condensation just freezes inside the window and it takes like 15min just to defrost it so that you can drive it. hahaha.

wat seems to work for me is (obviously using fresh air mode with a/c on or defrost on while driving) and just before parking the car, change the vent setting to the top vents. the heat from the engine seems to not draft back onto the window when you do this. give it a shot and see if that works.

also try to minimize tracking in snow inside the car. (kick your boots together to rid snow while entering car) less moisture, better chance of not getting condensation.

 

what is snow?

move to so cal.

hahaha.

another vote for outside air use. that should clear things up.

 

ahh i had the same problem. and then i found out there was a defroster

 

Condensation on the inside of cold glass is normal. Your breath has a lot of moisture and that water will condense on cold glass in a heartbeat. see if you can run your a/c while in defrost as many Hondas can do. that will help a lot.
Running on recirculation and a/c should correct most condensation relatively quickly. Does here where temp gets in low 20's. In -10F it should still work but may take a while even if you run fan on high (more air run thru the a/c the quicker it get dehumidified).

 

I too am having major interior ice problems. I had to go yesterday in minus 40 with the wind chill . Stormy ran like a charm and give lots of interior heat but.....I couldn't see anything after a few blocks due to the thick build up of ice. Help anyone!! She doesn't want to spend the whole winter in the garage and we have long winters up here in Alberta , Canada.

 

Good advice here on defrosting last winter; make sure that the end vents are closed when you run the defroster. This puts maximum heat/air on the windshield.

Regarding the 'recirc' position, it's not odd to see Japanese cars with fogged windows due to the driver not knowing to take it out of recirc. I use it briefly to hasten warm-up, but then I shift to outside air.
Moon

 

I do believe that I will NOT use the recirc. when using the defrost setting despite what it show on the controls. I have never had this problem using outside air before. Another suggestion I have gotten is to try the air conditioning mode to try and dry out the air. Can't wait to get this problem licked as Stormy is all dressed up with her winter tires and wants to play in the snow.

 

LOL, I'd take snow over paying $400 for registration plus more for inspection etc. We only pay less than a $100 for plates/registration a year out in Illinois and the inspection is free and I can put just about whatever I damn well please in my car as long as it doesn't trip an OBD2 code. California is just too expensive for me.

 

Actually, the A/C IS activated when the defroster is engaged on the Fit.

 

I think you've got it backwards. The controls want you to use outside air with the defroster. I always keep mine on outside air. The only time I shift to recirc. is if I smell a skunk or other foul-smelling odor coming from outside.

 

$400 for registration...wow I guess that's the price of paradise. Up here in the frozen north we pay $70 Canadian and have the privalige of looking at snow for 6 months of the year. Gonna do the outside air thing like I've done with every other car I've ever had. Got to go out tonite and it will be about 25 to 30 below.Will post if it worked or not.