Well, I noted, of course, "by northern standards"..... we moved down here from suburban Detroit years ago, am still rockin' shorts and t-shirts, here Like springtime in MI

 

Duly noted. My sister just retired from Ft. Myers' school system. She too is a native Tennessean. She told me about a neighbor who had apparently never lived as far north os the panhandle. During a rare frost, the neighbor was at a loss as to what to do about the strange frozen stuff on his windshield. She taught him a new use for a credit card.

 

Haha I have another use for credit cards....I have a Pick Punch....kinda looks/works like a stapler, but it "punches" guitar picks out of old credit/whatever cards....works great - if carefully manipulated, I can get 6 picks out of one card, but sometimes the raised numbers/letters get awkward when picking, draggin' on strings and all....but I'm fine with not getting 6 picks outta one card - ourselves and my in-laws keep me well supplied with expired cards, so I punch a a few as needed, try to avoid having "raised digits" anywhere near where the pick contacts the strings......but, alas, I digressed from the main topic

 

It is warming up here. It was -3 when I got home late this evening. It is now up to +10 with a high forecast to be +26 today. Sunday night, actually early Monday, -17 is forecast. I have to go somewhere at 7AM so I'll check out the 2016 Fit heater then.

 

The problem I have noticed in winter is the windows fogging over almost immediately after starting the car. I don't know if it is residual moisture in the system or where it is coming from. I don't think it is our breathing because we never had the problem in my Toyota. We have tried both recirculate and fresh settings. I have to turn the fan on high for the first 5 minutes to get it to clear even partially.

I drove yesterday in -°5F weather and the fog turned to frost on the inside of the the window. Even with the fan on full and driving 20 minutes the upper half of the windshield remained iced/fogged over on the inside. Fortunately I had the seat in a pretty low position or I would have had a seriously obstructed view. I think with the angle and size of the windshield the fan just can't clear the top if it is really cold outside. The other problem was the small corner windows frosted over. There was a small area about 2" x 3" that was kept clear by the vents there but the vents are almost worthless. I put my hand over the one on my side and with the fan blowing on full I couldn't feel anything. They were certainly worthless in keeping those pocket windows clear and you really need to see through those windows when turning left corners.

It's supposed to go to almost 20 below F tomorrow night so if I have to drive I'll have to take an ice scraper into the car with me.

 

I've had the same thing happen where the windows, especially the inside of the windshield, fog up before they clear. I've noticed this in many Hondas I've been in over the years. My Fit always does this before it clears up when I turn on defrost.

 

For problems with the windshield fogging/frosting up on the inside, you yourself are the biggest source of moisture in the air in the car, mostly from breathing. Sopping wet/frozen carpeting also doesn't help if you have that.

Do make sure the defroster isn't set to recirculate mode; that way, the air that hits the windshield will be dry air from outside rather than moist air from inside the car.

 

I used to think it was moisture from my breathing that caused the fogging up but it happened today when I started the car, stepped outside and then immediately closed the door. The car idled in park for about 5 minutes, and the windshield fog had cleared up quickly, but it was definitely there even though no one was in the car.

 

This is very strange. I haven't really noticed any fogging problem in the cold or when snowing.

 

Kithkarnon
Wow..... -18F is getting cold for sure. We hit 1 F today and heater worked fine on my 19 mile commute. No highway driving , which I assume will let the engine heat up faster.

 

RainX makes a antifog product. I have not tried it. My work place is across our yard. 😁

 

You need to determine the source of the moisture that is condensing on your windows. Running initially on outside air, not recirculate, when cold also helps as incoming cold air contains very little moisture. I realize it will take a little longer to warm up the vehicle running on fresh outside air. You can always switch once the moisture is gone. I am confused as to where the moisture is coming from as I have never seen this happen on our 3 Honda Fits.

Are you floor mats wet?

I wonder if it could be water pooling somewhere in the air intake. I think not, as if it was it should be frozen now. As previously stated, normally the prime source of moisture on windows when it is very cold is from passengers breathing.

Is your A/C on? I'm wondering if it could be accumulated moisture on the evaporator coil during previous trips. .

I'm sorry I'm not much help.

 

Tried out a piece of cardboard cut to size and wedged in the entire lower opening of the grill. I actually thought it improved the heating situation when I tried it out yesterday.

My only concern now is how to fasten something more permanent that could easily be taken on and off (velcro?). Concern stems from not knowing at what ambient temperature it might cause something to overheat in the engine compartment. Obviously you wouldn't have it in place at 50 degrees, but what about 30 degrees. Is that still okay?

(sorry about the upside down picture, not sure why it did that or how to change it)

 

Nothing out of the ordinary, lol. Had wind chills to -40 Friday night, lol.

 

-23 wind chill here tonight.

I find the heat to be more than enough to keep warm. After 10 minutes of driving, its more than warm enough to turn the HVAC off or down to 1.

Especially with the seat heaters, its perfectly fine.

 

You car doesn't care about "wind chill".

 

True. Redline confirmed that to me several years ago.

 

I did a little experiment tonight. It is now -5 so I ran my Colorado to the store and back while watching the engine temperature on my Scan gauge. It took about 9 miles to reach normal operating temperature. (190 F). Then I ran it on the highway at 55 and saw the temp only vary between 188 and 191.

About 30 minutes later I ran the 2016 Fit on the same trip and got the same results only 2 degrees higher.

Tomorrow morning I'll try the same thing a -17 or whatever the temp is here.

One other thing I tried was running in re-circulation mode AFTER the engine and cab were warmed up. The windows starting frosting after traveling only 2 miles down the road. Obviously the moisture source was my breathing. I went back to normal mode and the windows cleared up in another 2 miles.

So my conclusion on that is never use recirculate in very cold weather.

Both of the vehicles tested warmed up the inside at about the same rate.

 

Interesting experiment n9cv!
When you were driving down the road in either vehicle waiting for the coolant temp to stabilize, I assume you were using the same heater settings?

 

Yes, both heaters were on MAX heat with MAX fan. It was cold outside and driving the first few blocks the heater was blowing cold air. The first 9 miles was driven at 30 to 35 mph with only one stop sign because that is what the speed limits are. On the first trip in the Colorado I stopped at a gas station and went inside to get a cup of coffee to go. I did not stop on the second trip in the Fit because i did not think about it being an issue. Both vehicles were at operating temperature at that point.

I also only did the re-circulation test on the Colorado. Neither vehicle condensed moisture on the windows in normal outside air mode.

I guess I could have also tracked inside temperature but I did not think of it at the time.

Current temp here is -9. I'm hoping for -17, as predicted, by morning and then I'll try it again then.