Just returned from a trip to Montana for Thanksgiving. It was -12 degrees F on the highway near Helena this morning with heavy snow. For some reason, both the front window defrost and the rear window defrost did not seem to work very well. There was frost build up on the front window from the top 30% of the windshield and up that never would thaw until we got about 60 miles down the road and the temp got warmer (about 20 degrees F). Also, the back window would not defrost even though the rear defroster was on the whole time. We've owned a Fit before (2010) and driven this highway in similar temps and did not experience this.

 

Was the air set to recirculate or fresh-air?

 

It was set to outside air.

 

Weird, performance would be improved as outside air temps move past freezing because the AC system can help remove moisture from the inside of the cabin when defrost mode is active. Was there actual ice build up outside the window or was it humidity inside?

I assume you had the thermostat set to full hot and the fan set to full power? I haven't experienced any defrost issues so far, but It doesn't get as cold in Georgia.

 

I don't find the rear defrost to work well either. I've only used mine to get condensation off in the morning, but it seems like it will be on 10 or 15 minutes before even 80% of the condensation is gone. My old car would clear up in 5 minutes tops in the same conditions.

 

Had the same issue....set your heat to all windows. You'll be fine. I had it set on windows and feet, but that didn't clear up the fog on all the windows in 20f weather

 

I don't know if this is true in US, but in Canada I was called by the Honda dealership to say that my heater for the outside mirrors and rear defroster were ready - what? Apparently a quality control issue. 3 - 4 hr fix. So, that's why my rear defroster did nothing!!

 

I had heard about this issue as well, mine are weak but seem to work.

 

Just called my Honda dealer and the service guy said that it's no longer called a "defroster" but a "defogger" and it's designed to be weaker than previous Fits to help save energy. He said that the engineers designed it to be weaker and that's why it's called a "defogger" now.

 

I don't know if that's true or not. I call shenanigans. The rear defroster, I'll continue to call that, is on a 30 amp fuse and the mirrors are on a 10 amp fuse. That's about the standard average used for the windows and mirrors. The only thing they may have changed is the time intervals it stays on. They may very well have shortened the time duration.

To me that sounds like honda customer service double talk. For those of us who live in very cold climates during the winter it would be an extremely stupid idea to weaken the defroster circuits by any means. In all honesty you are not saving that much electricity or gasoline, you are simply using it over a longer period of time. A defroster requires heat from the copper cross hatch. A defogger requires the A/C to dehumidify the air for the front window at least.

 

Manufacturer Doublespeak, Wrong-Think .... Un-Think ...... Wrong-Do!

 

What time duration? It is on as long as the switch is on. One of the things I discovered after the fact that I am not a fan of.

 

You are correct .... topic is covered/debated/swept up in this thread:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...mpg-issue.html

 

I am in Southern CA, and the last couple weeks my defroster hasn't worked as well as normal (when I turn on the defrost I do heat, outside air and turn on the a/c which is what I was told to do by the dealership). I noticed especially when I left work at 11pm Friday that it was taking a very long time to defrost especially in the back window to the point where I said something to my mom about it as I was driving, and I couldn't see out the back. On Sunday we had an unseasonably (not really for SoCal) warm day and I turned on the a/c. Nothing happened. The a/c was on for over 25 mins and air about the same temp as the outside air was blowing in. I tried it several times and no air. I remembered a couple weeks ago I also turned on the a/c and no air came out. I took my car in yesterday and just received a call this morning that there is " a part that "prematurely" wore down and is leaking freon therefore no a/c"
So....a car that was made in July and bought it August and used a/c on a regular basis for 2 months had a prematurely worn down part? or what I call defective part...I am going to re-post this as a thread but the a/c could be what your issue is as well with the car not defrosting...I am really mad that this is the 4th time in 4 months I have taken the car to the dealership for a variety of issues and I am trading it in as soon as I can afford to..

 

I'm pretty disappointed with the rear defroster, now that I have one! It does seem to be a lot weaker than my 2013 Fit..takes a long, long time to defrost or clear the rear window - finally stop to clean it with a towel or crack a side window..not great.

 

I'm just guessing on this. Short of getting a Honda engineer to confirm this, or someone to sit there with a DMM and watch the voltage until it shuts off and record the duration its on cant be positive. For all I know your defroster may be faulty and require repair.

 

Ron Belisle,

Sorry to hear about this concern. This does seem unusual. We would suggest bringing the vehicle into a Honda dealership for a diagnosis. If you need further assistance with the dealership, please do not hesitate to contact us via PM with your full name, VIN, mileage and dealer so we can better assist you.


Thank you,

Jonathan

 

Hi,

Just joined the forum to specifically research the interior fogging issue. My Fit has about 1500 miles on it and from the first day any cooler/cold weather creates a ton of interior window fog and crystallizing on the interior of the windows. Full blast heat on defrost-window setting can't stop the fogging and interior ice build up. In fact, my car is garaged and starts off with no fog on the windows. By the time I get to work all the other cars at the site (thousands of employees) have had their windows defrost/defog while my car is the only one that has nearly iced over (on the interior). I've owned about 40 different cars in my life and this is the only car that has had this issue. I don't jump in my car wet or do anything weird that would create this issue. It is like I have a humidifier hiding somewhere in the interior. I seriously either got a lemon or something in the design was done poorly. Coming from Columbus OH here. Thoughts? I am super disappointed.

 

Live in Iowa and have been with selling Hondas for almost twenty years. Purchased a 2015 Fit and literally, no joke, have to have the defrost on high and to the hottest setting for there to even be a chance of even getting half of the front side windows cleared, more like one third. Forget about the rear side windows, not happening. I have to switch the the heat to the floor because my feet get to be really cold and that lasts maybe a couple minutes and the windshield and side windows are covered again. At first thought that maybe during the get ready detail, there was some moisture added to the interior, but I've had it a month and it hasn't gotten better. I've even thought of putting a dehumidifier in it over night to see if it just needs dried out for some reason. I won't keep this car if this is how it's going to be. Always nervous about buying the first model year of anything, but usually Honda is great about not releasing something until it is ready to go. Maybe not this time. #concerned, #fustrated, #dissapointed #itsridiculous.

 

You've obviously never owned a vintage VW Beetle!

I'm not having the kinds of problems you and others are describing, but I will say that the heater and defrost in the GK Fit is only "barely adequate." I get heat pretty quickly (blue light goes out), but it still takes a *long* time for the car to warm up (15-20 minutes). The rear defrost also takes a *long* time to melt ice & snow buildup, which is a bit of a safety issue, as the kammback design of the car leads to rapid buildup of snow/dust.

While it's not a heat/defrost issue, it appears my dealer filled my wiper washer fluid tank at PDI with fluid not rated for much below freezing. It's been frozen up for weeks (no heated garage, natch), so I can't even run the washer to help clear the front or rear windows.

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