Air conditioning

[BarryM]

Hi all,

After a couple of weeks with the i3s we've had some wet weather the last couple of days and the windows steam up pretty quick which is disappointing.

I leave the air con running permanently regardless of weather and have moved the fan to the middle position in the wet weather (as I have done in all my other cars) but this is the first car in years where it's been a problem. If I put the front window demister on temporarily it clears the windows as it puts the fan onto max speed but that's not a practical solution.

Has anyone else come across this, I guess maybe my air con needs re-gassing but the car is only 3 years old!

 

[mojo]

If I put the front window demister on temporarily it clears the windows as it puts the fan onto max speed but that's not a practical solution.

Why do you say that it's not a practical solution? Surely that's what the demist function is designed for?

I don't think what you're experiencing is too unusual. My car is always garaged when not being driven (so it is very unlikely to suffer significant rainwater ingress), and I get the same symptoms when it's cold outside and I first drive into rain. I just turn on the demist and after a few minutes it's clear again - I can then turn the fan speed back down again and it does not re-occur for the rest of the journey.

 

[BarryM]

Why do you say that it's not a practical solution? Surely that's what the demist function is designed for?

I don't think what you're experiencing is too unusual. My car is always garaged when not being driven (so it is very unlikely to suffer significant rainwater ingress), and I get the same symptoms when it's cold outside and I first drive into rain. I just turn on the demist and after a few minutes it's clear again - I can then turn the fan speed back down again and it does not re-occur for the rest of the journey.

Thanks for your reply, I probably should have added that although the demist function does indeed clear the windows, once I turn it off and revert to the middle fan speed the windows begin to mist up again within a few mins so I need to alternate between on/off with the demister which isn't what I'd expect.

 

[mojo]

Have you checked the carpets for evidence of rainwater ingress? It seems fairly common for the rear footwells to get wet, and that will mean a perpetually steamy interior when the heating's on.