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I say excessive for several reasons. I live in Portland, so rain is always an issue, and whenever I let my V70 sit in said rain for ~24 hours, or when I get in the car after being wet myself, I end up dealing with what I consider to be abnormal window fogging, meaning exceptionally heavy. I understand that some fogging is normal, especially when getting into the car wet. Sometimes I have to pull over because I can't see, and it feels like a swamp inside. When I use defrost and the air conditioning kicks in, it appears to help take care of the excessive moisture at a normal rate, but its only treating the symptom.
This morning was a good example. After sitting in the rain unused for 48 hours, I got in completely dry on a dry morning, and as soon as the blower kicked in to give me heat, I started getting fogging on the front windshield and front side windows. The fogging generally moves from the front to the back.
I think I've got water collecting in the interior of the car somewhere that is contributing to this issue. I've checked carpets for wetness, etc, and haven't found anything obvious other than after rain, I can roll my driver's window down and it will come up wet a day or two after, but it seems hard to believe that a wet driver's door inside would do this to a car. I do have a sunroof.
I'm hoping people here can give me the top places to look for hidden water, or if there's another avenue I should be exploring for this issue. Thanks!
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It looks like I solved the issue, although having changed two things, I can't pinpoint what really did it. Poor scientific method, but when your windows are fogging, you just want it fixed!
I suspect that the gaggle of leaves and dirt surrounding the intake filter under the cowl was the real culprit. The fogging only really occurred when the fan started sucking in air, and the engine warmed up a bit. If the warm engine began heating whatever moisture was trapped under there, a fair bit could have gotten into the cabin that way.
Hopefully this will continue as our rainy season cranks up. We've already gotten 3 inches in the last week.
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DrJ,
Do you park facing up hill, down hill, or flat? Is the window damp on the inside or outside when you roll it up?
Things to check:
Sunroof drains, there are 2 in the front. Use a measuring cup and pour a cup of water in each drain hole noting that a lot of water does come out below the A pillar areas. Cleaning out the drains is not fun. If water does not drain, it can build up enough to fill up the overhead lights and drip on the center console.
If you have removable load bars on your car, take them off and condition the door seals. The load bars are to be used sparingly, not a permanent fixture.
Open the hood and check the fitment of the cover attached to the bottom of the windshield. It should be nice and snug against the glass. Remove any leaves that collect there.
The bottom of the doors have small weep holes that can become clogged. Use a toothpick to dig out any dirt that has accumulated.
The above assumes that the heater core is not leaking any antifreeze.
Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.
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Thanks for the thoughts as always Klaus.
I'll check the sunroof drains. So far, no evidence of internal liquid water in headliner, lights, or dash.
Car is parked flat. Window is damp on the outside only. All other windows come up dry. I'll check the door drain holes.
Replaced the heater core a year ago because of anti-freeze fogging. I'm familiar with the smell and symptoms of that issue and it doesn't seem to be present here.
No load bars to interfere with door top seals. When I aggressively wash the car, I never see evidence of interior water. It only seems to happen after long term exposure, like rain.
I'll report back.
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Reporting back, and have found some interesting things.
Checked the sunroof drains, everything appears clear. Checked the windshield cowl cover and discovered that the drainpipes were pretty blocked up, which would allow water to stand in the cowl. I also purchased a replacement cabin filter, and so removed the cowl and discovered a second set of drain pipes when water gets under the cowl. On the passenger side, next to the cabin filter intake, there was a bunch of leaves and debris that indicated there may have been standing water there. Cleaned and cleared everything out, thinking that standing water right by the cabin intake may have caused some of the issues.
I went around and examined all the door drains, a small hole at the front and back bottom rim of the door. When I got to the driver's door, I noticed that there were no holes visible, so I took a dental pick and pressed into the paint in the locations I thought the holes should be. The pick pressed right through the layer of paint into the door. I spent some time clearing out all the excess paint to discover that there were holes being covered. I'm not sure if the door came like this from the factory, or if was resprayed at some point, but for whatever reason, those holes were covered. I removed the door panel and noticed that there were water lines on the bottom of the door indicating there was standing water perhaps 1 inch deep in the bottom of the door at certain points. I also noticed that water marks were leading down the inside of the door wall from the door handle. My guess is that water would seep into the door during rain, and pool in the bottom of the door. Perhaps this also lent itself getting moist inside the car, although I'm not sure what path it would have taken.
So everything is cleared out at this point and I'm waiting for some rain to see how well it fairs. Hopefully one of those two issues will fix the problem!
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Thanks for posting this,
The windshield in my 99 has just started doing this.
Report back and let us know if cleaning the drains and replacing the filter helped out.
Thanks
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Jake
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I am beginning to experience this with my '00 V70. I replaced the heater core in the spring and the cabin filter at the same time. I replaced my thermostat about 1 month ago. I don't remember it being like this last year. It takes far too long to clear the windows. I will be watching this post for solutions and will let you know if I have a Eureka moment.
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