I sold my 1998 V70 to my brother. When I owned it the vehicle resided in the garage. It is now kept outside in New Hampshire where, when the temperature drops, it has been found with condensation frozen on the inside of the front windshield. The first time this happened, my siser-in-law contacted the dealer who told her that they had had several complaints THAT DAY mentioning the same problem but had no solution. Needless to say, this is not what a mother of a 3 1/2 yr. old and 10 month old twins needs to be dealing with when she leaves the house. She is distressed that none of the North American cars in the parking lot have the same problem. Any ideas??

Jane

I have the same condensation problem with my 850 wagon. The problem is worse after we've had a few recent snowfalls. The snow gets tracked into the car, where it accumulates on the floor, melts, and raises the humidity level on the interior of the car.

My car is equipped with ecc (electronic climate control). I don't ever use the recirc setting, so I don't think this is the cause of the problem you describe. Further, I understand that the a/c operates all the time, removing condensation from the interior of the car. Even so, I still must resort to scraping the interior of the windshield some mornings before backing the car out of the driveway. When practical, I also drive with the passenger window cracked open a little to release some of the humid air. Finally, when too much moisture accumulates, I get out the shop vac to dry up the floor trays and carpet.

Have they had recent snowfalls in NH, and has snow accumulated inside the car? This might account for the problem you brother is experiencing.

Neil

One other item to add to the other posts... last winter I had a similar problem, that I attributed to my kids tracking snow on their boots into the car. As a result the carpeting under the floor mats became wet and it took me quite some time to dry them out. It also caused my car to smell like a swamp due to all the moisture that was trapped in the car. This year my solution was to purchase rubber mats that hold more water before they overflow and get the carpeting wet, that and the habit of kicking snow off boots before entering the car.

To add to both replys, turn the knob to full defrost (straight up) and that will activate the AC automaticly. The green light will come on at the AC indicator. That will evacuate the moisture fastest. I understand this is also best for the evaporator. After the front window clears then move it back to say 3 o'clock or whatever.

She must have the re-cirulating switch activated like suggested below. Pointless to drive with that on.

In addition to Sin's idea, you may want to suggest to your sister inlaw to run the heat with AC on. This will dry up the air in the vents and cause much less condensation. Also, make sure she is not using "recirculation" mode constantly. First of all it's not that good to breath recirculated air for long periods of time, second, recirculated air collect a lot of moisture from breathing and there is no place for moisture to go, since no fresh air is entering the car and no moist air exits the car in the recirculation mode (well, some air does circulate of course, but for illustration purposes I try to stay in the absolutes). So, make sure the system is in "fresh air" mode and if it wasn't, that should cure the problem all by itself. I see so many paople driving around in rainy weather with all the windows completely fogged up trying to wipe the moisture from the glass, and I bet 9 out of 10 of those people have their systems in recirculation mode. I often turn on the AC during the winter to clear up condensation. It is good for the AC (keeps things lubrivcated during the low-use time) and good for my visibility.

Good luck.
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Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

Yah, spend an extra couple minutes defrosting the vehicle, or to totally eliminate the problem, turn the temp on the HVAC to cooler temperatures to turn the heating system off in the HVAC. It's not that big of a deal.

Assuming nothing is malfunctioning, which I say is safe, as the dealership reported many similar reports, it is because when you run the heating system in your car, the warm moist air condenses on the cold window. When she turns off her car, there is still warm air in the ducts of the HVAC, especially those of the defroster, as well as the heating element still being warm, still warming air in the HVAC ducting, which through convection, will make it's way out towards the upper vents.

So to prevent it, turn the HVAC temperatures down low for the last couple miles or so of driving. And to cure it, run the defroster for longer.

Trust me, I'm sure not all of the "North American cars in the parking lot" were free from this problem that day.