hello, my fiance and i both have problems with ice/frost forming on the inside of our car windows in the winter. i drive a '96 honda civic, he drives an '03 passat wagon. any suggestions for how to get rid of ice on the inside? thank you!
Ice can’t form unless there is excess moisture. One or more of the following would apply to this situation:
*Make sure that you DON’T have the HVAC system set to recirculate. Taking it out of recirculate mode will get rid of most of the excess moisture, and will also help to protect you against CO poisoning.
*During snowy conditions, be sure to knock as much snow off of your boots as possible when entering the car.
*If you commonly carry several passengers, try to get them to shut up for awhile! Too much talking by too many people can also lead to excess moisture on the interior windows in the winter.
*If there is an oily film associated with the icy build-up, you could have a bad heater core leaking coolant into the interior of the car, so if the first two or three options don’t take care of things, then you should investigate this possibility.
The fastest way to get rid of excess moisture in the interior is to run the HVAC system on defrost, since this causes the A/C compressor to run, and this will dry out the interior. Just be sure that the HVAC system is not set to recirculate the air!
VDC said everything I was going to say, and better! Well, I would add: to get rid of excess moisture it can help to leave windows open, even just a little bit. Bring damp floor mats inside to dry. Sometimes a lot of moisture is trapped in carpet and padding. To drive it out remove the floor mats and run an electric heater in the car while it is parked, with windows opened enough to let the moisture out.
I can add my .02 cents. As a smoker I have noticed the film caused by smoking in a car causes moisture to “stick” to the windows. If you keep them clean it also prevents the ice problem along with other reccomendations.
Don’t park in the shade during Winter. Crack the window on the sunny side a tiny bit and the sun will evaporate the moisture. Drain the trunk helps if it is full of water. Open the trunk for a second and smell it. If it smells like a swamp you will have to let it dry out a lot.
I found when my wife leaves partially filled unsealed water bottles in the car I have these problems more often. Try to keep these sources out beyond cleaning up boots etc.
one point, the 03 Passat does NOT turn on the AC in defrost mode. Push the AC button.