I just bought an 08 Yaris liftback, and have noticed that it is not defrosting well. To be fair, it is below zero, but other cars’ windows seem defrosted, while all of mine are steamed up w/ the defroster running full speed. As things turned out, the dealer was kind of shady, and I want to make sure there isn’t some problem w/ this specific car. Have other Yaris drivers noticed this issue?
I would guess it is one of four things.
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Recirculate! If you don’t have the fresh air on there is no way to remove moisture. Make sure your heater/AC/defrost controls are not set to recirculate. It needs to be on fresh air.
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You and maybe others just came in from a wet outside and your damp clothing and warm moist breath is just too much for the system, you may need to open a window a little.
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You could have a leak in the heater core. Is there a sweet smell in the air?
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The drain on the fresh in intake (the grill right in front of the windscreen) could be clogged. I doubt if this is the one since normally that water would be frozen at below zero.
Just make sure you have the vent set for outside air (not recirculate). I know on older Toyota’s you would have to turn all the little thumb wheels on the dash vents closed to force all the air to come out of the defroster. Now how that was ever thought of as quality I will never know. I Don’t know if thats still the case however.
Those controls can be confusing. My 07 defrosts very well. I haven’t had it below zero yet in Mid Maine, not near the mountains; they’re fifty miles away.