Leon Screen Misting/Demisting.

[Wheely]

I must say of all the cars I've owned, I think my Leon has the worse screen misting of them all (they dont leak and I've now owned 3 Leons). When I go to my car in the works carpark, my Leon generally looks a little more steamed up than the other cars.

To make matters worse, the screen channel for blowing demisting air onto them is pretty naff too. Thus even with aircon full demist on, this can sometimes take a bleedin age.

So I was wondering what the cheap in-car heaters are like for helping rapid screen demist ?? (naff I probs recon). Like these :

Link

....and would they help defrost (doubt it in reasonable time ??!?!).

So what other options are there ??

It also naffs me off that Seat have their low temperature protection system on the aircon. My Nissan Primera didnt have this so aircon stayed on at any temp and window always cleared in an instant. I know its meat to help protect the compressor, but its a pain................

Wats the fix.........?

Cheers

 

[alex_cupra]

i'm quite happy with mine..... but then my previous car was a crappy clio sport.

must admit to the low temp protection being a pain in the morning.... especially when you're late for work!!

can't imagine any aftermarket jobby is goin be any good or speed things up a noticable amount either mate.

 

[Wheely]

Guess it must just be my last 3 Leons then - and all you others ok !!!!

 

[smiff]

Mines realy bad when its been raining i missed most of last winter due to a silly lady so ill find out soon how bad it is

 

[daveyonthemove]

try putting a silicon gel pack on the dash for a day or overnight. Mine hardly ever mists up, so there must be some damp in there somewhere.

 

[ElasticTangent]

My LC only started misting up when it started leaking water into the passenger footwell. Are you sure you don't have a leak?

 

[cupralite]

Mine mists up badly in the winter. I had to scrape the inside of the windscreen a couple of times last year.

I reckon it was down to me trying to save fuel by switching the air-con off during the winter. I leave it on all the time now - no problems so far.

 

[Dennis]

Our lasses LCR and Type R (previous) car misted up badly.

I put it down to her always having the air con on (unless racing)

 

[heyd_romanian]

Mine only did it when I had the leak in the passenger footwell and the door seals where holding water. The dealer sorted that out and never had any problem with it since then.

 

[Wheely]

My LC only started misting up when it started leaking water into the passenger footwell. Are you sure you don't have a leak?

All carpets dry -- my old LC-petrol had the normal door seal leak, so I know what 'real' condensation is like - that was like rain on the inside of the window (done under warranty), and my old TDI 110 had the same, which I fixed myself thanks to an ace guide on here and a few tubes of silicon rubber.

Did I read once that it may also be best not to leave the top vent (the window one) open when you leave your car (ie switch to front or lower vents) - and that can minimise it too.

Was wondering about those heaters too -- I guess for defrosting too, but I recon they'd take about 20 minutes to get the window that warm !!!

when I see cars in my works carpark, I only mist on the days they do, but mine def looks far worse. Think my bosses 2005 A4 looks the most un-misted.

 

[Fitzy7375]

Our lasses LCR and Type R (previous) car misted up badly.

I put it down to her always having the air con on (unless racing)

My LCR is ok for misting up. Before that I had a Type R and if there was another person in the passenger seat it misted up very quickly. You can imagine what it was like when I had the missus and the 2 kids in the car !

 

[Muttley]

Some thoughts:

I'd be most inclined to look at the airconditioning water drain hose. Aircon dries out the air by cooling it - cold air holds less moisture - and the excess drops out in the evaporator compartment of the ventilation system. If this can't drain away, your foggy screens will take ages to clear. The heater section is after the cooling, so that when aircon is on, the air is first cooled to reduce the moisture content, then heated to the desired temperature.

Also check the condition of the cabin air vents - they're in the boot and vent into the space behind the rear bumper, just behind the rear wheel arch - one each side according to Elsawin. If these are blocked, air can't escape from the cabin and water vapour will build up.

 

[m.r.davies]

Rain X Screen demist, about £4.50 for a bottle

 

[WaveyDaveyGravy]

I have have screen demist on the inside of my windscreen, but that doesn't help when you have streams of water running down the inside of the screen I had a Primera before my Leon and that was the same, but only as it leaked (poor crash repair). Leon has leaked twice, and is still as bad as it ever was despite two previous leaks being fixed.

I put the recirc on and point the vents at the footwell over night, which helps a little, but it's so unpredictable that I can't begin to discover the cause. It was in the dealers 4 times before they got the last leak fixed, so I dread to think how long it would take them to find a hidden leak!

 

[cuprablue]

Some thoughts:

I'd be most inclined to look at the airconditioning water drain hose. Aircon dries out the air by cooling it - cold air holds less moisture - and the excess drops out in the evaporator compartment of the ventilation system. If this can't drain away, your foggy screens will take ages to clear. The heater section is after the cooling, so that when aircon is on, the air is first cooled to reduce the moisture content, then heated to the desired temperature.

Also check the condition of the cabin air vents - they're in the boot and vent into the space behind the rear bumper, just behind the rear wheel arch - one each side according to Elsawin. If these are blocked, air can't escape from the cabin and water vapour will build up.

Where abouts is that aircon drain hose??

cuprablue