GTi+ Fogging

[Mr Wednesday]

Hi all,
Anybody had any issues with their GTi taking bloody ages to defog on the inside windscreen? I was sat for 15 minutes on full blast fans waiting for it to make a dent in the fog and nothing, ended up having to wipe it so I could get home from work, haven't had a car previous where it's taken this long to do anything to the inner fog.
Going to give the inside windscreen a clean tomorrow and hope that makes a difference, but I'm not looking forward to the winter months if this is a common thing haha.

[S_94]

Had the car since May 2019 and mine has recently started doing this. Does clear after about 5-10 mins with the vents pointed at the windscreen on full bast. Very annoying though.

[SRGTD]

A fairly common problem that’s discussed on many forums at this time of year, and it doesn’t just affect VW’s. Why it seems to affect certain makes and models of car more than others is a bit of a mystery.

You can reduce the impact or help speed up clearing the fog / condensation by ensuring the interior surface of the glass is scrupulously clean, ensure the car’s pollen filter isn’t blocked and in need of replacement, and ensure any damp items (e.g. umbrellas, rain soaked coats etc.) aren’t left in the car. Also, keep the air con on - it’s not just for summer use when the weather might be hot; the dehumidifying effects of the air con will help to dry the air in the car’s cabin.

If it’s heavy condensation rather than just fogging on the glass, that might indicate a water ingress issue, so check the spare wheel well and carpets / carpet mats in are dry, and if the car has a panoramic roof, the drain tubes aren’t blocked. Also check door and window seals aren’t damaged or deformed.

[Andy Beats]

Yes, and it is particularly bad on Polos (maybe VW in general, can't comment).
Not uncommon for me to be the last out of the carpark, still waiting for the screen to clear when colleagues were driving off.
This was using a dehumidifier pad on the dash too.
This was in my Tsi and Gti.

[Noonoo632]

Hi all,
Anybody had any issues with their GTi taking bloody ages to defog on the inside windscreen? I was sat for 15 minutes on full blast fans waiting for it to make a dent in the fog and nothing, ended up having to wipe it so I could get home from work, haven't had a car previous where it's taken this long to do anything to the inner fog.
Going to give the inside windscreen a clean tomorrow and hope that makes a difference, but I'm not looking forward to the winter months if this is a common thing haha.

Have seen this on 3 previous vehicles in the VW range a Golf, Citigo and Leon and found that the easiest way to eliminate it is to run the air- con as when the weather gets wetter and we go into the car with damp clothes and wet shoes this moisture stays in the air. I have found that opening a window when it is dry then running the air- con in normal use dries out this air.
I have not found this dampness the case in the Polo up to now but then when I put the heating on auto the air-con runs at the same time and I also turn on the recirculation so the car is not drawing in cold air .

[Andy Beats]

Have seen this on 3 previous vehicles in the VW range a Golf, Citigo and Leon and found that the easiest way to eliminate it is to run the air- con as when the weather gets wetter and we go into the car with damp clothes and wet shoes this moisture stays in the air. I have found that opening a window when it is dry then running the air- con in normal use dries out this air.
I have not found this dampness the case in the Polo up to now but then when I put the heating on auto the air-con runs at the same time and I also turn on the recirculation so the car is not drawing in cold air .

I run aircon all the time in all my cars, never off.
Still got the bad misting and very slow clearing in my Tsi and GTi.
Painfully slow, staring at a small patch of clear windscreen for ages.
So it's defintely NOT because the aircon is off.

[Mr Wednesday]

Cheers for the answers guys, guess it's just one of those things ya gotta deal with!

[Andy Beats]

I'd love to know WHY though.
Every other type of car we've had, as soon as the aircon properly kicks in (a few seconds after starting) the screen clears very quickly.
Like right in front of your eyes.
So WHY does the Polo aircon struggle to clear the screen so badly?
I don't think the level of misting is any worse than other cars per se, just the ventilation system just really struggles to clear it

[stevereeves]

I had a Mk5 Golf, 3 Golf Mk7's, a Seat Leon (a Golf under diffrerent clothes) and now a Golf Mk8 and ALL 'featured' being slow to demist'. Play with heater, demist and air-con settings to one's heart's comtent, all cars still took / take their own sweet time to 'defog', say 2 - 3 miles, in order to see where one is going, and where one has been. Seems to be a VW 'thing'. Now realise I neglected to mention I changed cars recently, so didn't get a Polo afterall....

[monkeyhanger]

I had a Mk5 Golf, 3 Golf Mk7's, a Seat Leon (a Golf under diffrerent clothes) and now a Golf Mk8 and ALL 'featured' being slow to demist'. Play with heater, demist and air-con settings to one's heart's comtent, all cars still took / take their own sweet time to 'defog', say 2 - 3 miles, in order to see where one is going, and where one has been. Seems to be a VW 'thing'. Now realise I neglected to mention I changed cars recently, so didn't get a Polo afterall....

Yeah, none of them are particularly quick, but if you're mean with the AC and rely purely on heat it'll take an age!

Polo's, Sciroccos, MK5 Golf, MK7 Golf, it's all the same. Our ID3s seem a bit better than the previous ICE cars.

[lancslad1985]

This is interesting as both my polos were slow to demist, as was a previous fiesta and a 207, but my golfs were fine and my Tiguan is dead quick. Always assumed it was the size of the car that was the issue so it was less insulated.

What I have found in every VW I’ve owned is the rear window demister is utter s****……

[silverhairs]

For those with bad demisting times, have you ever tried lifting the carpets to see if the underlay is damp or wet?
I leave my air con on all the time, winter and summer, and I don't have any problems with my demisting.
I've never used one of them demisting bags, in top of the dash, no need.
When I had a Nissan Note, I could get in the car, turn on the demisting and the misting got worse !

[Andy Beats]

For those with bad demisting times, have you ever tried lifting the carpets to see if the underlay is damp or wet?
I leave my air con on all the time, winter and summer, and I don't have any problems with my demisting.
I've never used one of them demisting bags, in top of the dash, no need.
When I had a Nissan Note, I could get in the car, turn on the demisting and the misting got worse !

Didn't you say you drive something like 5000 miles per year?
The less you drive a car, the less you're going to replicate problems others encounter.

[golfhappy]

I have seen this fogging as well. Did notice it happened when i left the heater control set to the windscreen. I usually set it to somewhere else overnight?

[silverhairs]

For those with bad demisting times, have you ever tried lifting the carpets to see if the underlay is damp or wet?
I leave my air con on all the time, winter and summer, and I don't have any problems with my demisting.
I've never used one of them demisting bags, in top of the dash, no need.
When I had a Nissan Note, I could get in the car, turn on the demisting and the misting got worse !

Didn't you say you drive something like 5000 miles per year?
The less you drive a car, the less you're going to replicate problems others encounter.

I would have thought a car sitting on the drive, would incur more dampness than a car being driven up a motorway everyday with the air con working, or a car averaging 10,000 miles per year?
As for 5,000 miles per year, totally wrong, I've just had it in for its third service (3 years) and just cracked 8180 miles, your smart, you work out my annual mileage?
Was offered £17,000 against a new T-Cross with the 1500 cc engine, not sure if I want to go down the EU route for a new car, though I've never had any problems with my Polo, it's given me no problems to date, I might try a Jap motor?