Cold Start demisting

[d715]

Morning,

2019 Polo SE.
I typically leave home at 6am and I’m having real issues with mist. The car takes ages to warm up (5-7 mins) enough to clear the mist on the windscreen. It’s not really safe to drive to get the engine warm quicker. Even with a cover on the screen, it starts clear but mists up so quickly that I have to stop before I get to the end of my road.

I have tried the moisture absorbing bags - no use.
I can leave the engine running on my driveway but don’t really want to do that in case the car gets stolen.

Does anybody have any advice?

[SRGTD]

A subject that crops up pretty much every year at this time of year on many forums. Some brands of car seem to be worse than others for condensation forming on the inside of the screen.

Is the inside of your screen dirty? Moisture and condensation will ‘stick’ to ‘dirty’ glass, so give the inside surface of the glass a really thorough clean and I’d recommend you do it regularly.

[d715]

Thank you for your reply. I don’t believe it’s that dirty - I get the car cleaned every 4 weeks or so and never touch the glass. Would you say that’s not frequently enough?

I wish there was some way of getting it to clear quicker. I tried finding a way to lock the car after turning the engine on so that it can warm up and clear, but the spare key won’t lock the car whilst it’s running. I don’t think it’s worth using the manual lock on a regular basis as I think it’d probably end up scratching the handle at some point.

[SRGTD]

If you’re using one of the many hand car wash places, don’t they just clean the outside of the car? Even if they do the interior, do they clean the glass and if so, what products are they using? If you’re using a mobile valeting service where the valeter comes to your home, then I’d ask them if they have a glass cleaning product that can be used on the inside surfaces of the windows that reduces / minimised condensation build up. Failing that, I’d recommend investing in some decent products and doing it yourself.

Regarding frequency of car cleaning - I do mine every 7-14 days; sometimes more frequently (e.g. if it gets particularly dirty during winter months or the front gets covered in baked on insects in the summer months). I never entrust cleaning my car to anyone other than me. I do appreciate that not everyone will have off road parking facilities though and they may be ‘time poor’, so struggle to find the spare time for car washing duties. When my car goes back for servicing or warranty work, I specifically request the dealership doesn’t do one of their free services washes - dealership car washes aren’t known as a ‘scratch and swirl’ treatment on many forums without good reason….

[funkyg]

Does your A/C work properly? Using A/C is really important for quickly demisting car windows as it dries out the air.
I’ve gone through one winter with my Polo so far and really missed the heated quick clear screen from previous my Fiesta, but it was a small price to pay for the upgrade.

[SRGTD]

Does your A/C work properly? Using A/C is really important for quickly demisting car windows as it dries out the air.
I’ve gone through one winter with my Polo so far and really missed the heated quick clear screen from previous my Fiesta, but it was a small price to pay for the upgrade.

@funkyg - that’s a very good point about using the air con; I keep mine on all year round. Some people consider the air con is just for cooling the car’s cabin and overlook its dehumidifying effect.

[funkyg]

A couple of other suggestions for you. Make sure you’re set to fresh air rather than recirculate. It sounds obvious but my daughter was complaining that her car kept misting up, it was because she had it set to recirculate.
Also when was your cabin filter last replaced? Apparently a dirty filter can affect the amount of fresh air coming in to the car. I’ve never had this issue but I have heard of it.

[d715]

Thank you all for your replies.

It’s usually an in and out hand car wash, so perhaps I need to clean the glass myself once a week. What products would you use for this?

I’m fairly sure I’m using the air conditioning - in fact, usually I turn it on cold air first (when the engine in cold) so that at least it’s blowing dry air at the screen even if it’s cool. That being said, I haven’t had the air conditioning serviced. I haven’t done this because it usually cools down really quickly in the summer so I presumed it unnecessary. Any thoughts on this?

Likewise with the cabin filter, if they don’t do that as part of the schedule it wouldn’t have been changed (I would have thought it would have been though… maybe that’s wishful thinking!)

[SRGTD]

Thank you all for your replies.

It’s usually an in and out hand car wash, so perhaps I need to clean the glass myself once a week. What products would you use for this?

I’m fairly sure I’m using the air conditioning - in fact, usually I turn it on cold air first (when the engine in cold) so that at least it’s blowing dry air at the screen even if it’s cool. That being said, I haven’t had the air conditioning serviced. I haven’t done this because it usually cools down really quickly in the summer so I presumed it unnecessary. Any thoughts on this?

Likewise with the cabin filter, if they don’t do that as part of the schedule it wouldn’t have been changed (I would have thought it would have been though… maybe that’s wishful thinking!)

I use Autobrite Crystal glass cleaner (see your other post re. your wiper blades). It’s alcohol based so doesn’t create a powdery residue like some glass cleaners. It can also be safely used to clean your wiper blades.

Whatever car I have, I never switch off the air con. With air con servicing, I tend to adopt the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, so if yours is working efficiently, then I don’t think I’d bother getting it serviced. The air con service is a recommendation rather than a requirement, although VW service advisors aren’t slow in reminding (a.k.a. persuading) owners that the A/C service is due.

Cabin / pollen filter should be replaced as part of the car’s service. I may be wrong, but I think VW’s recommendation is that it’s replaced every other year. Many years ago, the pollen filter in a mk3 Vauxhall Astra I owned at the time became blocked and waterlogged - it happened all of a sudden rather than over a period of time. While driving the car, it was like being in a sauna as heavy condensation was literally streaming down the inside of the car windows. A new pollen filter cured it.

[grazuncle2]

I get the same thing too

interesting read of this thread.

[rbz5416]

really missed the heated quick clear screen from previous my Fiesta

Never really understood why that wasn't more widely adopted. When you consider things like ABS, airbags, cruise control, etc, etc, rapidly propagated to all manufacturers. I had it on a Sierra 35 years ago!

[SRGTD]

really missed the heated quick clear screen from previous my Fiesta

Never really understood why that wasn't more widely adopted. When you consider things like ABS, airbags, cruise control, etc, etc, rapidly propagated to all manufacturers. I had it on a Sierra 35 years ago!

Ford had a patent on the Quickclear windscreen which meant other manufacturers couldn’t use the heated windscreen technology in their vehicles, although VW did have a Quickclear screen in the Sharan people carrier (I think the Seat Alhambra people carrier also got it) because the VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra / Ford Galaxy was a joint VAG / Ford development.

The patent on the Quickclear screen expired some years ago so some other manufacturers are now able to use the technology. VW did offer the option of a heated windscreen on some models of the mk7 Golf, but the option was dropped when the mk8 Golf was launched, so maybe it wasn’t a popular option or perhaps VW set the price too high for it to sell in sufficient volumes to make it financially viable.

[lancslad1985]

Over the years I’ve had most VW models - polo, golf, troc, Tiguan and then some when my cars been in such as Passat, taigo and t cross. I’ve friends with VAG derived cars such as Cupra, Audi, Skoda. All have the same issue - they’re rubbish at demisting. Something about the way the group designs the front window vents. My wife’s new golf is amazing, but takes ages to demist the front window after sitting overnight.

Meanwhile my Mazda, my previous Volvos and Peugeot all demist within about 20 seconds, even after sitting overnight. Don’t know what it is with VAG cars but it’s literally everyone I’ve had or known is rubbish at it.