My windscreen was under a nice sheet of ice this morning... a minute of two defrosting and looked clear. Got in, drove about 200 metres and had to stop to wipe the condensation off the inside as I couldn't see anything... only to see it reappear again about 5 seconds later. Took about 5-10 minutes before I could set off again with a good blast from the heater.

Had the same thing with my other cars too, but its really frustrating... any clever tips other than getting up earlier to sort it :(

Aircon dries the air and can help demist before the engine is warm but it is good for the life of the engine to get some warmth going before driving.

Defrost with LUKE WARM water. Pour it over the glass slowly, warming the glass up.

As the glass is warm it does not condense the air from your breath, like cold glass does. I do all windows, helps with seeing out too!

DO NOT USE HOT WATER, it will crack or even break the glass.

I have de-iced like this for (ahem) 25 years year and have not had anything break - although grease-less locks can freeze if the water enters and does not dry out. Only ever had that on an old ZX 1.9D.

HTH

also set the ventilation to the front screen, warm with the blower on, that will also help a lot :-)

This works at any temperature.

Edited 17 October, 200817 yr by micklecats
remembered an extra!

If the external temp is over 4c, then switch the A/C on with the ducts set to the screen position and the screen will clear very quickly.

A/C can be used with hot air on damp days to keep windows clear from moisture.