Hi guys, I've had a search on the forum for any info about the problem I'm having but none seems to answer it well.

I recently took ownership of a secondhand '06 Fabia 1.2HTP. I got it from my local Skoda dealer so everything should be in working order. However, with the cold weather we've had recently it has meant that the front and rear windows on the inside are covered in moisture which sometimes turns to frost when it's really cold. It takes an age to try and remove the moisture using the fans (all on highest speed, max heat, set to windscreen, front vents closed and with AC on) from the font so I've had to resort to using one of those autoglym 'perfect polish' cloths to wipe it away. However, this just removes a bit but still leaves a lot of the moisture but now in streaks.

Eventually it clears, but only when I'm nearly at work (15min drive) which is a )not very safe because I can't see that well and not very useful as I can't be sitting on my driveway waiting for it to clear before I can start driving. When it's frost thats the problem all the fans do is create 4 clear patches.

The rear window heater takes about the same time to clear. I took it back to the dealer and they had a look and concluded it was working fine.

Any suggestions on what would be causing such a large amount of moisture? I've had a look at the door seals but they don't seem to be leaking as the carpets are all dry.

the carpets might be dry, but the sound deadening under them might not be, you will have to lift the carpet and press down on the sound deadening to see if wet

you say you have looked at the door seals, the door aperture seals are not the cause of water leaking into the Fabia, the water ingress is caused by the poor sealing of the inner door panels, these panels are bolted/riveted to the door under the door trim, loads of threads on here about this problem which affects probably every Fabia made

another cause of water ingress is through the pollen filter housing, the drain holes under the scuttle panel at the bottom of the windscreen can block with leaves/debris, then the water can't drain from that area so it gets into the car through the pollen filter housing

you say you are using the aircon, just for your info, the aircon does not work at temperatures below 4 degrees centigrade

.

Edited 14 December, 200916 yr by BOBAD

This happened to me for the first time yesterday; I have never had condensation on the inside of the windscreen, no matter what the weather, before.

I washed the car (by hand, not a jet wash) earlier in the day, so could there be a link?

No setting of the demist/ heater/ aircon made any difference at all, and I had to resort to cleaning with a sponge frequently.

the rear screen de-misted quickly however.

Like the OP, I have no apparent water leaks into the car, and the door seals have been replaced some time ago by the local dealer.

There are no leaves in the channel in front of the screen.

Any clues why this is happening.?

Try changing the pollen filter, its a five min job and the results with regard to demisting the screen can be imense. You will also find a load of leaves and other debris that has fallen down to the back of the pollen filter. When you remove the old filter, put some old newspaper or some plastic on the carpet because you will be suprised at the amount of crap that has built up above the filter.

As mentioned earlier, the Aircon is deactivated below 4c so at temps lower than this you are relying on airflow to clear the windscreen. All the crap and muck above the pollen filter reduce the airflow significantly.

[double post]

Edited 14 December, 200916 yr by Gumby

Thanks for the replies. I did find a mention elsewhere on the forum about leaving the air direction in the footwell position to direct any moisture there instead of on the windows?

It hasn't been to bad the past couple of days, only slight mist and steam which has cleared very quickly with both AC and HRW. I've also taken to having the AC switched on a lot of the time, as this was mentioned elsewhere as being a good thing to do.

I've been switching the air to the feet every time I get out for the past two weeks and haven't had a problem with misting up since, fingers crossed it lasts!

Before I did this I couldn't see anything in the mornings and would take a very long time to de-mist., hope you get the problem sorted buddy.

I had this on my Fabia too - it would fog up over night and during the day if it rained, and it would take about 5mins (literally) to demist the front & rear windscreens with the heater on full, and heated rear windscreen on. I believe the culprit to be the rear doors leaking - the carpet looked dry, but when I went over it with a vax-type machine, I pulled nearly a cup full of water out of it over the course of 5-10mins. I've also put some plastic bags between the door and the interior rubber seal above the cill, shaped so so any water falls onto the plastic and is forced out of the car, and it hasn't happened since.

Prior to this, I changed the pollen filter, as it was charcoal-coloured (looked about 5 years old) - this didn't have any real effect.

I've been switching the air to the feet every time I get out for the past two weeks and haven't had a problem with misting up since, fingers crossed it lasts!

Before I did this I couldn't see anything in the mornings and would take a very long time to de-mist., hope you get the problem sorted buddy.

I did this before I got our the car earlier. As I write this, it's turning to frost outside and getting towards 0. Hopefully I won't have any problems tomorrow morning

Good luck buddy!

I'm having the same problem with my Fabia II. During the winter my back screen is virtually misted or dripping wet permanently. I think a lot of car manufacturers are relying on air-con to solve the problem of leaks as a cheap and easy get out.

Edited 15 December, 200916 yr by Fab Estate

I had the same problem (windscreen) with my new Roomy as soon as the weather turned cool.

Switching the air direction to feet (before leaving the car) made no difference.

Using the blower on demist seemed to make matters worse.

I never thought to use the AC until I read posts elsewhere on Brisky. Using AC made a huge difference.

The problem seems to have gone away now. Perhaps the ducting/filter/cr@p etc. has had chance to dry out?

Edited 15 December, 200916 yr by Robjon