Not sure what I am doing wrong at the moment. I use the car every day with the climate control on to aid the demisting but it isn't really happening. Whilst the windscreen and side windows stay clear the rear of the car is staying fairly misted and when left overnight the car is misting and then freezing on the inside ! Even the instrument cluster was misted up. Anybody else had that? I did check the spare wheel well and that is dry and there are no wet carpets. Any ideas anybody?

It appears this is the achilies heel of the Octavia and lots of people (myself) included are having random misting/condensation/damp issues. I've ruled out the obvious to and don't know what is wrong with mine.

I wonder if water is leaking behind the dash of yours causing this?

I had an issue with the door seals on my FL this time last year, just after I took delivery. Turned out to be something was missing on one of the door seals, therefore making it as cold inside as out. Get them checked out first.

I did notice my instrument dials misted up yesterday, but they de-misted as quick as the windscreen to be fair.

Hm. Not had this on mine (pre-FL) and it stood out in last winters bad weather.

The moisture must be coming from somewhere so I suspect you must have a leak into the car. Could be door seals, heater/aircon assembly or a poor windscreen seal (or even at the back of the car - e.g. llight units). Leaks can be hard to trace, I think you will need to be methodical. Maybe give the car a good long soaking with a hose and then look for damp areas?

It appears to be a common problem with the Octavia.

There must be a problem somewhere for there to be enough water ingress to mist up the car overnight.

The problem is, whilst the Octavia does suffer from some well documented leaks (rear washer pipe, door seals, door carriers and pollen filter) far too many of us are complaining that their cars are taking too long to demist on a morning.

All cars get damp during the winter, especially those that don't get long runs and therefore the chance to dry out properly, but they also are able to clear it much faster through the use of the A/C, fans and heater.

The Octavia still seems to struggle, interestingly some more so than others.

Mine has been plagued by this from new; to the point I struggle to clear the side windows when it’s raining, even after an hours drive.

If there is an overnight frost I know that I need to start the car 10 minutes before I intend to leave the house, not to defrost the outside of the screen, but to clear the condensation from inside the glass.

Diesel's take longer to warm up, so I tend to find if you can clear enough of the screen to see clearly and safely, once you set off things improve much quicker.

Interestingly my windscreen suffers worst than the rear screen.

There are loads of threads on this, and they always tend to appear around this time of year.

Here is another recent one with some useful links on how to check for some of the most common causes:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/180771-rear-heated-screen/

As far as I can tell none of these apply to my Octavia, so I think I am stuck with misty windows for a while.

To quote a common car manufacturers excuse, it appears to be ‘inherent to the design’!

Good luck

As far as I can tell none of these apply to my Octavia, so I think I am stuck with misty windows for a while.

To quote a common car manufacturers excuse, it appears to be ‘inherent to the design’!

Good luck

I don't think it can be the design. I've had my petrol vRS from new (just over 2 years) and never had a misting problem - not found it any different to any other car. It warms up pretty quickly and the front, back and side screens clear quickly (I sometimes have to use the 'Demist' button on the HVAC and also put the HRW on). If you are struggling to clear the mist on sidewindows on a rainy day, even after an hour's driving then surely there must be a fairly significant leak into the car somewhere? If the car is watertight then the situation you describe just cannot happen. On a wet day my sidewindows clear within minutes (AC on and dash side vents direct to the glass).

Things to check would be water ingress into the heater unit (so 'steam' is being blown into the car), blocked drain hose from HVAC unit, leak around windscreen seal allowing water behind dash area.

If the car is watertight then the situation you describe just cannot happen.

Unfortunately I know this hence my earlier comment.

There must be a problem somewhere for there to be enough water ingress to mist up the car overnight.

The problem I have is that the 'fault' is not easy to diagnose, i.e. there are no obvious damp or wet patches inside the car.

This gives the dealers a perfect excuse to blame the design rather than put the effort in to finding the fault.

I will mention it again, next time the car is in for service.

Even as we speak, my 10 year old Peugeot 306 is in the garage having a leaking heater matrix replaced. A £40 part with a full days labour to remove the dash. A £250 bill which is equivalent to half the car's value.

My Octavia is still under warranty but I'm having a hard time convincing my dealer I have a problem :S

My instrument panel misted up today for the forst time. I just put it down to the combinations of temperature & humidity . Never happened before . Cleared after a few minutes.

As I posted elsewhere my six week old VRS is much slower to clear than my previous car and I don't think I've got any leaks. Mind you my previous car was a Volvo which was probably as good as they get in this department.

Its just occurred to me that I've never moved the climate control dial from 20 degrees since I got the car...maybe I should check its actually working!

Wife noticed this on our new octavia. On a frosty morning it's a huge step back on our 10 year old focus with it's heated front window and aircon :(

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by DbD

As I posted elsewhere my six week old VRS is much slower to clear than my previous car and I don't think I've got any leaks. Mind you my previous car was a Volvo which was probably as good as they get in this department.

Its just occurred to me that I've never moved the climate control dial from 20 degrees since I got the car...maybe I should check its actually working!

I generally have mine on 22°C as recommended in the manual. A colleague complains the air con in his Octavia is useless as it does not go cold enough. Apparently he wants his car at about 10°C.

I think heating and ventilation nowadays is wonderful! I lived through the BL dark days of peering though a little bare patch in the frozen waste that was a Morris Marina windscreen.Probably the only bit that did not rust.

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by gregoir

last winter my car did this and i sorted it by turning the aircon off, just by running the system with the econ button pressed on it doesnt mist up anywhere near as bad.

last week it started misting up again now its getting colder and ive pressed the econ button ,really bad misting up has gone away again! (still mists up as any car does)

now this works for me , not sure about other people but give it a go for a few days and see if its any better!

On a cold but sunny/clear day the air outside might be dryer than that in the car and an open window might clear things.

Does the aircon auto recurculate when very cold?

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by P&N

Aircon is disabled below 3c, so if its really cold the aircon will have no effect on the demisting function.

Aircon is disabled below 3c, so if its really cold the aircon will have no effect on the demisting function.

Hmm that may be a good cause then because its been pretty cold. Thanks for everyone's suggestions I will try them all out and let you all know how I get on.

Hmm that may be a good cause then because its been pretty cold. Thanks for everyone's suggestions I will try them all out and let you all know how I get on.

See the thread on 'water in front footwells' on a FL vRS. I still think you have water ingress. Dealers are hopeless at solving this sort of problem. I am using my 2008 model daily in the current weather and have no problems at all with misting other than for the first few minutes driving - then it clear pretty efficiently.

My instrument panel misted up today for the forst time. I just put it down to the combinations of temperature & humidity . Never happened before . Cleared after a few minutes.

+1. Exactly the same for me.

See the thread on 'water in front footwells' on a FL vRS. I still think you have water ingress. Dealers are hopeless at solving this sort of problem. I am using my 2008 model daily in the current weather and have no problems at all with misting other than for the first few minutes driving - then it clear pretty efficiently.

Yes thanks, I am going to have a real root around and see if I can find something damp - I had damp in a previous car and it smells terrible after a short while amd is near impossible to be rid of.

In the winter months just turn off the air con and use the normal heater, and open the drivers window about an inch if dry

Being a taxi driver I go out at all times of the day and in all conditions and only ever use the air con in the summer, but I do run it once a week to keep things from seizing up

In the winter months just turn off the air con and use the normal heater, and open the drivers window about an inch if dry

Being a taxi driver I go out at all times of the day and in all conditions and only ever use the air con in the summer, but I do run it once a week to keep things from seizing up

I can confirm that switching off the aircon removes the problem. I can only imagine that the aircon system does not drain well and that the standing water when started on a cold morning then evaporates before very annoyingly condensing back on to the cold glass.

Thanks.

That does make sense, although the condensation on my car is there before I get in the car. It doesn't suddenly appear after starting the engine / climatronic.

My specific misting problem only affects my windscreen, so this solution still sounds plausible if the A/C is holding water.

Not sure this is the solution for those with heavily and regularly misted rear screens?

I'll give it a try and report back...

Turning off the aircon seems counter-intuitive to me, as the aircon serves to remove moisture from the air inside the cab. I'm sure whenever I turn it off the window remists up pretty quickly, even if I open a window.

Will test it out later!

hiya daft answer but check spare wheel bay for water i had this for a few weeks till had to change spare and found water..ended up been my rear lamp cluster letting water in as it was just out of line so wasnt sealed correctly..could be a possibility mate.

Edited 27 November, 201015 yr by TEDGIE

My dashboard misting problem has not recurred so a one off due to climatic conditions. Heating and ventilation has worked superbly (octavially?) over the past few icy and snowy days.

hiya daft answer but check spare wheel bay for water i had this for a few weeks till had to change spare and found water..ended up been my rear lamp cluster letting water in as it was just out of line so wasnt sealed correctly..could be a possibility mate.

Good point. I've been away for a few days and got back to find the inside of the rear window covered in thick ice. I'm going to check wheel bay and under floor mats first thing in the morning.