I have a 2010 FL Octavia Elegance and have noticed that the heating system is really rather poor compared with our pre-FL Scout. It seems to take forever to clear the windscreen and constantly mists up on the inside of the window and gets lots of condensation which then freezes! It seems rather odd to have to scrape the ice off the inside of your windscreen as well as the outside! Also the rear heated window is really poor with the heater turning itself off long before the screen is cleared.

Is this a common problem with FL cars or should I get my car looked at by my local dealer?

Cheers.

i am having similar problems with my new vrs

still getting used to the system but it mists up very quickly, especially when there is more than one occupant.

the heated rear window is a waste of time, takes a good 10 mins to clear.

You've got the dual zone climatronic? I don't find mine much different to my previous pre-FL Elegance, though that was a tdi. Never been the best system in the world but seems to heat up more quickly with the 1.4tsi that the diesel did. Not had any problems misting up or with ineffective rear window heater.

Maybe you've got a slight leak or theres water in the air intake?

Yeah I have the climatronic system. Mine is the 1.4TSI, and the Scout is the diesel but the Scout heats up much quicker than my FL car which takes about 10mins to heat up. Tried with recirculated air and without and with various other settings and nothing seems to make any difference. Shame as its the only thing thats annoying me about the car at the moment!

How long does the car take to reach full operating temp( needle in middle) as I once Had a tipo and even from new took a while to get up to temp, .I thought it was because it was a diesel( iron lump) I changed the thermostat myself and within 3 mins up to temperature and heating much better. The diaphragm didn't seal properly. You do press the top left button to clear and then put on Auto, not Eco , The air con dries moisture from the air

Think it takes a good 5-10 mins to get the needle to the middle. I use the "MAX" option to clear the windscreen which automatically turns the a/c on I believe, but that's running most of the time anyway. Last winter in the Scout we could run with in econ mode for most of the time once the screen had cleared, but in this car I have to have the a/c on all the time or the window mists up again. Maybe I just breathe out more in this car...

Edited 7 January, 201115 yr by GroundHog

I get misting up occasionally but I put it down to changes in humidity and temperature. Generally OK and dry inside.

I use the automatic setting and press the max demist button first thing. I apply a 2l bottle of tap hot water over the outside of the windscreen when everything is running.

The HRW does time out after 10 minutes and has needed to be pressed several times in extreme weather.

As good a system as my old Passat B5.5 diesel but can take a while to warm up properly. SWMBO 1.4 l petrol Getz is much better albeit a smaller, petrol car.

I have a new FL vRS and the demist front and rear are fine if a tad slow, no ice inside the car and we have had 9 below 0 up here once or twice. I have found the best thing is to start car put on recirc for a minute then switch to demist and it works fine.

According to the manual, the air con doesn't operate if 2 degrees or below outside, so you may not be getting any dehumidifying from it if its cold. I always have the Max button on and recirculating button initially when cold.

I had diesel Peugeots for 6 years and they were brilliant - pumping out really hot air within 2 miles even on a freezing cold day; SWMBO's 206SW 1.4 petrol is the same. I think its a function of poor design in Skodas.

I have a FL 1.8TSi and compared to my old 1.9 diesel the heater is superfast. My 8 mile commute to work is mostly flat and gentle down gradients so the old diesel never got warm. The TSi on full recirc is blowing warm air out in the time it takes me to scrape the windows and get to the end of the street. It is up to temperature in 2-3 miles and by the time I have done 4-5 miles it starts to get too hot and I am turning down the climate to 18 degrees.

I have never had any misting problems with either of them except on the odd occasion when I have forgotten to switch off the recirc and not had the aircon on. Get a bit of light misting sometimes on the back window but the heated screen clears that in no time.

My car is garaged overnight so when I start off in the morning the windows are clear. Outside temp is typically between zero and plus 3C at the moment and from this starting point what I do find is the rear window soon mists up and I have to clear it with the rear window heater.

In terms of "warm up" it does seem slow according to the temp gauge but I think it is actually warming up reasonably quickly for a small efficient (i.e. not so much waste heat) engine. If I use the windsreen blast setting, it clears pretty quickly when the inside is misted up. I got my car in May and during the summer I thought the heat and vent was excellent. For winter I would rate OK but nothing special.

I have a FL Scout 1.8 TSi and it is really fast on defrosting. Here is a pic from yesterday at -13C. Within 7 min of idling the car i get warm air and the inside is fog free, windscreen was wiped after 7 min with wipers and it got completely clear. Rear screen takes 5 min to defrost from ice. I leave the recirculate button on till the air gets warm then once moving or not, i switch off the recirc.

Edited 7 January, 201115 yr by CEPi