Hi all, my rear demist takes bloody ages to actually do anything! On a frosty day, it takes about 7-10 mins to clear enough of the back window to see out of and probably about 3-4 mins to rid it of condensation. Are they all this naff or does it sound like a fault? The effect it has is equal over the entire window, so I can't image there's any breaks in the circuit, could be wrong though.

My girlfriends 98 reg polo can clear its rear window of ice in 5 mins flat and makes it usable in 2. That ain't right!!

Thanks.

There are often a lot of complaints about how much condensation builds up in the Octavia, more so than is regarded usual for this time of year as the temperatures begin to drop. There have been a few threads over the last week or so. If the condensation on the rear screen is bad then it will take longer to clear.

After heavy rain when I forget to open the boot slowly then quite often a fair amount of water enters the boot. I find that the next morning my rear screen is often covered in moisture. Saying that it does clear pretty quick. It often takes a good 5 minutes or so to work through thick frost enough for the rear wiper to clear it.

However, there have also been several threads on the effectiveness of the rear heated screen function. A quick search should reveal them but I'm not aware of any fixes that improve things.

A dirty rear screen won't help either, try giving the inside of the glass a good clean and see if that helps.

Yea, the car does steam up too easily. Minor flaw... That reminds me, I need to clean the inside of the glass.

I was thinking the same on the drive home from work today. My wife's Corsa takes a few minutes and is completely clear!

The octavia rear screen is very big compared to other cars

Glass is a very poor conductor of heat

Having said that the Octy does fair steam up at the hint of warm air on a cold day!

Guess I'll just have to live with it then!

It's the same on our Cordoba and also the same on pretty much every other car I've owned. Think it's just how they work and the heat not getting through the glass too well.

Also on a cold morning it's a lot of current to deal with on top of other electricals so it may not get all the power it needs straight away.

Phil

Granted mine's an estate but it clears in about a minute. This morning was 1C and I switched on the rear heater, quickly scraped ice off all the other windows and got in, the back was totally clear. The guy clearing his ford accross the road was at it as I came out and was still there as I drove off.

Can't say I've ever suffered from the moisture problem either, to say that there's often a wet spaniel in the boot you'd think I would. On the other hand my OHs '07 Fabia suffers in the cold and damp conditions.

If you have a lot of condensation in the car then get a cheap £1 dehumidifier thingy from Asda and leave it in the car. Works wonders.

oh, and check the rear washer pipe isn't leaking behind the nsr quarter panel in the boot.

Granted mine's an estate but it clears in about a minute.

x2

Only got mine today and whilst the rear window does like the rest of a car have a tendency to fog up, putting the HRW on quickly clears it.

The rear passenger windows however are another matter.

The guy clearing his ford accross the road was at it as I came out and was still there as I drove off.

I bet he wished he'd specced Ford's Quick Clear Windscreen option, he'd have then beaten you off the drive!

Aye, Ford's quick clear is a good job!

Another good point, make sure there is no water in the tyre well in the boot. I had a Pug 307 that had a broken seal in the light cluster. The car would be like a steam room all the time. So when I investigated, i discovered the water was now about 10cm deep filling the whole well! It was like driving with a pond in the boot! I ended up smashing a hole through the bottom and letting it drain. Problem was as good as solved....