General freezing on the inside

[potter1]

hi,

has anyone had problems with the car freezing on the inside? Its mainly the front and back windows.
It doesnt always happen when its been raining, sometimes only when its been below zero.

The car is currently at Fiat, but they are as helpful as a chocolate tea pot

 

[grimwau]

hi,

has anyone had problems with the car freezing on the inside? Its mainly the front and back windows.
It doesnt always happen when its been raining, sometimes only when its been below zero.

The car is currently at Fiat, but they are as helpful as a chocolate tea pot

Someone else has had this problem so you might check here to see if any updates.

 

[CR500]

I'm not alone then....my 500 seems to mist up badly, and this morning I had ice on the inside of the screen. Our old astra leaked water in like a sieve, bit we never had ice inside it!

I don't think the 500 heater is up to much either, I have to leave it on full, and turn the fan up to get any decent warmth. Is this normal? I ordered and test drove in summer so never thought to try the heater...

 

[fiat baby]

had the same trouble this morning.....how common is this on 500.

mates say there must be a seal gap somewhere ?!?!?!?!? letting in an air current.

will call fiat showroom tomorrow...wont hold my breath for a productive comment from them.

will post anything usefull asap

 

[306maxi]

I'm not alone then....my 500 seems to mist up badly, and this morning I had ice on the inside of the screen. Our old astra leaked water in like a sieve, bit we never had ice inside it!

I don't think the 500 heater is up to much either, I have to leave it on full, and turn the fan up to get any decent warmth. Is this normal? I ordered and test drove in summer so never thought to try the heater...

You've got to remember it's cold and it takes time for the engine to heat the coolant up so the heater can work.

 

[Mark Elvin]

I had ice on the inside of my 500 this morning, but it was -9c outside.

 

[sikersh]

I had ice on the inside of my 500 this morning, but it was -9c outside.

Same here.

 

[elation]

You wouldn't question condensation on the inside of a car, its only due to the extreme cold making that condensation freeze that is unusual.

Don't worry about it, its nothing wrong, its not a fault with the car, its a fault with this bloody cold country.

 

[306maxi]

You wouldn't question condensation on the inside of a car, its only due to the extreme cold making that condensation freeze that is unusual.

Don't worry about it, its nothing wrong, its not a fault with the car, its a fault with this bloody cold country.

That's exactly it. The only thing a bad seal will do is mean that there's more condenstation inside to freeze up.

 

[zanes]

I had frozen condensation on the inside yesterday when I started up after work. Had none this morning in -5, in fact very little condensation at all due to me giving the heating a good blast on the way home. As maxi et al have said it is normal (although I suspect mine is due to getting in the car with damp hair in the morning. Oh, and that fording I did a while back ). I'm thinking of getting some silica granules and filling the fag pot with them to see if that might help

 

[CR500]

I appreciate that it is extreme weather, but I have a 20 mile journey to work on the motorway, so the car is warmed up fully. I have tried aircon on or off, window slightly down to let out moisture while travelling etc. This is the first car I have owned except beetle and 2cv where the heater struggles. The output is adequate with the fan turned up but it is very noisy on a journey. Our 20 year old merc estate is much warmer and drier than the 500 surprisingly.
I have had other 1.2 small cars that didn't have this issue. Maybe down to aerodynamics....

 

[306maxi]

I appreciate that it is extreme weather, but I have a 20 mile journey to work on the motorway, so the car is warmed up fully. I have tried aircon on or off, window slightly down to let out moisture while travelling etc. This is the first car I have owned except beetle and 2cv where the heater struggles. The output is adequate with the fan turned up but it is very noisy on a journey. Our 20 year old merc estate is much warmer and drier than the 500 surprisingly.
I have had other 1.2 small cars that didn't have this issue. Maybe down to aerodynamics....

How the heck is it down to aerodynamics?

This is the most prolonged period of cold for 20 years or something!!!!! When the weather is extreme this sort of thing happens. It's not about the heater being feeble because the heater isn't on when you leave the car for the night or leave it at work. If it's cold enough for the temp to get down below ) the water will freeze. Simple as.

It's been minus 6 here but when I got in the car today and drove off with some small ice patches on the inside of the screen they were gone in about 5 minutes. When driving I usually leave the heater off till the car is up to temp and then put the heater on because all the heater will do is keep the engine cool so it'll take even longer to get the sort of baking heat out of the heater that people are expecting.

 

[nottsfiat07]

I don't want to be part of the "the 500 is perfect and if you don't agree I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish" brigade, but I've had my 500 for over a year now and always found the heater to be perfectly acceptable and does its job. The worst bit for me is the fact that the vents in the footwell are a bit far forward but as for warming up and clearing the screen its always been fine. Maybe some are better than others or there's a Kielbasa left from a Polish workers lunch blocking one of the pipes in yours. :shrug:

 

[306maxi]

I don't want to be part of the "the 500 is perfect and if you don't agree I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish" brigade, but I've had my 500 for over a year now and always found the heater to be perfectly acceptable and does its job. The worst bit for me is the fact that the vents in the footwell are a bit far forward but as for warming up and clearing the screen its always been fine. Maybe some are better than others or there's a Kielbasa left from a Polish workers lunch blocking one of the pipes in yours. :shrug:

I'm certainly not one of the 500 defenders either as is evidenced by the fact that I think that the washers were designed by someone with the IQ of an aubergine and I agree. The heater on the 500 is absolutely fine but if you drive off on a cold morning with the heater on it's just going to take longer for it to get up to temperature and if you drive off very gently for the first few miles that won't help either. I drive off in the mornings with the heater off and I give the car some revs (not silly amounts of course) and the temp gauge goes up to the middle and I put the heater on then and in no time the heater is doing its thing.

 

[nottsfiat07]

I'm certainly not one of the 500 defenders either as is evidenced by the fact that I think that the washers were designed by someone with the IQ of an aubergine and I agree. The heater on the 500 is absolutely fine but if you drive off on a cold morning with the heater on it's just going to take longer for it to get up to temperature and if you drive off very gently for the first few miles that won't help either. I drive off in the mornings with the heater off and I give the car some revs (not silly amounts of course) and the temp gauge goes up to the middle and I put the heater on then and in no time the heater is doing its thing.

Funny! But you have to think someone did several years in design school to be given the task of designing a little slightly conical piece of plastic with holes in and a groove at the end... I think I'd make em not work just to get my own back too. Its like designing a toaster whose top 3 settings set fire to the bread. What's the point?

 

[CR500]

Oh dear, I have dissed the 500.... I mentioned aerodynamics in regards to the ventilation system air inlet which may just be out of the flow of air, thus needing the fan on higher settings....and yes, I am aware how cold it is. I also made sure to remove snow and ice from the grilles.

I'm sorry but I have owned quite a few vehicles, and I know the heater in my car is only just adequate. I will get it checked by the dealer. I thought something could be amiss when I was driving round with the heat on full and fan on setting 1 all the time in November and the weather was far from freezing then!
And I would like to make it clear I don't like travelling in a hot car , and I'm not expecting furnace output...

 

[grimwau]

cr500, just because others have no issues with the performance of their heaters it doesn't mean that there is not something wrong with yours. For instance, I have never had any issues with my washer jets but I appreciate that others have had problems with theirs.

If your temp gauge is reaching the halfway mark then it would appear that your thermostat is working OK but if the temp of the air from the vents is still cool then I think that it is reasonable to ask the dealer to investigate.

Although some makes of car have heating/ventilation systems far superior to other I am sure that most drivers are able to determine if a heater is functioning correctly or not.

 

[flintymginty]

I agree with Notts - my heater seems fine, if anything it is warm pretty quick and my daily journey is pretty short.

Granted mine lives in a heated garage overnight so is not exposed to these low overnight temps, but even in the work car park all day, often 8:30 - 6:30, i've not had any problems, any more than you'd expect from this weather.

Our vectra on the otherhand is a diesel, so if you want to complain about heaters not heating up fast, try having a diesel first! They take much longer to warm up. That lives outside, and we've not had any issues with that frosting up on the inside over night, but after a day at work my bf has said the inside of the screen has frozen a little and he had to wipe it off. Must just be the damp air inside the car after its been heating for the journey, any snow on your shoes etc and the extreme cold outside.

It's not very often we get extreme prolonged cold like this, and just think most cars don't have chance to get fully warm in this weather as are always out in it 24/7, so there is little chance of drying out.

 

[CR500]

Thanks grimwau, will get it checked just to be sure. The car does warm up quickly to the half way mark on the temp gauge so I believe thermostat to be ok. I'm wondering if there might be some air in the heater matrix.

I have no problem with the warm up time flinty, and get you with your heated garage! but I know what you mean with diesels.....you should try a truck, a 12 litre diesel does take a long time to get to temperature if it isn't working hard!

 

[YouKnowWho]

Some cars I have owned heated up pretty quick, and others slower. The 500 is one of the better ones.

I have not been driving my 500 much last few weeks, but have been driving 4x4 instead, which has started up no matter the temperature and with no ice on the inside.

I do however try to park in a car port though. So maybe that helps? Actually that does help!