Ice on inside of windscreen this morning.

cascade35

Went out to warm up car (99 corolla) this morning, ice on outside windows but also on inside of windscreen. Checked to see if any windows or doors were left open but no everything was closed.
I have no idea why this happened or what else to check or how to prevent it happening again.
Its a car thats not used every day(3 or 4 times a week) but ive never had this problem with this or any car before.

Any one got any ideas?

TestTransmission

You're letting in water somewhere,are the seats or carpets damp ?

alias no.9

Don't know the source but you can help combat it by making sure the air is as cold as possible (the colder the air, the less moisture content) before parking up the car. Do this by turning off the heater and rolling down the windows for the last couple of minutes of the journey. Low tech and old school but effective.

peasant

Getting in with wet shoes and clothes repeatedly would bring in enough moisture for the glass to fog up inside ...add a cold snap and you've got ice.

Make sure you've got no leaks ...drive it for a long stretch on a dry day with the heater on to dry it out and maybe put in one of those de-humidifier moisture traps to catch any residual moisture.

cascade35

Just checked the carpets,seats etc and everything is dry. I would say my feet are wet most days getting into the car, ive rubber mats on the floor in front to keep the carpet clean and dry. no dampness under them either.
Will try turn off the heating before end of next journey but the thoughts of driving with heating off and windows open is all ready giving me the shivers.

alias no.9

cascade35 wrote: »

Will try turn off the heating before end of next journey but the thoughts of driving with heating off and windows open is all ready giving me the shivers.

You only need to do that for the last minute or two of the journey, just enough that there is a complete air change in the car with all the warm, potentially humid air, is replaced with cold dry air.

E39MSport

There's stuff you can get in most diy places to absorb moisture. I used it recently on one of my cars and couldn't believe the amount of moisture it drew (although it possibly drew moisture into the car through vents etc as its highly absorbant stuff).

It comes in a block, sits on a container like a high walled grill pan and draws moisture into the pan.

Pretty cheap afaik. You can leave in the boot every night til it dries out.

antodeco

Aldi/Lidl have the dehumidifier packs. €30 and should last you several months. Just put in the the holder box thing and leave it under the seats or somewhere. Ive one under my dash and inside of the boot.

langdang

Was having a problem with this recently myself, no major leaks but just getting into the car with wet jackets etc was building up moisture in the seats etc.
I was doing the same as Alias said, changing the air for cooler dryer air for the last few minutes but it wasn't enough to help.
Decided the car wasn't getting warm enough on my daily commute to absorb the moisture in the car so I took it for a good drive at the weekend with heaters on full whack. Came home and threw a dehumidier in there and left it run for about 6hours.
No problem this morning. Will probably have to do this once or twice more over the winter, but better than peering out through a smeary windscreen.
Might consider those packs out of Lidl or wherever too though..

cascade35

Thanks lads for all the advice. Today I am going to the motor factors to see what I can get to resolve the issue.

CJhaughey

Take the pollen filter out and clean or replace it, this makes a big difference to airflow and helps to dry the car out.

cascade35

CJhaughey wrote: »

Take the pollen filter out and clean or replace it, this makes a big difference to airflow and helps to dry the car out.

Will try that also.

CJhaughey

my wife has a 00 corolla and had similar probs, cleaned the filter and it was completely clogged with leaves and ****e.
Problem free since.

ShayK1

E39MSport wrote: »

There's stuff you can get in most diy places to absorb moisture. I used it recently on one of my cars and couldn't believe the amount of moisture it drew (although it possibly drew moisture into the car through vents etc as its highly absorbant stuff).

It comes in a block, sits on a container like a high walled grill pan and draws moisture into the pan.

Pretty cheap afaik. You can leave in the boot every night til it dries out.

Do you know what this stuff is called?

bladebrew

this happened me once before,i was wondering why,the entire outside and inside of the windscreen was frozen over and the dip in the dashboard had water in! for some reason i found it funny!

i think/hope as mentioned it was condensation on the inside that froze,
its only happened once in over 2 years though

Flesh Gorden

ShayK1 wrote: »

Do you know what this stuff is called?

I think Unibond make them, they're ok, €12 unit plus 1 tab, €8 for replacement tabs, used them for a while last year
make sure you don't drive off before you've emptied it as the fluid it collects is a nightmare to clean up

but its nothing compared to taking your car to a friends garage and using a mains operated dehumidifier


OP:

If its a hatch, it could be a few other things too.

If you notice any dampness it might be worth taking out carpet and trim in the boot for a few days to take notice of any water collecting.

I'm not familiar with Toyota's but I know on Ford's the foam gasket around the rear lights perishes
and lets water get in as its part of the run off point for rain water

easily fixed with a run of black roofing sealant, €5 a tube
easier to work with then normal bathroom silicone as it stays malleable


If you've a sun roof, the draining tubes could have been moved into the wrong place
or could be clogged with years of fine road dust

Last car I bought had a loose spoiler which had let in a lot of water

again pollen filter is another one or if you've proper air con (not just a blower)
keeping it on re-circulate will keep moisture trapped inside the car



.

E39MSport

ShayK1 wrote: »

Do you know what this stuff is called?

Can't recall - sorry. But Flesh Gordon has given advice. I'd just ask at the DIY shop and see what they come up with.

It's a block of white stuff. Looked like caustic soda. Had warnings all over it.

cascade35

I cleaned filter and left a dehumidifier in the car all day yesterday, amazed by the amount of water it drew out, now I have to wait for Jack Frost to strike again and see if the inside ices up again.
Thanks to all who gave advice.

Matt Simis

Aside from moisture absorbtion blocks (which I use too from time to time), turning on the Air Con for a while if you have it will also dry out the air.

Cookie_Monster

those little packet you get with news shoes are good. Ive a few of them on the back window ledge. help absorb any excess moisture

cascade35

Ice on outside of windscreen today but none on inside, SORTED!!!!!!;)