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SUVs BMW X3 & X5 BMW X3 Windows Fog Instantly
9 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 9:44 AM
You are in the BMW X3 & X5 Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Windows fogged up in about a second. From clear to opaque with fog and total driver blindness in about a second. I have never seen anything like this. Temperature in the 50s, not raining, heater on AUTO. Fix? Prevention? - Keep the AC on all the time the heater is on. This apparently fails when the ambient temp is below freezing. In that circumstance turning on the defogger will fog the windows instantly? - Never recirculate the air when the heater is on. Why not disable recirculate when the heater is on to prevent fogging? Beyond that, who knows what is going on. The car was dry on the inside, only one person was in the car and for less than 5 minutes when this happened. It was cool but certainly not cold. When this happened it was impossible to see out the passenger side or out the back so it was impossible to pull over to the shoulder. Luckily, there were no cars and a left turn where the car could be stopped, the windows opened and the fog wiped out. I can't imagine what would have happened if I had been on the highway. Car windows were clean, no antifreeze leak that I know of either....no usual suspects. Other cars with recirculating modes do not do anything like this. Cars fog up but not instantly like this.
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Worth keeping in mind to open the front passenger side window if this happens again. That provides enough visibility from the mirror to pull over to the right shoulder.
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Replying to: pp2009pp (Nov 02, 2009 4:21 pm) 
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It's sad that some people have no idea what a good car is really like so the herky and the jerky and the rocky and the bouncy and the instant blindness are considered not only acceptable but DESIGN FEATURES. This is probably most evident in those who lease 3 series cars. They are probably their first 'nice' car and they simply accept that these oddities are 'premium' features. I have a nice orange bridge.... ======= Other ways to clean window fog off of your BMW X3: - Clean your windows and then take a damp cloth and use some shaving cream to coat them. This is an alternative to the commercial products like Rain - X. I haven't used this so can't vouch for it. - Dry out the car on a sunny day with the windows open. Check under the mats and in the trunk for wet spots. As an alternative, use a commercial desiccant. - Keep as much water out of the car as possible by shaking everything dry: shoes, coats, umbrellas, hats, towels, etc. I like this comment: "(I think the closer a car is to a simple metal box, the worse the fogging)." Now THAT is funny. |
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Replying to: pp2009pp (Nov 01, 2009 5:09 pm) Best procedure is to somehow disable the A/C when not needed for actual cooling. My '01 911/996 C4 has a "hidden" switch that I use to open the A/C compressor clutch circuit throughout the wintertime. My '01 F/awd RX300 has two factory c-best options for this purpose that I had the dealer "reset" not to the factory defaults. |
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Replying to: wwest (Nov 24, 2009 11:32 am) You have to keep the AC on because it is the compressor that takes the air and dries it out. That works until it gets too cold and then the compressor stops working. 
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Replying to: pp2010pp (Nov 24, 2009 4:49 pm) Only randomly, only under Mother Nature's rules. The ability, efficiency, of the A/C to dehumidify the incoming fresh air is dependent on the current climatic conditions, a hit or miss situation, if you will. Not knowing whether or not it will work, reasonably efficiently or even not at all, at any given time means it's best to simply leave it OFF, not rely on it for purposes of dehumidification EVER.
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Replying to: pp2010pp (Nov 24, 2009 4:49 pm) 
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Replying to: wwest (Nov 24, 2009 6:38 pm) I can start off with perfectly clear windows and get them to fog up in a few seconds. - turn heat on 20 degrees or so above OAT - turn AC off - turn recirc to fully on I'll have to try different permutations now that it is reliably cool outside. |
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