How to deal with foggy car windshield?
What is the most effective way to deal with foggy windshields due to steam, cold mist, or simply temperature differences in humid weather or cold, rainy weather?
There are many ways to do it based on the driver's experience, including... using a towel to wipe; however, when manufacturing cars, all these situations have been anticipated by support devices, and if not paying attention, many drivers will ignore these features.
1. Use glass drying system
- Most new car models today are equipped with this feature, helping drivers maintain visibility. Most car models today have both windshield and rearview mirror heating systems; and only luxury, expensive car models have an additional rearview mirror heating system.
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| Front/rear windshield heating control button oncarusually located near the air conditioning system |
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| Symbols on the front windshield heating button |
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| Rear windshield heating symbol |
- The front/rear windshield heating system button is usually located on the center console, close to the air conditioning system, with a separate symbol (illustrated above) and when activated, an indicator light will turn on (if the indicator light does not light up, the system is not working properly).
Normally, in car models with automatic air conditioning systems, these features will automatically turn off after a certain period of time (10-15 minutes by design); if not, remember to turn off this function after all the steam has been processed to avoid overloading the electrical system or optimizing fuel and air conditioning systems.
2. Use air conditioning system
- The first thing to note is that you should not use hot air conditioning to treat the steam on the glass because the condensation on the windshield is due to the temperature difference between inside the car and the environment. Use cold air conditioning and a reasonable air flow mode.
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| Air duct selection location on Chevrolet Trax |
- Select the wind mode to blow on the windshield (the wind mode control button is located on the car's air conditioning system), use the appropriate wind level and temperature because if it is too cold, it is easy to cause the glass to be contaminated with water on the outside.
3. Balance the temperature inside and outside the car
- Open the window about 10-15cm: A simple and fuel-saving way to help balance the temperature inside/outside the car, avoiding condensation. However, if driving in the rain, this is clearly not an optimal choice.
- Turn on the fan and set it to outside air intake mode. This is also a way to balance the temperature inside/outside the car, avoiding condensation on the glass. However, the weakness of this method is that it is not very effective and if there is already steam on the windshield or rear window, it is clearly too late to take in outside air.