My 2005 X-Fire convertible fogs up like crazy when ever the weather cools down. If I am driving on a rainy day I have to turn on the Air on Max and divert all the vents to the window just to be able to see. Any ideas? The dealer says its normal, but that's crap. I talked to another owner of the same car and they don't have any problems.

 

Water can go down the air inlet for the heater if the drains are blocked on the cowl in front of the windscreen. This would be a good reason for it to happen.
Check under the dash on the passenger side to see if there is moisture around the cabin air filter.
If you have another leak into the car from the window etc, then the moisture in the car would show up when the heater went on.
If you have the air recirculating it would do the same thing.

 

Yep, I agree. The drains for the cowl inlets may be blocked.

 

Also might be worth changing your cabin filter. I did mine a few weeks back and it's made a huge difference!

Regards, Andy.

 

you could have a pin hole leak on the heater core. Does it have any smell, like radiator water would have. The anti-freeze will cause fogging windows like crazy. You will have to clean the windows with Iso Akly to get it off.

Dave
dtinker

 

I'm no expert on the XFire, having just become a new owner.

If the fogging is real severe (in any type of weather), I'm leaning towards Dave's assessment on the Heater Core. If there is a leak in that area, you will definitely get fogged windows (been there on that with another one of my cars).

A typical sign of Core issues is that the car will fog very nicely even after the engine is shut down (and hot) and the car sits with the windows closed...

I had this with my Lincoln Mark V, and the whole dashboard had to be dropped for access, in order to repair/replace.

If it is the Core, you don't want those chemicals floating around your interior, it's not good for your health...

 

You don't drive with your heating system in "recirculate" mode do you? That will cause condensation...

 

Sounds like my car, I have to divert all the air to the windshield and on high to get it to clear off. It is a pain especially in the rain. Actually once it starts to cool off in the evening it seems as though it is worse.I don't see any leaking in the car itself and haven't got any antifreeze smell so I don't think it is the heater core. I took my cabin filter out completly for a while and that didn't seem to make much difference and there wasn't any signs of it being wet.I did go out yesterday and took a quick look at the cowl but I am thinking I will need to tear a few things apart to find the drain, when I do I'll take some pictures.
Can anyone tell me where the drain for the cowl come out? and if it is easy to see or if I need to remove anything

 

If i remember correctly the cowel drains are under the cowel cover near each fender. The one that usually causes moisture to get into the car is the one on the passenger side aswhen the water backs up and can't drain it overflows into an opening for cabin filter (under the glove compartment). The drain holes are small and leaves or pine tags will clog them easily. My bro-in-law had this issue and when i checked mine there was only minimal leves that needed to be removed...hope this helps. PJ

 

Great info, I know I will use this to protect my Xfire.

Dave
dtinker

 

Mine fogs up somewhat but no worse than any other car that I've ever owned. I just use the a/c with the control turned to defog the windshield and it clears right up. You might try using RainX for the interior. I have a bottle of the stuff but I've never used it so I can't tell you how well it works.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlG

You might try using RainX for the interior. I have a bottle of the stuff but I've never used it so I can't tell you how well it works.

I'm not aware or sure if you'd want to use RainX on the interior, as it's meant for outside glass. Unless there is a RainX product, specifically for the interior.

As far as RainX on the exterior windshield, I am completely sold on this product.

Once applied, the rain beads up and literally flys off the glass.

And it makes even the poorest, worst worn wipers act like miracle workers.

Try it, I love this stuff and would recommended...

(Read the directions, and apply accordingly, this will avoid the slight haze if you just wing it, as we usually tend to do...lol...)

 

I think they came out with a product for the interior too recently.

Dave
dtinker

 

I checked my drains for the cowl, there is one on each outside edge near the fender. They have a pretty large hole with a tube that goes down and drains on the back side of the fender behind the innerfender. Mine had leaves and debri in them but they were still draining, cleaned them out and flushed them. I removed the screws along the front of the cowl and could pick it up enough to gain access to clean them out. Like I said mine were not plugged so I don't think it was an issue but it feels better knowing they are clean, at least for the time being... I took some pictures to try and show the exact location of them

 

Well, the RainX for the interior glass I bought is 6 years old. I never used it but it does say it's specifically for interior glass and is not to be used in place of RainX that goes on the outside of the windshield.

 

There is also a drain tray below the evaporator coils by the heater core. It holds the run off from the A/C when it's running. It's a good idea to hit the "Rest" button once a week when you get out. It drys that tray out.

It's a catch 22 problem. You run the AC to get the fog off the window, but that puts condensation in the tray to fog the window up next time you get in the car. So hit the button on the way out. It works for me.

RB