# Window fogging / defrost



## epcotbob (Dec 27, 2012)

I've had the car a couple weeks now, and really do like it, but I'm wondering if the windshield defrost is working correctly.

This is Minnesota, so I expect to have to run some level of defrost, but I pretty much have to keep the defrost on with the fan at level 4 most of the time to keep the windows clear. I also have to turn on the rear window defrost.

I don't smell any anti-freeze, and the windows are clear until we get in and start driving, so I don't think it's a heater core issue.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

same problem last night, its not just you. there are other threads on this issue. maybe its because with the fan on 3 your only at 30% speed and 4 is 100%


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

epcotbob said:


> I've had the car a couple weeks now, and really do like it, but I'm wondering if the windshield defrost is working correctly.
> 
> This is Minnesota, so I expect to have to run some level of defrost, but I pretty much have to keep the defrost on with the fan at level 4 most of the time to keep the windows clear. I also have to turn on the rear window defrost.
> 
> I don't smell any anti-freeze, and the windows are clear until we get in and start driving, so I don't think it's a heater core issue.


Quit breathing so hard :1poke:

Seriously though, the Cruze doesn't have a lot of interior space and has very little interior airflow when the blower is off. As a result it's real easy to get too much moisture in the air inside, which is what causes the fogging.


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## epcotbob (Dec 27, 2012)

Ok, makes sense. I haven't owned a small car for quite a while, so I'm not quite used to that.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I can leave my defrost on 1 or 2 in heavy rain, but it HAS to be pointed at the windshield. If I leave it on floor/defrost, everything just fogs up anyway.

Sometimes I'll just leave the AC running with the heat if it's raining. Seems like such a waste, but these cars seem to fog up easily. Something about the glass they use these days?  My 1980's and 1990's cars never seemed to do this, but a Honda, the Cruze, and Toyota all made within the last 5 years seem to do it constantly.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Defrost runs the A/C compressor to dry the air before blowing it into the cabin. Floor/Defrost doesn't use the A/C. I suspect if you turn the A/C on then floor/defrost will work as well.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> Defrost runs the A/C compressor to dry the air before blowing it into the cabin. Floor/Defrost doesn't use the A/C. I suspect if you turn the A/C on then floor/defrost will work as well.


It should...at least it does on most other cars. I'll experiment with it again. Or perhaps it's in the owners manual sitting right here.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Hmm, the owners manual doesn't indicate anything about it. 

Floor/defog: clears the windows of fog or moisture. Air is directed to the windshield and floor outlets.
Defrost: Clears the windows of fog or moisture more quickly. Air is directed to the windshield and side window outlets.

Doesn't say anything about the AC compressor running. I suppose I could listen for it.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

Are we talking about ice, or the windows fogging up?

I've had difficulty clearing the windows of fog two or three times in the past year. In those cases I left the fan speed at 4 until the windows cleared, perhaps twenty minutes. After that, the windows stayed clear at lower fan speeds. 

A big part of having a choice of fan speeds is to account for varying conditions. Need to use the one that is effective. Can't expect being able to keep it on the lowest setting 100% of the time.


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## Airfooter (Jan 2, 2013)

epcotbob-

You are not the only Minnesotan with this problem. My Fiancé has a 2011 Cruze LTZ that she purchased used in August of 2012 with the same problem. For the last month I have been reading the other threads that people have started here regarding this issue, in hope that I could figure out a solution. Everything that I have tried has not helped so her car is going into the dealer at 7 a.m. tomorrow. There is no sign of an antifreeze leak present.

With her situation you cannot have the “mode” on anything but full defrost or the driver and passenger windows will completely fog up and the windshield will start to fog (the rear door windows always completely fog regardless of what we've tried). A fan speed of less than 5, with full defrost on; will also result in the driver, passenger, and windshield fogging up. It's been tolerable with only a driver in the car and downright miserable with a passenger. I should mention dangerous as well... 

Thanks to the information I gathered from the other threads, I tried cracking a window, varying the temp setting, and turning the a/c on. The only thing that seemed to help was cracking a window. It helped reduce the amount of moisture in the driver/passenger windows but that was it. It would not totally clear them or help clear the rear door windows. 

Below are some picture that I took for the dealer after a 2 hour drive with full defrost on, the fan speed varied between 5-6, and the temp varied between 74-80. It is always worse at night and on this particular night cracking a window did nothing. It was just my Fiancé and in the car this night. The windows literally had ice on them. The picture of the passenger side window did not turn out because my garage wall is white but it looked the same as the driver side.

The AQS and recirculation buttons have been off. Maybe fresh air is still not able to get in? 

I will report back with what the dealer finds.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Airfooter said:


> epcotbob-
> 
> You are not the only Minnesotan with this problem. My Fiancé has a 2011 Cruze LTZ that she purchased used in August of 2012 with the same problem. For the last month I have been reading the other threads that people have started here regarding this issue, in hope that I could figure out a solution. Everything that I have tried has not helped so her car is going into the dealer at 7 a.m. tomorrow. There is no sign of an antifreeze leak present.
> 
> ...


That looks like a bad heater core.


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## Airfooter (Jan 2, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> That looks like a bad heater core.


With a bad heater core would you end up with an oily mist/film on the windshield or not always? I ask because I've taken a dry microfiber cloth and made small pass on the inside of the windshield and no track was left.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Airfooter said:


> With a bad heater core would you end up with an oily mist/film on the windshield or not always? I ask because I've taken a dry microfiber cloth and made small pass on the inside of the windshield and no track was left.


Yes, antifreeze would definitely leave some kind of oily mist. I've had a bad heater core on other cars though, and they do end up looking very much like that in the winter...but it should leave some kind of streak on the glass.

I wonder...on fan speed 1, car off...heater control somewhere in the middle, and on a regular vent setting. Push the recirculate button and listen closely for some kind of motor movement behind the dash. A stuck recirculating door or bad HVAC control unit (mine was shorted out) could cause the car to only recirculate air already in the cabin...air that carries a lot of moisture and only the AC evaporator could remove. 

There are also vents at the rear windshield to keep fresh air flowing through the car.

Don't be surprised if the dealer tells you they couldn't find any issue. I've had to use my own knowledge of things several times to convince mine there has been an issue with my car. There's clearly something wrong with yours.


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## Airfooter (Jan 2, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> Yes, antifreeze would definitely leave some kind of oily mist. I've had a bad heater core on other cars though, and they do end up looking very much like that in the winter...but it should leave some kind of streak on the glass.
> 
> I wonder...on fan speed 1, car off...heater control somewhere in the middle, and on a regular vent setting. Push the recirculate button and listen closely for some kind of motor movement behind the dash. A stuck recirculating door or bad HVAC control unit (mine was shorted out) could cause the car to only recirculate air already in the cabin...air that carries a lot of moisture and only the AC evaporator could remove.
> 
> ...



I have listened for noise when pushing the recirculation button and have heard nothing. When I made the appointment at the dealer last week a technician happened to be standing close by and threw out the idea of unhooking the battery, leave the car sit for 1hr, and then hook the battery back up. He thought that this might reset the HVAC doors. I did exactly what he had said and when I started the car I heard no door movement at all which surprised me. Maybe this was not the proper process to reset the doors though? The only door movement that I can hear is when I change the mode from full defrost to something else and then back to full defrost again. 

I hope that the dealer finds a defective part such as the heater core or something wrong with the HVAC unit so that we can put this problem behind us. I have plenty of pictures that I've taken for the dealer and I've documented everything that I've tried so I'm going to hope for the best!

I appreciate your insight!


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## grs1961 (Oct 23, 2012)

When you take it to the dealer, insist on taking the vehicle for a drive with a mechanic or service rep *in* the car to show them the problem happening.

Not only can you then be sure they know something is wrong, if they try any sort of, "Oh, it happens with all Cruzes," bullshit, you can drop them off in the middle of nowhere and go find another dealer.


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## AaronR1074 (May 23, 2012)

In wintertime I've been blasting the heat.. and the windows would fog up. I'd deal with it until it's nice and warm in the car then I'd go into circulation/front window defrost mode. Boom.. problem solved. If I keep it on defrost for most of the trip with the heat on the car tends to stay warm. Although I haven't tried this on a longer than 20 min car ride yet. When it gets a little warmer in the garage this week I'm going to try to windex the inside of the windows to see if that helps.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

One thing I noticed recently - is the rear window defroster does not clear ice and snow like other cars I have owned. It does clear fog - so I know the element works. I had read the glass on our Cruzes are thicker to reduce outside noise. Wondering if thicker glass is too insulating and not getting warm on the outside. I noticed on other Cruzes on the road with iced up rear windows during the storm we had on 12/26 driving through Northern NJ.


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## Pete in PA (Dec 1, 2012)

As near as I can tell this is the first GM car I've owned that didn't turn on the compressor to dry the air in defrost mode. You can turn it on yourself. Also new cars have a lot of outgassing of the interior plastics which fogs and coats the windows.


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## epcotbob (Dec 27, 2012)

Airfooter said:


> epcotbob-
> 
> You are not the only Minnesotan with this problem. My Fiancé has a 2011 Cruze LTZ that she purchased used in August of 2012 with the same problem. For the last month I have been reading the other threads that people have started here regarding this issue, in hope that I could figure out a solution. Everything that I have tried has not helped so her car is going into the dealer at 7 a.m. tomorrow. There is no sign of an antifreeze leak present.
> 
> ...


Wow, it looks like yours is fogging quite a bit more than mine. Mine fogs more in the beginning of the drive, requiring running defrost at level 5, but then clears and I can reduce the fan speed and go to mixed floor/defrost after a while.

For me, I'm now thinking it's just me getting used to a smaller car.....yours looks like a real problem that needs fixing.


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## Airfooter (Jan 2, 2013)

epcotbob said:


> For me, I'm now thinking it's just me getting used to a smaller car.....yours looks like a real problem that needs fixing.


I picked up the Cruze 3 hours after dropping it off at the dealership this morning. They found that the gear on the inlet actuator had fallen off. I drove it 1 hour by myself this afternoon, a 1/2 hr with my Fiance this afternoon, and so far so good. I really enjoyed being able to have heat on the floor and not having to roll down the windows to switch lanes!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Airfooter said:


> I picked up the Cruze 3 hours after dropping it off at the dealership this morning. They found that the gear on the inlet actuator had fallen off. I drove it 1 hour by myself this afternoon, a 1/2 hr with my Fiance this afternoon, and so far so good. I really enjoyed being able to have heat on the floor and not having to roll down the windows to switch lanes!


Fell off - how does that happen? More likely it wasn't installed properly. At least they found the problem.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Usually these things are a wheel attached to a shaft of some sort. I've had the darn shafts fall off or break before. Not sure what was better - troubleshooting vacuum leaks with climate control systems or troubleshooting electric motors. 

Honestly I like the old doors attached to a lever approach my old Buick had. Crude but effective. 

Glad the fix was an easy one! Enjoy being able to see out your windows 


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App


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## epcotbob (Dec 27, 2012)

Airfooter said:


> I picked up the Cruze 3 hours after dropping it off at the dealership this morning. They found that the gear on the inlet actuator had fallen off. I drove it 1 hour by myself this afternoon, a 1/2 hr with my Fiance this afternoon, and so far so good. I really enjoyed being able to have heat on the floor and not having to roll down the windows to switch lanes!


Excellent! Glad they were able to find the problem so quickly, I wonder how many others are out there with that issue....


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

epcotbob said:


> I've had the car a couple weeks now, and really do like it, but I'm wondering if the windshield defrost is working correctly.
> 
> This is Minnesota, so I expect to have to run some level of defrost, but I pretty much have to keep the defrost on with the fan at level 4 most of the time to keep the windows clear. I also have to turn on the rear window defrost.
> 
> I don't smell any anti-freeze, and the windows are clear until we get in and start driving, so I don't think it's a heater core issue.




epcotbob,
Have you had a chance to take your Cruze into your dealer to have them look into this for you? If you have not I would recommend that you have them look into this for you. Please keep me posted and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Airfooter said:


> I picked up the Cruze 3 hours after dropping it off at the dealership this morning. They found that the gear on the inlet actuator had fallen off. I drove it 1 hour by myself this afternoon, a 1/2 hr with my Fiance this afternoon, and so far so good. I really enjoyed being able to have heat on the floor and not having to roll down the windows to switch lanes!



Airfooter,
I am happy to hear that your dealer was able to get this issue resolved for you. If you have any other questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Stimlad (Dec 10, 2014)

I have pretty much the same issue with a 2011 Chevy Cruze. I live in Minnesota and on my morning drive to work in the winter my windows fog and then frost from the inside. I've had it in twice to the Chevy dealership i bought it from. The first time they replaced the water pump (mainly because it was a recall). And, after the windows still frosted up, They told me they couldn't find anything wrong or "recreate" the problem. They left me with the solution "to let the car run 15 minutes every morning before taking it to work" I've lived here all my life and have never had a car do this. Needless to say i'm pretty upset that i'm stuck with this problem. And, will probably not by another GM made car again...


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## JerTM (Dec 12, 2014)

I had fogging concerns with my 13 eco MT. After inspecting and replacing the cabin air filter that was heavily plugged I haven't noticed any fogging. I'm not saying 100% it's a fix, but it's worth looking into for those that have had an issue.


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