Ford Focus 1.6 2003 UK and Steaming up windows.

Have a focus and the windows steam all the time if I have the heating on. How can I avoid steaming windows and use the heating.

Reply to
Leon
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Firsly have the pollen filter seal checked and if its at all abit dodgy use copious amounts of silicon on the lower windscreen before sticking the cover back on.

Foci do seem to steam up alot worse than other cars for some reason, but using the a/c stops it.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (Remove NOSPAM.

Hi as far as I remember, this is a common problem for US-Foci, not for European ones. My German Focus from 2000 has had its pollen filter changed three times with no problems about sealing.

Not mine, it doesn´t steam while heating, even with ac turned off. I would suppose to check the fresh air inlet in front of the windscreen. There could be some wet leafs or other dirt blocking the way and moisturing the air getting to the inside of the car.

The worst case would be a broken heater with a cooling water leak that leads to steam your car while the heater is used.

bye Jupp

Reply to
Josef Erbs

In message , "Tim (Remove NOSPAM." writes

There's a TSB for poor de-misting which involves replacing the blower resistor and replacing the outlet vents. These vents are located underneath the rear bumper which needs to be removed and is a PITA.

The resistor and vents cost about 16ukp but to be honest, I haven't noticed any real improvement. Obviously the resistor cranks up the fan speed a little and the vents are designed to increase the through flow.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

I'd always wondered where the outlet vents were. Can you see them from within the boot?

If you run the fan on full speed (without recirc on!), shut the doors, then feel along outside under the sills, around the centre of the car there are two small holes. Air comes out of here with some force. I suppose this is because the outlet vents are undersized.

The Focus is the worst car for window steaming that I have had in recent years. The heater is pretty weedy generally, and I hate the fact that it is not possible to have a setting that gives some air to the screen and some out of the dash vents. Still great to drive even if I can't see where I'm going! :-)

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

No, you have to remove the bumper. They are located just behind the rear wheel arch liners where the bumpers wrap around.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

My 2000V 1.8 Zetec 5 door hatch has always been a pain with steaming up = when the conditions are right (wrong??). It only happens about half a = dozen times a year. I agree with Paul, yes, the AC always clears it and very quickly but I = have had this car for most of its life and sometimes, the AC has to run = all the time to keep it clear. I recently did a 3 hour journey on the = motorway when I had to keep the AC going all the time (which was the first time this had happened). Most of the = time, even when we have got into the car with wet clothes, it is ok and no problem. I have tried all settings, different fan speeds, different settings of = blower and different directions of output, all to little avail when the = conditions are in favour of the Focus steaming up. As Paul says, the problem seems to be with the outlet vents, I am sure = that if they were up near the rear lights at the top, there would be no = problem. I find that if I clean the inside of the windows on a very = regular basis (even when they don't look dirty) there is an improvement. = I also found that by folding the rear corners of the boot liner/mat = underneath themselves (leaving a hole into the "chassis/body" area) = allows a little more air to flow. I assume that the airflow comes into = the cabin at the front and needs to find an exit in order to flow. It = has to get through the rear seats and the boot cover lid and through = whatever is in the boot in order to exit (At least that is what I think = it has to do?). I try to keep the rear corners clear of things in the = boot and this has undoubtedly helped a bit but it still steams up very = quickly at times. I have travelled with the seats down with luggage etc = in the back and it has never steamed up like that. It has to be an = airflow problem (providing it doesn't happen all the time which would be = damp getting in somewhere problem of course- pollen filter, leak etc). I also am lucky enough to have the Quickclear windscreen which I have = used a couple of times (yesterday was one of them, about freezing point = and the car had been parked for about 4 hours) but this time, once it = had cleared, it stayed clear. I had only previously used this for = melting ice and frost on the outside - only just clicked that it would = be useful for steaming on the inside - and it is very good. Didn't realise there was a TSB about it, guess not many people complain = about it and assume it is just a feature. I certainly am very prepared to put up with it (and put the AC on and = off as required), it is a pain but it is a great car, a delight to drive = !!!!

Justin Case

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Reply to
Justin Case

And who designs dash vents which can't direct warm air onto the hands when it's a chilly day?! That's my pet peeve for an otherwise great car.

Reply to
Stephen F.

"Paul Giverin" wrote in news:ri$e4hB4IDsBFwo$@10.0.0.3...

It seems to be unlimited amount of hot air when you direct it via the dashboard outlets, but then nothing goes to the windshield and it fogs up instantly. And when the air is directed to the windshield and floor, that air seems to pretty much have lost most of the heat before entering the cabin. (Badly isolated air ducts, or leakages maybe). The old SAAB 900 had a small hole in the vent flaps to the windshield. There was always at least a small air flow to the windshield regardless of how you set the distribution otherwise. This would be an improvement with the Focus too. Then you could get lots of heat into the car, without fogging the windshield instantly. A DIY article on one of the Focus websites with such a mod would be great. Any takers? /per

Reply to
per

I use my recycle button when using the fan for heat or A/C. Improves blower performance tremendously.

Reply to
ROBERT TURNER

Yes Justine, its a feature we all don't want and is a thorn on our rears.

Will be calling my UK Ford Dealer and tell them the problem. This should not happen to a new car and its quite dangerous if your fiddling about with different fan speeds to get the car demisted.

I f>

Reply to
Leon

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