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Ice on inside of Windscreen

Windscreen 
17K views 44 replies 30 participants last post by  Fergiem123 
#1 ·
Hey all, I have an '08 Civic which got its windscreen smashed a few months back. After a disasterous job from National Windscreens scratching up all the displays in the car, it seems that in this cold weather the inside of this new windscreen ices up to the point I have to gently scrape it to get the ice off...

Is this a common problem with Civics or is this just another flaw from Disasterous Windscreens?
 
#4 ·
No I never use the air con. Occassionally I have the heaters on the front windscreen to warm it up due to the condensation... but this icing is at the point where I thought it was on the outside and then realised it wasn't.

If I phone up these guys and tell them, do you think I'm likely to get it done for free? It went through my insurance last time, but I have since changed my insurance provider... ARGH
 
#5 ·
You should really keep your air con on all the time. It dehumidifies the air in the car and also keeps the air con working properly.

To get ice on the inside there must be a lot of water vapour in the car which is condensing and then freezing on your cold windscreen.
 
#8 ·
Niiiiiiiiice. I'll drive with it on auto from now then.

Thanks guuuys
 
#9 ·
Give it a week or so of driving, it does take a while for it to dry out properly. If the problem continues, then yes your dodgy screen may well be leaking.

Normally though, the symptom of a leaking screen is a puddle of water in the front footwells.
 
#10 ·
Out of interest, where abouts is the ice on the screen?

The reason I ask is, occasionally i get heavy condensation in the very bottom corner of the windscreen on the drivers side. The other day it even looked green (but the cloth wasnt green when I wiped it away).

This only happens if I dont have the aircon on, and it is usually exactly the same spot that gets it.
 
#11 ·
Also, condensation is more likely to form on a surface that isn't 100% scrupulously clean, so if there is a little 'traffic-film' on the inside, that'll tend to make any problem even worse ...
 
#12 ·
hmm dunno how mine got dirty, I never have the windows open :(. plus I clean it with an alcohol based cleaner every weekend.

It is in the very corner (about the size of a hand) and is hard to reach due to the angle of the windscreen where it meets the dash, and I would imagine it has the potential to ice up when it gets cold enough.
 
#13 ·
Hi my Civic also had ice on the inside this morning to the extent of having to wait at least another 10 mins after the outside was clear, i always use the auto aircon function and have today checked the car thoughout and found no damp what so ever. Came on here tonight to see if this is common as its the first cold morning i have encountered and was not impressed, sold an old mondeo with screen heater for this car and until this point was hands down better, not in the cold though.
 
#14 ·
Hi my Civic also had ice on the inside this morning to the extent of having to wait at least another 10 mins after the outside was clear, I always use the auto aircon function and have today checked the car thoughout and found no damp what so ever. Came on here tonight to see if this is common as it's the first cold morning I have encountered and was not impressed, sold an old Mondeo with screen heater for this car and until this point was hands down better, not in the cold though.
My Civic is 25 months old, and now beginning its 3rd. winter here in SW Norway (cold and very wet) ...

The only time I ever had ice on the inside of the screen was when I inadvertently left a rear window open (just a tiny bit) over-night ...

So, if you have the problem, it must surely mean that there is moisture inside the car somehow or other - window or door seal ? - windscreen not properly bonded ? - wet carpets from feet ? ...

Note - moisture doesn't mean that you would necessarily feel damp anywhere - but a relatively low moisture level over the whole interior could easily lead to ice inside the front screen ...

Do you have all the air vents in the dash open ? - does the rear screen also have icing - try to narrow down the causes ...

Irrespective, those who do encounter this have my total sympathy - a previous Citroen I had did this, and I could never find a concrete cause ! ...
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hi guys, thanks for the stories and info... having the AirCon on for the last week or two seems to have solved the problem. We've had this snow and ice in London and I've not had any ice on the inside of the windscreen. I assume my problem was caused when my windscreen was smashed a few months back, moisture must have crept in then and that was only made apparent a week or so ago when the cold weather arrived.

The ice for me was all over the windscreen, not in patches.
 
#17 ·
I have had ice on the inside of both our civic and corsa.

You really must keep the air con on, though!
 
#18 ·
My theory is that you get ice forming from the moisture carried into the car on your shoes in wet or, especially, snowy weather. This soaks into the carpets and takes a while to dry out.
If, as this last week, the snow lies for a while then you will drag dampness in every time you jump into the car and it will be longer before it's dry inside again.
 
#19 ·
Yep, i've had ice on the inside of my windscreen too. I think my issue is that my car isn't ran long enough to heat up and dry out the mats etc. So it just ends up damp inside. Using air-con won't make a blind bit of difference in my case if the inside of the car is damp.
 
#34 ·
Ditto - I get ice on the inside as well but I suspect that is because I have to walk through a 9" of snow to get to the car, can't avoid getting snow inside and then tend only to drive about 10 miles (although I do have the air con on).

I don't think that the car has really dried out and overnight it just freezes on the inside of the screen!
 
#20 ·
This happens in all cars if the circumstances are right, these being cold enough and damp enough inside the car.

I always run the heater on "Hi" and "foot well" until my toes are toasted to make sure the foot wells are dried out on each trip.
 
#23 ·
I've had a bit of a condensation problem on my Civic, including ice inside in winter.
The dealer recommended using the aircon more and that does seem to help. It still mists up a bit to quickly though. I'm guessing it's just a characteristic of the car.
Not a big issue for me though.
 
#24 ·
Well my car iced up again this morning. My main concern is that scraping it off will result in ice (water) getting over the dash. Do you think this is covered by the warrenty?
 
#25 · (Edited)
glad someone has brought this up as i have something similiar going on with mine...
this morning after not driving mine for the past few days i de iced the front windscreen which cleared to go into the car and find a layer of wet laying in the inside of my car which didnt clear untill i wiped it all.
i had a chip in the windscreen which was apparently sealed by autoglass about a month ago but im concerned they havent done it properly as im not sure whether this is normal or not and hasnt happened before?!:(
can anyone please help??
 
#28 ·
Got back from a 2 week holiday to find ice on the inside of my car (mainly windscreen but on other windows as well)
I always have the aircon on auto so was a little unhappy to see water dripping down onto the radio from the auto lights/wiper box behind the rear view mirror.

Took ages to clear :(

Been on a long (over 200 mile) drive so hopefully that will be the last of it.
 
#32 ·
Got back from a 2 week holiday to find ice on the inside of my car (mainly windscreen but on other windows as well)
I always have the aircon on auto so was a little unhappy to see water dripping down onto the radio from the auto lights/wiper box behind the rear view mirror.

Took ages to clear :(

Been on a long (over 200 mile) drive so hopefully that will be the last of it.
this is exactly what happened to mine and even after having the heater on full...had to grab a towl to wipe the whole windscreen in the end which i wasnt impressed with on a year old car!!!:(
 
#29 ·
if its just condensation then thats fairly normal for this time of year, but a good drive with air con on as people have said should sort you out. I've not had any issues on the inside of the car (and have had the flooded footwell issue with the air con filter plastic being loose). Should be able to test if the chipped area is holding water with a cup of water.

with ice expanding and such its quite possible that winter makes a very small problem into a larger one, but a chip should be easy enough to rule out.

A trick i've asked my girlfriend to use in her Jazz is to try putting a container with cat litter in the car. Its a caravan trick apparently, but should absorb moisture, just not sure it'll absorb the wet in enough of a quantity, but tis always somethign to try if the air con trick doesn't work.
 
#30 ·
A trick i've asked my girlfriend to use in her Jazz is to try putting a container with cat litter in the car.
Alternatively, try a moisture absorber like these.
 
#35 ·
Frost / Ice on Inside of Windscreen (merged)

Just looking for a lit bit of clarification, if someone can maybe help....?

Got a 5-door Sport, 57 plate, had it from new.

A couple of months after receiving the car, had rattles coming from several places within the car. Anyway, the front windscreen was apparently removed and re-seated by the dealer to resolve some of the rattles. Early last year, the driver door was leaking water - gromets replaced by the dealer.

Over the last couple of weeks, when leaving the house in the morning (8:30am), the inside of the front windscreen is iced/frosted up. The inside of the winscreen needs to be scraped and then dried. Obviously the outside of the windows are frosty too, which I can accept!

The Civic sits for approx 14 hours overnight, right beside an 07 plate Audi A4 - the A4 doesn't do this, and it sits for round about the same time, if not longer.

Throughout the journey home at night, the vent in the Civic is set to full-fresh-air and set between 23-25 deg C. Recirc is never used.

Is this supposed to happen? Is this acceptable? I would assume the air-intake to the cabin is sealed-closed when the engine is off?

The 2x previous issues detailed towards the start of the post could be related to this problem....?

I think it probable that an air leak exists around the doors/windows etc - but just need some opinions before deciding whether or not to storm the dealers tomorrow....!

Many thanks.
 
#36 ·
Do you have damp carpets ?
 
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