13 replies to this topic

[Preee]

Hows your car heater compare ?

My old Mk2.5 was fantastic it also had heated seats which i love and never got ice on in insdie of the car even when it went down to -8 last year.

Now Mk3, -6 this morning , thankfully i have the heated seats as i would have froze to death on the way home , this mk3 takes ages to warm the inside of the car. Using the climate control auto switch which also puts AC on my windscreen this morning had the same ammount of ice on the inside as out .lol
water was actually dripping down th inside of the screen.

Anyway i think i'm going to take an electric blanket with me tonight.

I'm just thinking the manual heater controls are much better than climate and not just the ease of use.

Grump over

[NorthSussex]

If you had ice on the inside it sounds like you have moisture inside the car, check for leaks or the air con isn't working to remove any moisture.

[Fastfordman]

My mk3 with manual air con gets warm really quick and no ice / water on inside of screen. The supposedly heated washer jets still froze though at -7 this morning, how do yours perform?

[Preee]

If you had ice on the inside it sounds like you have moisture inside the car, check for leaks or the air con isn't working to remove any moisture.

Cheaked for leaks last weekend when i washed it as it's not the first time ice on the inside , all is dry. I do tend to have full heat on in the car , due to the lack of miles i'm doing , i'm guessing this is causing condensation. But i am using the AC which should remove it .

[Preee]

My mk3 with manual air con gets warm really quick and no ice / water on inside of screen. The supposedly heated washer jets still froze though at -7 this morning, how do yours perform?

Not tried the washer jets , i will try it later when i go to work and report back.

[artscot79]

the aircon would remove it but remember the interior temp is far higher than outside so as soon as that hot air hits cold glass when you leave the car it will condense causing even more moisture just the way it is even worse if that hotter air in the car hits the windows then the temp dips quickly nip into a shell petrol station they have screenwash used pure thats good to minus 26 ive used it and my washer jets havent froze even when the rest of the car looks like it came from a deep freeze

[Brigante]

My car was covered in a thick coat of ice this morning, doors nearly froze shut n had to scrape about a 4mm coat of ice of every window.

My washer fluid ctually froze also as nothing would come out the heated jets. Think the heat from the engine eventually defrosted em.

[PaulHere]

After having new Fiestas for four years and being defrosted and away in no time we have had to move to a 2001 MK1 Focus which means no heated front screen or heated mirrors.

From our limited experience with the car, after scraping the ice off the glass it needs about 4 or 5 minutes to get to a stage where the interior starts to warm up - and the manual air con needs to be used to combat steaming up windows every once in a while.

The washer jets froze up today, I checked the fluid for antifreeze and found the last owner must have used water only, so put in some neat Halfords stuff today, hopefully it will work through the system and stop it freezing instantly on the screen!

[btmaldon]

I didn't think the aircon would operate if it was under 4 degrees anyway.

[artscot79]

That depends on the car some have vss pumps like mine that regulate the gas so dont cycle on and off they will work down to 0 degrees on warm or hot air and switch off the pump if you select cold as for heat it does take 5 mins to warm up but with mine on full hot its roasting i never have it there always midway

[btmaldon]

That depends on the car some have vss pumps like mine that regulate the gas so dont cycle on and off they will work down to 0 degrees on warm or hot air and switch off the pump if you select cold as for heat it does take 5 mins to warm up but with mine on full hot its roasting i never have it there always midway

Thanks Arthur. My wifes SportKA definately doesn't operate under a certain temperature. Hopefully my Focus works as yours does.

[artscot79]

as far as im aware the ti vct has it only it is used to prevent accelerator lurch from the system switching on and off all the time and increases fuel economy

[Fastfordman]

Frozen washer jets were the least of my worries this morning. In the early hours we had freezing rain in Sheffield everything was literally like an ice rink. Opened front door to go to car and nearly went flying down our steps had to grit and inch my way to car and then slipped and slided on foot to the end of the road to look at the main road and cars were all over the place and couldn't get up the hill at the bottom of the road. Eventually gave up and phoned boss to say I would work from home, it was 3 hours later before it was remotely safe to drive on even then I struggled up the hill with traction control going mad. At half nine it was still like rush hour as people finally ventured onto the roads. I have never in my life seen conditions like it.

[Foci_st3]

Mines spot on I get up at leave at half 7 in the morning and only takes a minute to clear windscreen and cars warm within about 5 mins of leaving, also have heated seats which is spot on but a heated steering wheel would be really nice lol