Climate control Fogs up car!

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
ebill3 said:
stevewa said:
Also noted when I turn on the climate control it also resumes charging the battery towards 100 percent even though I have the timer defined for 80 percent only.
Interesting - are you turning on climate control remotely, or in the car? When I did a little test turning climate control on remotely, it did not try to change past 80%, and the blue charge lights did not come on. The far left light blinked, but the two rightmost were off. (as viewed from in the car)
Bill

I always turn on the HVAC remotely, and it ALWAYS charges past 80% while it is pre-cooling/heating. However, since one needs only 5-10 mins. of pre-conditioning, it only charges a few % more. A Nissan HVAC expert told me that the idea of pre-conditioning the cabin is just so it is comfortable when you get in. It isn't really meant to cool or heat beyond that.
 
If this was the intent, why wouldn't Nissan build in a timer for pre-conditioning? I would think their engineers would have known fogging would occur with the system on recirculate.


LEAFfan said:
ebill3 said:
stevewa said:
A Nissan HVAC expert told me that the idea of pre-conditioning the cabin is just so it is comfortable when you get in. It isn't really meant to cool or heat beyond that.
 
Setting the HVAC to recirculation when per-heating is a VERY bad idea. I understand why Nissan did this (to save on electricity and to heat the car quicker) but anyone who lives in cold (below freezing) climate knows you never set your HVAC to recirculation in winter time. When you get into your car with your boots full of snow (and often your coat and hat too), the snow melts and you end up with a very humid environment. You need to lower the humidity level as much as possible and the best way to do this is to heat the cold outside air. When you think about it in an energy conserving manner it does seem pretty wasteful but it is better to do this while connected to the grid than when running off the batteries.

For anyone that hasn't experienced this, I have often had to scrape frost off the INSIDE of my windshield!!! I now park in a warm garage and never have to go trough that again. :)
 
EVDRIVER said:
use the AC, it takes a few seconds.

If its 40 degrees outside, how exactly does one turn on the AC? The system will heat not cool. When heating the defrost takes 2-3 minutes. On full fan speed it does cut the time down to maybe 1 minute.
 
Same problem here.

I've noticed that when it rains, the fogging is very heavy if I remotely turn on the pre-heat prior to leaving work. I have to sit in the parking lot for several minutes before it clears up. I'll have to carry a rag in the glove box to clear the fog more quickly using elbow grease, or simply not pre-heat on rainy days.
 
JPWhite said:
EVDRIVER said:
use the AC, it takes a few seconds.

If its 40 degrees outside, how exactly does one turn on the AC? The system will heat not cool. When heating the defrost takes 2-3 minutes. On full fan speed it does cut the time down to maybe 1 minute.


If you are in the car and started it with your key, simply push the AC button. If the system was remotely turned on, the AC is already on ( at least the AC light is on) but the system is set to recirc, thus causing window fogging after a few minutes.
 
JPWhite said:
If its 40 degrees outside, how exactly does one turn on the AC? The system will heat not cool. When heating the defrost takes 2-3 minutes. On full fan speed it does cut the time down to maybe 1 minute.
Actually the A/C in a car is independent of temperature, it can be active when you cool or warm the car. Most importantly, in this context, it is a dehumidifier. This is why the A/C is turned on automatically when you push the front windshield Defrost button in most modern cars. The assumption is that excessive moisture contributes to the formation of the fog on the windshield, so the dehumidifier is turned on too. When I push the windshield defrost button on my LEAF, the A/C light goes on, no matter what my temperature setting is. This could be a feature of my CWP, but I would expect it happens in all LEAFs.
 
ebill3 said:
Unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do except leave a window open. We are not able to set any climate control settings when using the timer or remote turn on, and it sure does go to recirculate.

I have been using remote climate control turn on the last couple of days and not had the fogging problem, but I keep my buggy in the garage and have the front windows open a crack. As you probably know, if you do select defrost, it will go to fresh air, but you can't do that remotely.
Well, that was back in mid-October, but today a different story. Outside temp 48°F, unheated garage, both front windows open about an inch, pre-heat, all windows totally fogged.

Sure, turn the car on, hit defrost and maximum fan speed, and the windows clear in a hurry. But I would like that to happen while using shore power, not battery power.

Bill
 
Me too :!:


ebill3 said:
ebill3 said:
Unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do except leave a window open. We are not able to set any climate control settings when using the timer or remote turn on, and it sure does go to recirculate.

I have been using remote climate control turn on the last couple of days and not had the fogging problem, but I keep my buggy in the garage and have the front windows open a crack. As you probably know, if you do select defrost, it will go to fresh air, but you can't do that remotely.
Well, that was back in mid-October, but today a different story. Outside temp 48°F, unheated garage, both front windows open about an inch, pre-heat, all windows totally fogged.

Sure, turn the car on, hit defrost and maximum fan speed, and the windows clear in a hurry. But I would like that to happen while using shore power, not battery power.

Bill
 
ebill3 said:
Sure, turn the car on, hit defrost and maximum fan speed, and the windows clear in a hurry. But I would like that to happen while using shore power, not battery power.

Bill

So why not turn on the defrost and fan while still plugged up to the mains?
 
ebill3 said:
Well, that was back in mid-October, but today a different story. Outside temp 48°F, unheated garage, both front windows open about an inch, pre-heat, all windows totally fogged.
I don't use pre-heat often in San Diego, but I did appreciate that they used recirculate to maximize efficiency. Then it rained. This morning (rain gone, but car interior slightly damp) the windows all fogged up. It defogged very quicly, but now I see the point of view of you Pacific Northwesterners.

It would be nice if the car would use the recirculate/fresh setting that you had set.

It would be nicer still if the car would use all the climate control settings you had set.

It would be even nicer if the smartphone/web app would give you all the same climate control settings as on the dashboard.
 
walterbays said:
It would be nice if the car would use the recirculate/fresh setting that you had set.

It would be nicer still if the car would use all the climate control settings you had set.

It would be even nicer if the smartphone/web app would give you all the same climate control settings as on the dashboard.

Yeah and wouldn't it be nice if the phone app let you lock/unlock doors. Read the vehicle mileage as well as SOC. Program the radio/XM/aux audio from a smart phone or PC. Basically anything you can do form the center console should be web/phone app controlled. How about multiple settings based upon which key fob you use. I can think of many improvements to the telematics, but am glad I have what I do.
 
I did a test this morning , car parked outside overnight 31F light frost on all surfaces

Started climate preheat remote with car unplugged

Within 5 min noticed windshield was mostly clear of frost

Got into the car, noted significant warm air from the defroster vents!

Seemed it was in foot/defrost position!

Started car and put climate in 80f defrost position and activated rear defrost

I was very happy to the the air directed at the windshield during preheat

Good performance of rear defrost

And mirror defrost

Good quick heat

Might have to retract some of my previous words on the design

I will add that on a damp 50 degree morning I did have moisture build up (too much)
from the pre heat , so its not doing somoething right at higher humidity and temps
 
muus said:
Setting the HVAC to recirculation when per-heating is a VERY bad idea. I understand why Nissan did this (to save on electricity and to heat the car quicker) but anyone who lives in cold (below freezing) climate knows you never set your HVAC to recirculation in winter time. When you get into your car with your boots full of snow (and often your coat and hat too), the snow melts and you end up with a very humid environment. You need to lower the humidity level as much as possible and the best way to do this is to heat the cold outside air. When you think about it in an energy conserving manner it does seem pretty wasteful but it is better to do this while connected to the grid than when running off the batteries.

For anyone that hasn't experienced this, I have often had to scrape frost off the INSIDE of my windshield!!! I now park in a warm garage and never have to go trough that again. :)

I think the above post is worthy of a quote at this juncture. recirculate traps moisture in the car, at least in my experience and this is extra bad in the winter time when that moist warm air wants to condense on the cold glass. I've settle for a letting the air circulate in from outside even though it's chilled, I just keep the fan off and mode set to feet/defog. sorry if it seems like I'm repeating myself, but this has made a huge difference for me and it seems like a lot of folks are very frustrated with the CC/defog situation.
 
GaslessInSeattle said:
I think the above post is worthy of a quote at this juncture. recirculate traps moisture in the car, at least in my experience and this is extra bad in the winter time when that moist warm air wants to condense on the cold glass. I've settle for a letting the air circulate in from outside even though it's chilled, I just keep the fan off and mode set to feet/defog. sorry if it seems like I'm repeating myself, but this has made a huge difference for me and it seems like a lot of folks are very frustrated with the CC/defog situation.
A lot of repetition seems very warranted, perhaps with some outraged screaming thown in: Dehumidify! DEHUMIDIFY! DEHUMIDIFY! I can wear a coat. I can wear gloves. I just can't seem to last all the way through my commute without exhaling. The primary job of the climate control package should be to keep the sauna windows clear. The preheat function can impose cabin recirculation if it wishes, so long as it runs the processed airstream through the AC's cooling coil and wrings the water out.
 
Now that it has got much colder and drier, the fogging problem is no longer an issue. I routinely preheat when it is perishingly cold and enjoy the nice warm cabin :)
 
Folks the problem is not only moisture but the cold windows coming in contact with the warmer (and usually moister) air. In cold weather you need to warm the windows to keep them clear of fog (notice how well the rear window defogger works without any A/C blowing on it). That's why leaving the defogger on for a few extra minutes (until it actually warms the windshield) pays off in the long run.

I never use the pre-heat while charging, all it does is fog the windows. Nissan needs to either (1) let users manipulate all Climate Control features remotely or (2) use whatever the last settings that were set by the driver in the car (I tested this and it seems that the exiting CC settings were ignored and the system just used Auto when the remote CC was activated).

BTW - A firmware upgrade could fix this, so all is not lost for us current owners...they just need to realize that there is actually a problem.
 
I've seen no indication that Nissan has any intention of fixing the myriad of software issues with the car, and most certainly not for current owners. Too bad that they don't take a page from Ford's playbook who is mailing a USB stick to every Ford owner of the last couple of years with new software for the display, control and entertainment system to fix customer complaints about it.

padamson1 said:
BTW - A firmware upgrade could fix this, so all is not lost for us current owners...they just need to realize that there is actually a problem.
 
Yes, but I think interior moisture is the bigger of the two issues during preheat. My experience is I get fogging during preheat if the following are true:
• It's rainy and my clothing/shoes were damp when I exited the car last
• Ambient temp is above 40F
• I left the windows up upon exiting (car in garage)

I've found I get much less or no fogging during preheat when the following conditions take place:
• I've cracked the windows overnight to dry the air and floor matts
• It's not rainy out
• Temp is in the low 30'sF

The minimal fogging I get while driving in dry conditions comes from my breath and/or body evaporation and is easily removed by the defog/65F/fan on high method for a few minutes then moving the vent to floor for energy conservation.

The worst fogging I get while driving in rainy conditions is dependent on how much moisture I drag into the car with me during the course of the excursion.

padamson1 said:
Folks the problem is not only moisture but the cold windows coming in contact with the warmer (and usually moister) air.
 
Back
Top