Very very heavy condensation inside Fabia VRS

[Tyson1980]

It was so bad on the weekend it was like being in a shower cubicle. Drove the car for over an hour and it was so thick i could barely see in some cases.

Does anyone know if leaving the vents open would cause this?? I have heard closing the slats would prevent this from happening.

I have already de-leaked the car. Rear doors have been siliconed. However, i think i probably need to check the fronts.

I cant remember it being as bad as this last year..

[road_rager]

Leaking heater Matrix?

[rfn]

You've got a leak. A bad one at that by the sounds of things! Rear doors very common, though you state they've been resealed.

[Corsair7]

I had a heavy condensation issue in my Audi after the aircon failed.

To combat it, I bought a damp treatment 'device' from the Range. Its a plastic box filled with some special salts that draw water out of the air.

I leave it in the car, and never suffer from damp any more.

Cost £4.99

[vit4]

My dad's Fabia had this. Not really a proper 'fix' but if you get some silica gel crystals and leave them in the ashtray (obviously leave it open ) & on the dashboard overnight, it can help massively.

[lost in espace]

Pollen filter worth changing.

[Stitch]

This seems to be a major problem with VAG cars. I have had a Golf and an A4 that both used to mist up horribly the moment it started to rain.

Meant having to run around with front screen demist on (and by default the aircon) whenever it was raining.

[Jabbah]

I have a similar problem in my mx5, its so bad at the moment that after scraping the ice of the outside, I have to do the same inside :-(

Whilst you are driving make sure you don't have your air vents set to re-circulate, put high temp on, high flow and open the windows a crack. Also, leave a tray of dishwasher (cheap) salt in over night.

[mike325112]

I've noticed that my neighbours Fabia VRS mists up an awful lot - he was scrapping the inside of the screen the other morning.

[aka_kerrly]

Check the carpets in the footwell and up behind the dash for signs of excessive moisture, if the carpet is damp then check in the engine bay in the corners of the scuttle panels to make sure the drainage holes are clear and the pollen filter is not leaking.

[Crusoe]

worth checking the rear wash wipe works too

[mk1matt]

The pollen filter in my old Mk4 Golf was really damp before I changed it, and I did suffer from a lot of condensation. It was much better afterwards.

[vrsmxtb]

A definite common problem with the Fabia, check over on the Briskoda forums but most of the advice has been covered here. Double check all your carpets for door leakage, same with boot. Is the rear washer working? The pipe can separate leading to dampness under back seats. Try and get warm air out before you park up for the night.

I bought a mini-dehumidifier (with crystals and recharged in microwave) a few weeks ago and have to say I have had good results in general so far.


Still get condensation from breath/body heat which freezes inside when wiped off on a sub zero morning though, which is very annoying.

If you have/can borrow one maybe run a mains dehumidifier inside the car for a few hours to give it a thorough dry out?

[B'stard Child]

road_rager said:

Leaking heater Matrix?

For a leaking matrix you should also get that sickly sweet smell of antifreeze as well as the screen being very smeary on the inside when you try to wipe the glass

Along the same lines if the car has AC check the vent tubes for the heater box aren't blocked - if they are the heater box fills up with condensate from the AC matrix and as a result it can't dry the air properly (worst case senario it comes into the car at the lowest point it can get out

[MartynVRS]

I'd test and reseal all four doors if necessary. Mind had a similar problem