A3 Misting Up

[Uppy89]

Does anyone else have an issue with their A3 (or any other Audi for that matter) misting up? I know it is cold weather at the moment but compared to my partners car and previous cars I have had, the A3 seems to be the worst one. Plus it can take an age to clear.

It's a 63 plate by the way.

[Yertis]

Uppy89 said:

Does anyone else have an issue with their A3 (or any other Audi for that matter) misting up? I know it is cold weather at the moment but compared to my partners car and previous cars I have had, the A3 seems to be the worst one. Plus it can take an age to clear.

It's a 63 plate by the way.

It shouldn't do that. I don't know much about A3s but the earlier generation of 80 and 80 coupe have a bad rep for getting tiny holes in the heater matrix, which means that they constantly mist up, and the more you crank up the fan the worse it gets. There are two fixes. 1 – Replace the heater matrix, which is (at least on 80s) a massive, expensive job involving the complete dismantling of the interior. Or 2 – get hold of some stuff called K-Seal, which is a bit like rad weld and solves the problem on a semi-permanent basis for a few quid. There are some negative stories about K-Seal on the web (like there are about everything) but my Audi specialist swears by it, and I've used it without issue for years in a Coupe. It's certainly not my ideal solution, and I have new matrix on the shelf, but it stops us from driving into things because we can't see out.

[chimp427]

If it has climate control do you leave it in auto all the time?

[va1o]

I've had this on a few VAG cars in the past, seems worse if they don't have climate control

a moisture abosrbing cushion thing helps - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ThoMar-604-202-Classic-Re-...

[dc2rr07]

Check the recirculate air button is not on as this can cause misting.

[Dolf Stoppard]

I had the same problem with the rear window of my TT. Bought one of the 'Ping' dehumidifiers from Amazon, put it on the parcel shelf and I've not had a problem since.

After a couple of weeks the indicator turned pink telling me it needed drying out in the microwave or on a radiator. Took it out of the car and the next day the moisture was back. Popped it back on the parcel shelf and no moisture since.

Can't recommend it enough.

I would say though that I think my problem is probably due to the rear window seal starting to fail. But I'd check your carpets to make sure there's no leak. If there is, you obviously need to get it sorted.

[LeoSayer]

Any stone chips on the windscreen?

The misting on our A3 was caused by a tiny amount of water leaking through the chip. Cured by a new windscreen.