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Come autumn and winter, my wife's Cavalier has always had a problem with condensation building up inside overnight. In winter it freezes inside. There are no obvious leaks into the car and the only difference with rain is that the problem doesn't exist (just mists up a bit). Is it the model, or just us? And does anybody know a remedy? The car generally only does 20 miles or so a day.
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Mine does that too - What improves the situation much more is ensuring all the vents are turned off and on the odd double heater controls, you have the left one pushed to the right and vice versa. This in effect stops any fresh air getting into the car (can use when you're sat behind a dirty lorry as well!) and seems to reduce the problem, at least on my car anyway. Don't forget to move the controls the next day though else you (or your wife) will be falling asleep whilst driving.
Let me know if it helps!
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Do you normally drive around with the air on "recirculate" rather than outside air ?
M.
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No, but I leave the car with that setting overnight as it seems to prevent condensation building up in the car on cold nights - It was exactly the same on the Maestro I owned before as well. Never normally a problem but when you have to use your ice-scraper on the inside of the car as well as out it becomes annoying!
Dan
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Odds on it's water getting into the boot, especially if it's a hatchback model with a sunroof - is the condensation worse on the rear screen than the other windows, by any chance? There are 3 favourite routes for water entry on Mk3 Cavs (I'm assuming it's a Mk3?):
1) Boot/hatch rubber seal. Check it's seated properly and not damaged.
2) Sunroof drain tube, which exits via the boot floor behind the interior rear panel trim. Can become disconnected and pour its contents straight into the boot.
3) Around the rear light units. Water collects on top of them and finds a way in unless the seals are perfect. Also check all nuts holding the units on are fully tightened.
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Agree entirely. I had exactly the same problem with my Rover 800, which had several minor leaks in the boot area around rubber seals, rear light clusters, screws etc. The car used to suffer severe misting up, especially the rear window until I cured the leaks. The leaks were not obvious as the water soaks into the carpet etc. The boot used to smell a bit musty inside which is probably a good indication of a leak.
Another potential cause is a tiny leak somewhere around the heater matrix/connections.
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Perhaps it is the heater matrix which has the effect on my car - hence closing it off stops the car misting up.
Depends on how bad it is I guess, if the prob is very bad then it may well more likely be a leak...
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Can anyone suggest a cure for condensation inside a headlamp? Wife's Honda Civic (G Reg.) has had this problem for years. There doesn't appear to be a crack or hole on the glass, the obvious culprit, and it appears that the rubber seal around the bulb fitting is OK. I occasionally dry it out with a hair dryer. Possibly only to be cured by fitting a new unit, but these are expensive. The lights are poor anyway, even with the Philips Ulta Bright bulbs fitted - not a patch on the Renault 5GL she used to own.
P.
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My 99 Astra had this problem. I cured it by drying out the unit through the bulb apertures using a hot air gun (need to do this very thoroughly, a few times over a day or two to get rid of all the moisture). Then I sealed the top and sides of the headlamp unit with sanitary grade silicon sealant. It works and the problem is 90% better. Saves the expense of new headlamps!
Cheers
Baz
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It doesn't have a 'recirculate' as such, only 'off' with the vents shut (see Dan's reply). Usually, it's bringing in outside air. We're giving Dan's suggestion a try tonight.
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All the Omegas I've driven suffer from the same problem. Sorry Dan can you just explain again what you do with the heater controls can't quite get to grips with your solution.
Andrew.
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Well, it won't help if there is actually a leak somewhere in the car causing the condensation but it is worth a go!
As the weather gets colder, I get more and more condensation build up in the car overnight - the reason I fathomed out how to alleviate the problem was that it always starts (ie in less cold weather) on the front windscreen and around any vents in the car. After a few experiments with various settings, sticking the temperature control on "cold" and putting the unit on "air recirculate" seems to get rid of 80% of the problem in my car. My description probably wasn't entirely clear because Cavalier's have such an odd heater control!
Hope it helps...
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Thanks everybody for your input. Tried Dan's suggestion this morning and it seemed better. I'll have a look for leaks next.
Regards
Derek
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I used to have a similar problem, also with a Cavlier, although an old one.
It turned out that it had plasticor polythese or something under the carpets. This was, in some way, preventing the carpets drying properly after I got in with wet shoes/boots.
Of course, I realised it was wet boots after I had spent ages checking everything for leaks !
All I did was remove the carpets every couple of months or so, let them thoroughly dry and put them back.
The problem then disappeared until the next time.
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Damp car? Try cat litter! An old sock or two filled with the stuff and shoved under the seats absorbs a lot of damp in the air, and off of wet boots!
Also smells better than most of them shake-and-vacuos thingies ...
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There are an awful lot of different sorts of cat litter, but I think Bio-Catelet might well work and it's easy to dispose of; we get it in Tesco.
(I suggest NOT after pussy has finished with it, of course!)
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