Defroster can't keep up

The defroster in my 01 (4 door) suddenly (this winter) doesn't keep up anymore. It will keep the windshield, and driver's window clear, and keeps a little spot by the right side rear view mirror clear, everything else is fogged (or iced) up. It's quite irritating, as I drive 40 miles to work, and have to have the fan on high the whole way, unless the temperature is above 40° :banghead: .

Anyone have any clues of what to look at/for?

The first thing that comes to mind is to make sure you have the airflow set to outside air coming in and not set to recirculate the inside air. The other thing is that if there is any humidity in the air, turn your heat up the whatever level you want it and push the air conditioning button on. This won't reduce the amount of heat your getting, but will allow the air conditioning system to help to dry out the air in the car.

The control system for the HVAC dictates that the outside air is the only choice for supply when defrost is on, and yes, it is using the AC as a part of the function. The air supply, and AC selections are electrical on/off buttons. I will double check at dinner break to see if I can hear the system switch from inside to outside air when those buttons are selected, to make sure it's not stuck.

I believe if there is a problem with the system, those lights will flash, either the recirculate button or the outside air button.

Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy. I'm sure the owners manual would probably say something about that if i took the time to read it.

Come to think of it, it has been awhile since I washed the windows inside, suppose I should try that too.

Are you a smoker? That may be why the windows looked fogged up too, because the smoke coats the inside of the windows.

Jeremy

No smoking in my car. The ashtray and lighter were the first things to come out.

But i do have three kids, and Kansas is dry and dusty most of the year. Between dust sucked in by the HVAC, and kids fingerprints, the windows can be pretty coated too.