Window Fog

Yes, this has happened to me also. It seems to fog up much more than my old car - not sure why. Have not taken any steps other than to turn on the defrost button for a few minutes. I also would be curious about an anti-fogger.

 

Rain-X is for the outside of the windows. Just turn on the climate control and it will clear your fog from the inside of the windows. It is designed to remove the humidity and it works well. You ca turn it off when the windows are clear.

 

Plese also check to see if the "Recirulate" switch is on or off.

If it is on, you will build up humidity i your car. Turn it off, and allow fresh outside air to circulate through the cabin.

Also, you can se the remp at about 72 (assuminmg outside is colder) and run the air. The heated, conditioned air will remove humidity.

My be is that you have air recirculating. If so, you will lsways have stale, humid air in the cabin.


Bob

 

I noticed it too... Then I also noticed I was running with the A/C off and not really pumping air in from the outside. The car remained a suitable temperature so I never noticed.

I do have to gove Toyota props for making an excellent defroster function. Blows away that fog like nobody's business.

Now that I've learned how to turn the "vent" on (MAX COLD trick), I haven't had the problem. YMMV.

 

I have used RainX anti fog version and it simply does not work in any car!!

in fact it seems to create a permanent fog!

but the defroster works great so i see this as a non issue. also cracking the window a touch will do it too, but i hate to do that because the car is so quiet it makes the wind noise seem terribly loud.

 

I sometimes have a similar problem in my '95 Odyssey. I think the shallower sloped windshields and long dashs tend to trap humidity a bit more. The Odyssey climate control is not as fancy as the '04 Prius, but the same basic rules apply - defrost, outside air, fan and heat if needed.
I tried RAIN-X (outside) after reading about it here. Remarkable stuff. At about 25 mph the water droplets start to collect and run up the windshield. At 55 the water streaming up is like a Star Trek view, especially when it is dark out. At that speed, you can see quite well even if your wipers are stopped. Would have been handy for my mother-in-law the time her blade ripped and she scratched a nasty arc in the windshield since she didn't feel safe stopping on the interstate!
Does anyone know if you can use it in the bathroom shower? We use a squeegy but the soap still starts to build up. Maybe this would keep it from sticking!

 

I find that when ever I have the air conditioner or heater off, the windows fog. But if the heater or air are on then they won't fog up.

Brian

 

I think Bob hit the nail on the head. Make sure the "Recirculate" button is set so you're bringing fresh air in from outside. You will see a light on the dash if the recirculate button is just recirculating air. The light goes off if the button is set to let fresh air in.

 

Rain-X on the outside of the windshield is a big SAFETY plus. It is great stuff and really helps keep the windshield clear even in the worst downpours. If your wipers fail, you can still drive safely.
As far as inside fogging, I had a problem with it but noticed that I had turned the side vent to the left of the steering wheel off, and after I opened it up there was no problem. Only the driver's window was fogging - guess I'm a hot and steamy kind of guy!

 

well you got the concept right. RainX is nothing more than a super fine glass polish. the reason water runs off the windshield is because RainX polishes the glass making it slippery and smooth.(it would be very shiny if mirrorized)

on normal unpolished windshields the surface has pits, scratches, and other surface inperfections. this enables water to stick to the windshield.

if polished and the surface is smooth, then the water has nothing to grab on to and slides right off.

now because of that principle, using your windshield wipers introduces scratches to the glass and will shorten the effective life of your Rain X coating. if you use Rain X and it is applied correctly, there will NEVER be a need to use windshield wipers.

about 10 years ago, i worked for a company that was located at the end of a long dirt road. if passing a vehicle going the other way, you were almost always splattered with mud when it was raining (mind you i live in the Pacific Northwest!!)

even with mud on the windshield, Rain X did the job. however, mud did shorten the life of the Rain X coating.

but other than that time working there, i could go 6 months on an application, and during that time, i never used my windshield wipers.

 

Do you think it would work in a full-bore downpour?

Though we don't get much of that up here in the PNW -- the rain or drizzle is pretty constant (and frequent.) We seem to rarely get the 4-minute gully-washers I remember from the East Coast.

 

The stuff is amazing. The water just sheets up and off the top of the windshield. The only time I use my wipers (when I have a fresh application of Rain-X) is while driving at night with close on-coming traffic. Once the car has passed, I turn the wipers off.
I think it will work in a downpour as well as wipers. Even wipers have their limits in a true downpour. I remember having to pull off the road once outside of New Orleans... the wipers just couldn't keep up.

 

i dont ever remember a time when Rain X failed me.

and you are right, it rarely rains hard here.

at least not like some of the thunderstorms ive been in while living in Michigan. then we would get 6 inches of rain in an hour and a half.

but to be honest with ya, Rain is the most irritating when it is drizzling anyway. and it does A LOT of that here.

but as long as you keep decent speed up, and you only need about 30 mph+ and the wind is all you need to blow that water right off.

realize that when Rain X is working well, rain does not smear across the glass and blur vision. it beads up into balls of water because the surface tension of the water is much greater than the surface adhesion of the glass. (if rain X is working, then the surface adhesion is practically nil)

ive seen times when it was raining hard enough that i had little rivers around the edges of the windshield but the center of the glass is smooth and clear as clear can be. the rivers form only because water sliding off the glass hits the trim around the glass and that slows its exit somewhat, but the center of the glass has no such problems.

best i can say is try Rain X. make sure you follow the directions real good and do the best you can when applying it.

i predict that when it rains, it will take you less than a second to see the difference.

 

I'm guessing that Rain X would not be as useful on the rear window due to low air flow??

 

hmm good question... never tried it...

but you overlook a very important concept.

because of the reduced surface tension of the windshield being lower than the surface tension of water, the rain will bead up on the glass instead of adhering to the glass in uneven smear that blurs vision.

i predict that it will still be clearer even without the wind blowing directly on the glass because of the beading phenomena

 

It is very effective on the back window. I didn't get the wiper and have used Rain-X since I got the car. There is plenty of air flow across the back window. I have ben amazed at the way the side windows are cleared of rain by the great air flow across them too. I have not treated them with Rain-X yet.

 

Certainly true! I did the "apply to 1 side of the windshield" scientific experiment the first time I used it so I could compare. We drove to my in-laws' 35 miles away. I could see fine, my wife couldn't see a thing. The only down side to the experiment was that I HAD to run the wipers because she couldn't see. Did both cars as soon as I had the opportunity after that. Doesn't really help much in the winter here though. Gets lost in the ice scraping and all. I just redid both cars last week and I don't mind if it wants to rain some

 

Certainly true! I did the "apply to 1 side of the windshield" scientific experiment the first time I used it so I could compare. We drove to my in-laws 35 miles away. I could see fine, my wife couldn't see a thing. The only down side to the experiment was that I HAD to run the wipers because she couldn't see. Did both cars as soon as I had the opportunity after that. Doesn't really help much in the winter here though. Gets lost in the ice scraping and all. I just redid both cars last week and I don't mind if it wants to rain some