Does anyone else's windshield get all cloudy on the inside? Not frost?

[kmarshall]

Hi All, After having the R8 for a couple years, and driving into the sun on the way to work and into the sun on the way home, I've finally decided to tackle this issue. If I have the fan or AC on, re-circ or not, after about a week of commuting in the car after washing the inside of the wind shield, it'll get all fogged up again... but the fog won't go away. Its some sort of cloudy film, not water condensation or a mist.

And I'm sure its pretty good for me to be breathing too.

Any clues on how to fix this? Known issue?

Thanks!

[harrison]

Turn on the wipers!! I will sometimes have two small foggy , misty clouds (at base of w/sheild,right above the wiper blades) that I would try to eliminate with defrost,Air etc.only to discover it was forming on the outside!

[S&W 10]

I get the same haze inside my R8 and other newer vehicles as well. After discussing this with a friend who's a petroleum/chemical engineer, I've learned it's from the ABS and PVC components sublimating or out-gassing. The windshield gets the worst of it due to the plastic air ducts blowing directly against it. Not much can be done other then keep cleaning and having the patience to wait for it to stop. My oldest vehicle is a 2003 2500 HD Silverado (even with the LT3 package there's still more plastic than leather) and it still gets this haze inside...seven years later and no end in sight!

[KfabR8]

Ditto on my RS6, my truck and the R8. So it's actually plastic fumes, eh? Interesting.

[desperado]

Nah, it's just your heavy breathing while driving such an amazing car as an R8!

[gazza1]

No doesn't happen on mine but sometimes in our hot summer when humidity is really high i get steam mist coming through the vents.

Just like a smoke machine on a Concert Stage.

Requires a urgent shutdown of the system

[Europrice]

That film can be any number of things. If you have a leaking heater core, even a very minor leak, it can build a film up as air passes through the heater core or even just through the airbox, even if heat flaps are closed. Also could have a very slow A/C leak and have R134 seeping out of the evaporator, but eventually A/C performance will diminish as the A/C pressure/volume falls out of spec. When heater cores are really leaking you smell that sweet coolant smell of course, but when it's just minor weeping you likely won't notice. Also as mentioned it can be outgassing of any number of plastic or other materials in the hvac tract or even the dash. Every car I've ever owned has had this to varying degrees, but it usually takes a week or longer to build up in any noticeable way. It doesn't seem to vary much with use of heat or A/C, or for that matter just having the window open most of the time.

[ignomini]

You might also consider the possible effects of aftermarket maintenance products like ArmorAll. Some of these products will outgass as well in the heat of the sun through a window.

[Europrice]

You might also consider the possible effects of aftermarket maintenance products like ArmorAll. Some of these products will outgass as well in the heat of the sun through a window.

Yes, this can be a big culprit. I don't use any of this stuff in my cars, but I bet when sun gets on it it releases some nasty stuff into the air.

[kmarshall]

Thanks everyone for the replies! It is for sure on the inside and for sure not steam as it leaves a nasty residue. And I, like Alex, don't use stuff like ArmorAll except on my hair for big dates.

Be it leaking AC or the plastics stuff that S&W10 mentioned, it sure doesn't sound like stuff that is making us healthier . Since I live near Tahoe, I don't run AC much, but will have it tested when its at the dealer next week to make sure chemicals are staying where they belong.

My prior new cars (Audi's, Porsche, Ford, Rovers) haven't had the issue like some of you mentioned you've had in other Audi's and new cars... bummer to hear that lots of us have to deal with this type of issue. It wouldn't be as big of an issue if the windsheild wasn't so huge and hard to reach the base of! My VW Bus is much easier to clean on the inside... just doesn't corner the same.