So I own a 2009 Base Model Honda Fit (love it). I cannot for the life of me figure out how to set the defroster the right way. The car starts fogging up as soon as I start driving and then I try to fumble with the cold vs hot air combo to try and defog the windows. Should I set it to defrost along with AC or is it better to just use the defrost option? Also should I circulate air or let the air through the car. Honestly this may seem like a silly dilemma but I have no idea what to do. Is anyone else having a similar problem with their fit?

 

make sure the ventilation mode is set to fresh or outside air. new cars come with the ventilation set for the re-circulate mode to prevent salt air from getting inside the cabin during transit.

if you have it on re-circulate it will fog up.

if it's fogging up on the outside of the glass, it means that you are setting the temp too low. it does that on real humid hotter days.

 

yeah, what he said.

You can hit the a/c button on any outlet setting and this will further help dehumidify the air. If it's raining it may get foggy on the inside even with the vent set on fresh air. Just set the temp warm enough to counteract the cooling effect of the a/c. You don't have to wait for the windows to get foggy to do this.

If you turn it to defog or defrost, the A/C comes on by default (even though the button light doesn't illuminate) to aid in defogging the inside.

It seems silly to say this, but also try cleaning the inside of your windows. There seems to be a lot of out-gassing from the new plastic that puts a film on the inside of the windows especially during the first couple months you have it. This seems to contribute to foggy windows.

 

Awesome, thanks! I definitely think the car is ready for a major wash/polish. I think the problem is frequently reoccurring because there has been so much rain in NJ lately and my baby gets all fogged up.

 

What they said. In my experience- give the inside windshield a good cleaning. The fogging should drop off quite a bit. The windshield can look clean and fool you into thinking there's no need to clean it- but there really is, big time. My first cleaning cured 100% of what I considered excessive fogging. Some fog is inevitable under the right conditions. But excessive amounts can be cured with some good old elbow grease. Enjoy that Fit!

Dan

 

Just set the direction to defogger/windshield. the AC always automatically kicks on (as long as the fan is on) to help defog the windshield. I'd recommend not using Recirculate with this setting unless you are trying to warm up the car. to warm up the car, choose Recirc and do NOT choose the defogger mode (which will kick on the A/C) as the A/C will slow down the rate at which the car warms up.

~SB