It’s a Tesla.... & I’m misting up

[Drew57]

My Model 3 windscreen suffers when cold/damp far more than any car I've owned but pre-heating in the mornings helps enormously.

However there are times when condensation is still an issue (especially the hard to reach passenger side) so when I saw a cheap little 3-way telescopic ice scraper-squeegee-mirofibre pad gizmo in Aldi on Thursday, I dropped one in the trolley.

It's great & although this morning when I took the pics the screen is clear you can see how it reaches into 'those hard to get places' without needing to leave the drivers seat (...only going to use the microfibre pad option)

Elasticated microfibre cloths (2 supplied) stretch over the rotatable plastic pad which has ice scraper-squeegee & hard edges.

(...I threw the box in the Friday recycling so can't reference exactly what it's called but maybe there are still some in-store or alternatives elsewhere)

 

[ACarneiro]

Nice bit of kit.
Never had that big a problem with condensation, though? Although I suppose as my commute is 50 miles it gives it plenty of time to evaporate the whole lot.

 

[MrBadger]

We had a hole in our glass roof sealant - in fact several in both panels once Tesla started to investigate. I also had a few queries regarding what was in my opinion, excessive misting or condensation - including leaving car when Supercharging. Tesla refused to investigate the misting and condensation until they had fixed the sealant issues (two new roof panels) and I would need to monitor and report again if needed. Unfortunately with Covid situation, I'm not in a position to reassess as frequently as I did last year to gauge whether it is excessive or not.

tl;dr - if you have excessive condensation, don't rule out there being a reason for it that may need investigating

 

[Tony Hoyle]

I've only ever had normal amount of misting that disappears in a couple of minutes with the heater, like any other car. Excessive condensation sounds like a fault somewhere.

 

[Adopado]

Keeping the AC on should take out moisture too, of course.

 

[JayMac]

My Model 3 windscreen suffers when cold/damp far more than any car I've owned but pre-heating in the mornings helps enormously.

However there are times when condensation is still an issue (especially the hard to reach passenger side) so when I saw a cheap little 3-way telescopic ice scraper-squeegee-mirofibre pad gizmo in Aldi on Thursday, I dropped one in the trolley.

It's great & although this morning when I took the pics the screen is clear you can see how it reaches into 'those hard to get places' without needing to leave the drivers seat (...only going to use the microfibre pad option)

Elasticated microfibre cloths (2 supplied) stretch over the rotatable plastic pad which has ice scraper-squeegee & hard edges.

(...I threw the box in the Friday recycling so can't reference exactly what it's called but maybe there are still some in-store or alternatives elsewhere)

Looks like a good purchase but In my opinion you shouldn’t need to use any cloth to wipe the screen to clear condensation. The car should clear through the climate control. I have never had to do this.

If you have the climate control and air conditioning on it will clear it unless your car is letting in excessive amounts of moisture from somewhere.

I will be getting one of those microfibre clothes though, it looks great for my girlfriends dirty diesel which is always steamed up.

 

[Drew57]

Yes, with a/c & climate this is not an issue in my car - sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I'm driving a leaky sponge. Now the weather is consistently cold/damp, I set climate from the app about 15 minutes before setting off in the morning & there's no sign of condensation.

However there have been many 'chilly but not cold' mornings where we've relied on the seat heaters for short trips to/from our Daughters & it's those occasions that I refer to plus jumping into the car when it's been raining with damp clothes causing the windows to mist until the heater does its stuff. Trips to a park or the local zoo, door & boot open grappling with grandchild & seat harness, buggy & 'stuff' gives plenty of opportunity for moisture in the car before setting off.

...if it's raining hard the opened boot auto switches on 'Tesla Niagra mode' which adds to all this of course.

 

[Spacep0d]

My Model 3 windscreen suffers when cold/damp far more than any car I've owned but pre-heating in the mornings helps enormously.

However there are times when condensation is still an issue (especially the hard to reach passenger side) so when I saw a cheap little 3-way telescopic ice scraper-squeegee-mirofibre pad gizmo in Aldi on Thursday, I dropped one in the trolley.

It's great & although this morning when I took the pics the screen is clear you can see how it reaches into 'those hard to get places' without needing to leave the drivers seat (...only going to use the microfibre pad option)

Elasticated microfibre cloths (2 supplied) stretch over the rotatable plastic pad which has ice scraper-squeegee & hard edges.

(...I threw the box in the Friday recycling so can't reference exactly what it's called but maybe there are still some in-store or alternatives elsewhere)

I have one just like it! I use it because I'm too short to read the midline of the car when wiping down the windshield or paint. I tried to order a pro detailer's stool but the order got canceled for some reason.

Great idea to use it on the inside too. A 50/50 mixture of alcohol and distilled water is amazing on the window glass.

 

[Adopado]

However there have been many 'chilly but not cold' mornings where we've relied on the seat heaters for short trips to/from our Daughters & it's those occasions that I refer to plus jumping into the car when it's been raining with damp clothes causing the windows to mist until the heater does its stuff.

Ah yes, I can see that.
In the early phase of ownership when I was desperate to save every bit of electricity I tried operating without AC and doing the seat heater thing but once the range anxiety settled down I just set the climate for comfort and never thought about it again!

 

[sho12345678]

Ah yes, I can see that.
In the early phase of ownership when I was desperate to save every bit of electricity I tried operating without AC and doing the seat heater thing but once the range anxiety settled down I just set the climate for comfort and never thought about it again!

Even on rainy days in the summer my screen steams up with climate control on and no A/C. I now leave A/C on all the time.

Is this normal behaviour or does it sound like a seal issue?

 

[Adopado]

Even on rainy days in the summer my screen steams up with climate control on and no A/C. I now leave A/C on all the time.

Is this normal behaviour or does it sound like a seal issue?

I'm not sure what happens with mine in those conditions without AC because I just leave AC on and it does what it does. I might nudge the temperature up or down half a degree but I hardly ever touch the other settings ... AC on and fan at 2 works for me. I think most cars will get misty to a greater or lesser extent in damp conditions unless using AC or windows vented. Hopefully others will comment.

 

[Gasman23]

Yes, with a/c & climate this is not an issue in my car - sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I'm driving a leaky sponge. Now the weather is consistently cold/damp, I set climate from the app about 15 minutes before setting off in the morning & there's no sign of condensation.

However there have been many 'chilly but not cold' mornings where we've relied on the seat heaters for short trips to/from our Daughters & it's those occasions that I refer to plus jumping into the car when it's been raining with damp clothes causing the windows to mist until the heater does its stuff. Trips to a park or the local zoo, door & boot open grappling with grandchild & seat harness, buggy & 'stuff' gives plenty of opportunity for moisture in the car before setting off.

...if it's raining hard the opened boot auto switches on 'Tesla Niagra mode' which adds to all this of course.

sounds like you could do with leaving the climate in auto mode and just play with the temp. Surely it’s easier to do that than mess around with that contraption

 

[SpareHeadOne]

I can recommend the Air Dry Dehumidifier, we got one from Halfords because the wife's car has a similar problem. It just comes into the house every month or so and sits on top of a radiator to dry for a couple of days before going back in - although we're thinking of getting a second one so they can be used in rotation. No condensation after it's been in the car a couple of days and at this time of year that also means no ice on the inside of the windows.

Air Dry Classic - Car Dehumidifier | Halfords UK

(You can get them from other places, the link is there so you know the exact product.)

 

[Keeper]

Even on rainy days in the summer my screen steams up with climate control on and no A/C. I now leave A/C on all the time.

Is this normal behaviour or does it sound like a seal issue?

Check for discolouration of the roof liner after you wash the car from water ingress.
I experienced almost continuous misting of my windows after I took delivery of my car. Eventually I noticed damp patches on the roof liner and occasionally water beads running down the the inside of the rear window, especially when I washed the car with the hose pipe. I took pictures and sent them to SC Weybridge. The car was taken in and diagnosed with faulty roof glass seals. A new glass roof was installed under warranty. It took a week to sort out with a loan car to compensate. No complaints with the overall experience that I received from Tesla SC Weybridge. No misting since.