To all you great people, I need help.<br>I live in NYC and have the car for about 9 months.<br>I have a great time driving it but now that it gets cold I close the windows.<br><br>And.... the car gets all steamed up from the inside. I put the heat on, but it is too hot for me inside the car. The heat will eliminate the fogging up of the windshield and the sidewindow.<br>But I can not stand the heat, I like to drive a cool car ( well the car is cool, but you know what I mean )<br>The rear window is alwas clouded over and I use the defroster a lot and that helps.<br><br>When I drive I would like to get the outside air but none of the settings really makes the air FLOW in. <br><br>The car seems to be air tight. I must breath too much. The car is great and I am afraid that in the winter I must drive with the sidewindow open, which is not good either.<br><br>How can I un-steam the inside of the car ?<br>What setting do you use ?<br>Can you get good outside airflow coming into your car thru the dashboard ?<br>Is there something I do wrong ?<br><br>I remember years ago early 60 cars had that problem. Is it me or is it the car ?<br><br>Help !<br><br>Please help me turn off the steam !<br><br>Hans

I find that the Prius' windows fog up when I have a load of teenagers. I turn on the defroster and the air-conditioning compressor dries the air. It works well and quickly. But of course, like all Prius people, I love my stealth so I have been looking at an interior glass treatment that cuts fog. I haven't used it because I don't know if it will affect the sunscreen built into the glass. Toyota's sunscreen may be on the interior surface or sandwiched between two glass sheets which make up the pane. Windshields used to be made this way, maybe still are. It is probably harmless. All it says on the bottle is that contains isopropanol, that it's good for the interior of car windows, bathroom mirrors etc. and the standard Poison Centre stuff. Has anyone had any experience with this type of product?<br><br>Rick Hall

&gt; Has anyone had any experience with this type of product?<br><br>If it helps, I recall my scuba instructor telling me that you can get commercial defogging stuff to put on the inside of your mask, but spit works just as well. And, in fact, spit worked fine.<br><br>But I guess that solution isn't practical for a whole windshield.

Hans;<br><br>Since I'm still waiting for my Prius to arrive (and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and...) I'm not certain how the heater controls operate. But in general the fogging is best stopped by running the air conditioner while you have defrost selected. Some cars do this automatically but again, I'm not sure if the Prius does. Sounds a little illogical, but it works because the AC dehumidifies the air. So just run the AC with the defroster and adjust the temperature to whatever makes you comfortable.<br><br>If you are already doing this and the windows still fog, check to see if the condensation drain is plugged.<br><br>Regards,<br>Bob Roncace

make sure you use the FRESH setting not the RECIRC. Your windows are fogging because on recirc theres nowhere for the body heat/humidity to escape to. Also enable your a/c. This is true with any car- A primary function of the a/c is dehumidification, not just refrigeration. I keep the a/c on pretty much all the time as only the temp. setting affects the temp of the air flowing thru your vents. I'm of the opinion that inefficient use of the "auto" fan setting is more detrimental to fuel economy than enabling the a/c. <br>hope this helps.<br>toyobri<br>RECIRCULATE- hot and humid summer only (exception- recirc. also keeps out stinking diesel fumes and other odors. If its not hot and humid just use it temporarily)<br><br>FRESH- pretty much any other time.

If you turn the climate control selector all the way to defrost only (picture of windshield), it will automatically run the A/C compressor the whole time. Of course, running the A/C compressor when there's no frost/fog on your windshield results in unnecessary use of fuel. So you should use this setting to clear the windshield, then switch back to windshield/foot to continue light defrost without the A/C compressor.<br><br>Robert Snyder<br>NJ-PIKACHU

hansomat said on 10/10/01 6:47 pm:<br>&gt; How can I un-steam the inside of the car ?<br>&gt; What setting do you use ?<br><br>Take a look-through of pages 134-136 of your Owner's Manual.<br><br>There are several tips under the "Operating Tips" section about reducing the fogging of windows, and even a general write-up on "Defogging" your windows.<br><br>(The short of it: Auto fan speed, Fresh air (outside intake), air flow to windshield, air conditioning on MAX, Temperature high to heat (low to cool)...)<br><br>Do note that running the AC (as well as placing the air flow to windshield) will ultimately reduce your mileage due to the gas engine being run more often to power the AC compressor... But as one person stated on the Groups list (and I subscribe to), it's better to be able to see where you're driving but lower MPG, than to have a high MPG and get into an accident...

You wrote...<br><br>&gt; And.... the car gets all steamed up from the inside. <br><br>You'll get a LOT less fogging if you make sure to pull in OUTSIDE air, not recirculating the interior air.<br><br>I've found that AUTO is not always the best setting for moving air, I usually (to feel a breeze) must set the temp where I want and then move the fan speed dial to I or II, instead of AUTO.<br><br>On AUTO, the air barely moves...<br><br>To be aware, the air conditioning is invoked if you put the DEFROST on to windshield (no feet). With that running, you'll barely ever get to "zen" mode where the car shuts off, but it will certainly dehumidify the air. Of course you can add heat, so you won't be blowing only icy cold air this way.<br><br>Hope this helps.<br><br>peace,<br>Linda