What is causing the persistent windshield fog in my 1993 Chevy Lumina?
I have an old car I don’t drive much, a 1993 Chevy Lumina. Last year I started getting this fog inside my windshield. When I wipe it off, it comes back in minutes. Seems to happen whether the car is on or off, in winter or summer. It freezes inside the windshield in winter and needs to be scraped off.
I assumed this problem was with a 1 L bottle of water a friend left in the back seat that jammed under the seat and leaked out on my floor, but the blower seems to have no effect on this windshield fog, so it’s not plain water (but it does freeze at water-freezing temps). I’ve read that heater core leaks can cause a nasty persistent fog, and that vinyl dashboards in old cars can produce similar effects. I do have a vinyl dashboard, but I haven’t had any problems with the heater.
Is it time to visit the mechanic, or is this just aging car vinyl combined with lingering moisture from that spill?
I did have some floor moisture for a while, but it was in the back driver’s side seat where the water bottle spilled out. No moisture on the front passenger seat floor. When I last vacuumed out the car a couple weeks ago I saw no moisture at all on the floors.
7 Responses
Dick Faber
27 Mar 2010
krennao
27 Mar 2010
Moister mold, still in the car.
trapper1_CA T
27 Mar 2010
sure sounds like a leaky heater core to me
jim1
27 Mar 2010
thats a sign of a leak in heater core its a small radiator under dash holds coolant
polkan47
27 Mar 2010
Really small pinhole in your heater core will do that.Even you have no problems with heat.
vinster
27 Mar 2010
If it’s the heater core causing the fogging on the window , you would also smell antifreeze smell in the car itself, and possibly a light fog / steam coming from the vents , window defrost vent , and maybe even the dash vents too – but unless you’re just running straight water in your radiator , you most likely WILL smell anti-freeze………if it’s the heater core , that is.
mister ss
27 Mar 2010
sounds like a bad heater core to me.
check the coolant levels in the radiator, as this sounds suspiciously like a cracked heater core. another tell tale is persistantly wet carpet in the front passenger foot well.