Sounds like the seal for the windshield is busted, cracked, ripped, or otherwise damaged.

 

I've never had that problem before.. Maybe he has small opening's around his windshield ??

 

Sounds like it's caused by a moisture problem somewhere in the car. I'd think he'd have it all over though, not just on the windshield.

 

Interesting problem (and user name)......what temp weather are we talking, and how long are we talking?

 

speculations...


Well, no ice here in South Florida, but here we go...

Whenever you leave your car AC recirculation button off (allowing air from the outside), or you leave the AC in defrost windshield mode (hence, using air from the outside -- recirculation air botton goes off automatically), moisture and fog may build up inside your car windshield. This most likely happens in humid places.

When I wash my car late afternoon in the summer and I forget to enable the air recycle botton before I turn off the car, I always get the "fog" inside the windshield the next morning...

Tell your friend to make sure the air recirculation botton is lid before he turns off his car... see if that helps....

 

we're talking about say...minus 10 weather type of thing....basically, when there's frost on the windshield, there will be corresponding frost inside the windshield as well....

on the other windows....I don't think there's really any on any other windows, but I'm not sure....hmmmm....actually, there is....but hardly any though....we were just talking about it last time we were in the car.

So since it's basically non-generalized, I'm thinking it's something about the windshield....I had thought about there being moisture inside hte car, but two nights ago when we used his car, there were actual ice patterns and frost on the inside...it was kind of neat really.

And I'll ask him if he keeps his re-circular on or not, but I don't think that that would make enough of a difference in his case


and thanks for everybody's help so far....any more ideas or theories, keep them coming!

 

This is a somewhat common problem with the 02's. Mine has done this from the first cold day and ever since. I have no idea of the actual cause but have a few suggestions to help. Check with your friend and ask if he has to run the windshield defroster almost all year long...I bet he does. I suspect there are a few root causes but have never had the time to really roll up my sleeves and figure it out though.

First and foremost...kick off as much snow as is humanly possible when you get in. All that snow on your boots will get melted by the heater when you drive the car and it just gets absorbed by the floor mats...mine usually tend to get a block of ice over the course of the winter. I take my mats out once every month or so during the winter and let them melt in the basement and then I wet/dry vac them and let them sit until they're totally dry. They hold alot of water and that water will melt slightly when you use the car and evaporate.

My car's interior fogs up like nobody's business...in any weather or temperature. I think the plastic the dash cover is made of outgasses very readily and the windshield gets a coating of slime, which moisture sticks to very readily. Frequent (weekly) cleaning of the glass helps this enormously.

The AC wicks moisture out of the air as a part of its function, when you shut it off I think a good percentage of this moisture is released back into the cabin. I have found that by switching my vent controls to the foot setting from windshield keeps about 75% of the moisture from getting onto my windshield...you have to switch the vent while the car is running though and let it go for about 8-10 seconds since the flap door is motorized and not cable operated.

Lastly I think the early Altimas had a general airflow defect in the cabin. Specifically I think the cabin exhaust door (somewhere under the rear seat I think) tends to be sticky or covered in the goop they spray all over the car. When the car is in motion, windows shut, vents on the dash setting and fan off you should be able to feel some airflow coming out of the vents, simply because the action of moving through the air creates a low pressure area at the rear of the car where the cabin exhaust is...this should in turn pull fresh air in from the vents to keep the inside from getting stale and stinky...my 02 has almost zero detectable airflow from the vents even at 80mph. This is not good and I think is a major part of the problem. Without fresh air exchange you can't get the moisture thats a part of even your breath out of the car. Its also possible that the fresh air filter is clogged and is not allowing enough fresh air into the car, which is the exact same problem but at the front of the system instead of the rear...he could try removing the air filter and then do the driving vent test again to check for improvements in free air flow.

Also check and see if your friend has ever changed his fresh air filter...if not that is probably a big part of the problem.

Cliff notes:

- Kick the snow off your shoes.
- Clean the windshield frequently.
- Check/change/remove the cabin air filter.
- Switch the vent controls to floor before shutting the car off.
- Check the cabin exhaust port to see if its blocked.

 

MY god son!! WTF did u do to that poor camry?

 

I've never had that problem before.. Maybe he has small opening's around his windshield ??

this could happen with an open water bottle inside the car, and excess condensation.

 

hmmm, this just happened to a friend of mine after a long hard day at school, he went back to his Saab 9-3 and the inside of his windows were all nice and frosty.... i laughed and drove off!

 

djliquidice -> hard work, thanks

and tdoyle: thanks for the tips, I'll talk to my friend about that stuff

 

hey, why not just refer your friend to these forums instead of middle-manning for him?

 

I get frost inside as well, especially when there's been a large drop in the temp.

03 3.5SE

 

tdoyle - the cabin exhaust vent is behind the left rear wheel under the trunk liner. Pop the trunk and pull up the carpet and you will see a small presswood cover over the well behind the left wheel well.
Remove the cover and you will see the cabin exhaust flap assembly. Small stuff that rolls around in the trunk can easily fall under the trunk mat and end up blocking the vent opening.
If you close the driver's door and listen carefully you can hear the flap when it opens and then closes on its seat.
Because of its location I don't think that much air makes it out of the vent even when the car is in motion.

And as a side note - I think that you have done a great job of providing information in a clear and easy to understand fashion. I think of you as the new pvick.

 

Does your friend run the a/c with his defrost (assuming only '05-06's is automatic, even though most cars compressor will turn on). Also, if he turns off the defrost and goes to just feet, or vents, etc., is the a/c still on? Is the ice located largely at the bottom? Near one side or another? Or is it uniformly distributed throughout the windshield?

If it is concentrated in any area on the windshield, then he probably has a small leak, or gap in the weatherstripping, allowing moisture and cold air to enter the car. If it is uniformly distributed, then it could possibly be from moisture inside the car. Since the windshield, and windows, are colder than the air in the car, moisture will form on the windshield, and in time, freeze.

'05s have a feature (that for some reasons some people dread) that the a/c stays on whenever it is initially started, no matter the setting of the controls. Maybe this is the reason this feature was implemented.

 

MY god son!! WTF did u do to that poor camry?

WE are well on our way to helping him solve his problem now. That really aides our quest on fixing his friend's car

 

WE are well on our way to helping him solve his problem now. That really aides our quest on fixing his friend's car

:lol: :lol: :lol: