Seems to be too much moisture.

[lmnop]

My wife bought an `04 LL Bean Ouback last August. Now that the rainy season
is here I have noticed a lot of moisture on the inside of the windows.
I first noticed it a couple of months ago, when I would get into the car the
windows would be clear until the vent system was turned on, then you would
get a little fog. It seemed to be a bit more than normal, but did not think
anything of it.
Now it is very obvious, especially when the car is sitting during the day
with the windows up you can see the fog. The moisture on the sunroofs is
very heavy. But I cannot feel moisture anywhere but on the glass itself.
Nothing in the carpet, interior of the doors seem to be fine. Nothing seems
to be dripping from the sunroofs, and the headliner is always dry.
I have driven the car for two hours at a time on a nice day with the heater
turned up to make sure it gets dry. But it still fogs up when there is rain.
I have suspected the air conditioner, and so have stopped using it, but
still is bad. I guess the next step is to dry it out and then not use the
vent system at all to try and rule it out. I have noticed that it seems to
start fogging in the rear, would make sense with a wagon, the ventilation is
not as good back there.
I do not like the design of the window seals on this car, could they be the
culprit?
Maybe this is all normal for Subaru? If it is I will try to convince her to
sell it.
If it is not normal, I need to find a solution before this thing rots.

 

[David Betts]

My wife bought an `04 LL Bean Ouback last August. Now that the rainy season
is here I have noticed a lot of moisture on the inside of the windows.
I first noticed it a couple of months ago, when I would get into the car the
windows would be clear until the vent system was turned on, then you would
get a little fog. It seemed to be a bit more than normal, but did not think
anything of it.

Sounds to me like you have the heater system permanently set on
recycle. The recycle button should only be pressed in and lit during
warm up. Once the heater is pumping out warm air, switch it back to
the external feed and the problem will go away.

David Betts
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Alan]

My wife bought an `04 LL Bean Ouback last August. Now that the rainy season
is here I have noticed a lot of moisture on the inside of the windows.
I first noticed it a couple of months ago, when I would get into the car the
windows would be clear until the vent system was turned on, then you would
get a little fog. It seemed to be a bit more than normal, but did not think
anything of it.
Now it is very obvious, especially when the car is sitting during the day
with the windows up you can see the fog. The moisture on the sunroofs is
very heavy. But I cannot feel moisture anywhere but on the glass itself.
Nothing in the carpet, interior of the doors seem to be fine. Nothing seems
to be dripping from the sunroofs, and the headliner is always dry.
I have driven the car for two hours at a time on a nice day with the heater
turned up to make sure it gets dry. But it still fogs up when there is rain.
I have suspected the air conditioner, and so have stopped using it, but
still is bad. I guess the next step is to dry it out and then not use the
vent system at all to try and rule it out. I have noticed that it seems to
start fogging in the rear, would make sense with a wagon, the ventilation is
not as good back there.
I do not like the design of the window seals on this car, could they be the
culprit?
Maybe this is all normal for Subaru? If it is I will try to convince her to
sell it.
If it is not normal, I need to find a solution before this thing rots.

I have an 04 OBW LL Bean. I don't have this problem. I do notice a few
seconds of fog when the syetem switches over to defrost, but that's about
it. I almost always use the "Auto" setting otherwise. I would take it to the
dealer.

 

[Jim Stewart]

My wife bought an `04 LL Bean Ouback last August. Now that the rainy season
is here I have noticed a lot of moisture on the inside of the windows.
I first noticed it a couple of months ago, when I would get into the car the
windows would be clear until the vent system was turned on, then you would
get a little fog. It seemed to be a bit more than normal, but did not think
anything of it.

Did someone take it skiing? My wife took
several friends skiing and all the snow tracked
into the car caused the symptoms you describe.

If you garage the car, leave the windows all
the way open at night. During the day, crack
the windows a couple of inches. It will dry
out in a few days.

 

[lmnop]

I've had it on external almost exclusively, only tried recycle to see if it
was any better a time or two.

 

[chanpaul2000]

Check to see that the drain on the AC is not clogged. When that does
happen, water collects in the drain pipe and can run back into the
evaporator behind the glovebox. When it sits for a while (aka still air
and no circulation, you get condensation on the inside of the car. Had
that happen so bad on a Subaru as well as an XJS.

Quick way to check is turn on the AC ... do you see water dripping
below the car on passenger side after 2-3 mins? If yes, ok. If not, you
got clogged drain.

Paul

 

[lmnop]

Did not think of that one. I know I have seen it drip in the past, but do
not know if it is doing it now. Seems to new to plugged up, but will giver a
look.

 

[lmnop]

No skiing.
And I cannot feel any moisture anywhere other than the glass itself.

 

[P T]

So, tell me if I'm right: your problem is the when parked, the windows
fog up. Despite the detailed description, that seems to be the problem.
I'm not sure of the answer, but I'd like to know what city you live in.
I think this is a bit of evidence you left out, I'm not sure it will
help, but right now temperatures in America could be anywhere from -20
to perhaps 90 or better.

Pete
who is where the temps are, alas, in the minus range :-(

 

[lmnop]

They don't just fog up, they are WET inside. But I do not see evidence the
glass is leaking.
I am in Astoria, Oregon. Temp is getting near freezing at night. But
moisture is more evident during the day, as if radiant heat is causing
evaporation of something wet inside. Even when outside humidity is very low.
Dealer says they need the car overnight, so they can see for themselves the
moisture. But is a two hour trip and need to find the time. After the new
year maybe.

 

[Generic]

They don't just fog up, they are WET inside. But I do not see evidence the
glass is leaking.
I am in Astoria, Oregon. Temp is getting near freezing at night. But
moisture is more evident during the day, as if radiant heat is causing
evaporation of something wet inside. Even when outside humidity is very low.
Dealer says they need the car overnight, so they can see for themselves the
moisture. But is a two hour trip and need to find the time. After the new
year maybe.

I had the same issue with a Mazda in the Seattle area during the winter.
Never ever saw the issue when the car was in California. All I could deduce
was that it related to temperature, dewpoint, running the heater and
tracking moisture into the car with damp shoes. The seals may be too good.
I solved it by opening the driver's window 1/2 inch when parking it
(covered/garaged) at night. The warm moist air went out just fine, repeat
every few days.

(I had added some deeply grooved rubber floor mats because of the Seattle
drizzle and saw just how much shoe water ended up in the car.)

-John