Heavy condensation on inside of windows

[Rockinghorse]

Because of Covid we haven't used our Karoq 1.5 SEL DSG very much at all, infact although it will be two years old in Feb 21 we have only done 7700 miles from new.

A new problem has suddenly reared its head in the form of condensation and I mean heavy condensation where it drips off the windscreen and runs down the dash.

I didn't have any issues like this last winter but nearly every day the car is sopping wet on the inside of all the windows. This must mean water is getting inside the car somewhere but I am at a loss to know where. I have taken it in to my local dealership but have little confidence that they will find the problem. I will probably just get

fobbed off again like with the heavy petrol consumption, noisy engine and heavy oil usage, but it has to be my 1st port of call. I don't have a pan roof or sunroof so do

not think its blocked drains but it is very disappointing on such a low mileage car. Has anyone else suffered with this please? 

[DSL]

Do you carry wet dogs in the car?  We used to have similar due to two big soggy boys we used to carry in the back.  Sometimes we’d run the car on max heating with the windows cracked open a little to get rid of the moist air.  Obvious 2nd question, you don’t switch off the AC?

[SurreyJohn]

Normally the air dryer in the air conditioning will remove moisture from inside (unless you daftly turn it off).

 

In same way fog forms, colder air cannot hold as much moisture as warmer air. If you are not using car much then you need to artificially remove moisture, especially as seasons change and air temperature drops.

 

I would go to your local hardware store and buy a moisture absorber (either a tray of granules which you replace with new granules periodically, or one that can be microwaved to dry it and reuse it.  Just leave it in car.

 

If it is leaking water into cabin, a common reason is poorly fitted pollen filter which lets water in below the grill, near where wipers are attached.  Another common one is blocked drains at bottom of doors (use a wooden cocktail stick to poke the blockage, won’t damage paint with wooden stick unlike using  metal item), the drain holes should be visible by looking with doors open.

[Rockinghorse]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, but I don't have any dogs and we have hardly used the car in the last three weeks.

I have never seen this level of moisture in a car before and I have had a lot of cars. I have since found other threads on Briskoda and it would appear that a lot of people are suffering water ingress in a number of different ways on the Karoq. Some are getting leaks around the rear wiper, others in the wheel arches and behind the wings and some through the pan roof seals and/or sunroof.

My wife has just made a very good point. Back in August we suffered a terrible storm with torrential rain. In fact we were flooded in our cottage, something which has never happened before and we have lived here for 33 years, but this was an incredible cloudburst which the drains could not handle and the road through our village was under six inches of water after 30 mins of rain. I am thinking this may have been the time water got past the seals ( maybe as you say via the pollen filter ) but you would hope that a car would be designed to take this sort of excess water.

Crazy thing is we have not noticed any dampness of the  carpets, but maybe the water is sitting in the car somewhere. I will give all the information I have found to the dealership and hopefully they will find the fault. If they do I will print it up on this site so that it can maybe help others.

[Berisford]

I very much doubt the heavy rain managed to get pass the door seals - I don’t have any theory as to why you might have so much moisture but, to be fair, every now and again I encounter surprising amounts of condensation on the inside Windows, especially when parked in the sun at this of the year - It’s a bugger to remove effectively and smears the glass so last winter I invested in a couple of large (1kg) dehumidifier bags (as mentioned above by SurreyJohn) and they’ve worked a treat. I can’t post a link but I got mine off eBay, item number 383755159065.

[Rockinghorse]

Thanks for the tip but in all the cars I've owned I've never had this problem so there must be something wrong with the design or manufacturing.

I'll give the dealer a chance to fix it  but this is the last straw and I can see this car will be going.

[Sanqhar]

Give the car a decent run with the aircon on.  Keep it on all the time. 

I never turn ours off.  In two years I have only done 10,000 miles, currently doing lots of 2 mile journeys. 

 

tom

[Rockinghorse]

I also meant to say that if you get the problem when your car has sat in the sun, its because there is moisture in the car already most likely from a leak. Having read all the water ingress threads on Briskoda it would seem that Skoda have a problem as it has appeared on a number of different models and owners have had carpets replaced on warranty and almost complete strip downs of the interior to try and find the leak. The most common by far is sunroofs and pan roofs but a lot of people report badly sealed chassis joints in and behind wheelarches, windscreen seals, wiper seals the list goes on. You would think that with modern manufacturing techniques these sort of faults could not happen.

[Rockinghorse]

My AC is never turned off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

For as long as I can remember, VAG cars have suffered from condensation on the windscreen, some worse than others, but it's always there. My question to those who cite the solution as turning on the aircon, is why doesn't condensation affect non-VAG cars with aircon off?

 

I'm not so sure it's a 'flaw' rather it's the way VAG cars are designed. That said, the OP is clearly suffering from more than is normally expected so there has to be some problem. If it were me, I'd be having it checked out by the dealer.

 

Just one thought - there's defo no water elsewhere in the car? For example rubber mats are great for protecting your carpets and boot floor but they can retain water and you've little chance of them drying out during winter. So when you say you hardly used the car for three weeks, that could be the culprit.

[Rockinghorse]

Well this is my seventh VAG car and the 1st time I have ever had this problem. I did have some condensation on the rear hatch window of my Octavia but Murray Skoda in Plymouth sorted it straight away with a new hatch rubber seal. Never had the problem again. But that was a 2nd hand 2014 car whereas this Karoq was purchased new in Feb 2019 and the problem is twenty times worse.

[J.R.]

When it happens if there are no traces of leaks or damp carpets, if the previous journey the occupants were not wearing wet coats & if the aircon was on when the engine stopped & the moisture is mainly on the front screen you dont need to be Einstein to work out what is going on.

[Rockinghorse]

The carpets do not feel wet but may be underneath. It is not just the windscreen it is all the windows.

[Ootohere]

Time to get the car aired and dried out as best you can.

Treat the door and hatch seals ready for frosty weather and get out the carpet mats and in the rubber ones and get Damp Traps in the car and in the boot.

Remove any unnecessary stuff that is in the car or boot and never leave damp clothes, cloths / pads or mats in the car overnight.

 

Be sure the Pollen / Cabin Filter is clean / fresh and dry & replace if not.

Inside glass very clean and then treated with Fog X or similar.

Check the spare tyre well to see that no water is in there.

Edited 1 December, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[farty]

During the floods, did you drive through water six inches deep?  If you leave a heavy weight on the carpets, does water appear?  I suspect you have a lot of water under the carpet, maybe in the rear.

[SurreyJohn]

It might be a good idea to check for any residual flood water at all the low points, vents under front seats, spare wheel well, tilt back seats and check under there as well.  
 

If everything is bone dry to touch then like others I’m struggling to guess where rain is seaping in

 

[farty]

6 hours ago, J.R. said:

When it happens if there are no traces of leaks or damp carpets, if the previous journey the occupants were not wearing wet coats & if the aircon was on when the engine stopped & the moisture is mainly on the front screen you dont need to be Einstein to work out what is going on.

hardly helpful!  what do you guesstimate is the problem?  The OP has come here for advice - be kind!

Edited 1 December, 2020 by farty

[P6bJOHN]

When you open the boot lid after rain does a lot of water run down the sides? I had a boot lid on my first Karoq which did this, also a random occasional sloshing noise, and condensation. The dealer found no problem. I looked at the underside of the lid and found 3 small plastic plugs I removed one and water poured out, The plugs were still out when I returned the car after 2yrs, no more condensation or sloshing noise.

[J.R.]

OK I will, given the reference to the flood I suspect the other contributors are correct that water is sitting in the footwells under the carpet.

 

But in the scenario that I gave it would be the aircon evaporator (Wino will advise if I have it confused with the condensor again!) going through a defrost cycle or having lots of condensation on it at the time of shut down.

 

My AC is usually off and I use it as & when needed, the only times I have a lot of condensation in conditions where I should not like driving off the Eurotunnel is when the AC is running.

 

The rest of the time I may have light misting according to the weather conditions and will use the AC to clear it.

[Rockinghorse]

The carpets do not feel wet but may be underneath. It is not just the windscreen it is all the windows.

I have never driven the car in wet clothes. I have never left anything damp in the car. I have never driven through flood water, but my car has been parked during torrential rain.

 

Dealership has just rang with an update. They have found that the carpets are damp underneath although not noticeable on the surface. They have found evidence that water has run down behind the dashboard and behind the carpet and are suspecting that there is either a leak at the base of the windscreen or somewhere through the bulkhead. I advised what I had seen in the internet and they are going to check all those areas as well. So guys looks like a leak from bad manufacture.

I just hope they can fix it cos I don't feel I can sell it with a problem.

[farty]

I suspect that, even if you switch the AC on, it only runs as required.  ie when it is hot, humid or both.  And when you press 'max demist'.  As I don't know the answer, I tend to switch it off when it is cold with low humidity, as I hate that itchy scalp feeling in arid conditions.

[Rockinghorse]

For many years now, in many cars I have always kept the AC on all the time. The very best AC by far was the unit fitted to my 08 Passat sport which had the digital unit from Audi and was so efficient it kept the car dry throughout the year in all weathers. The units they fit now are nowhere near as good but that is not my problem. The dealership has found that there is a leak either from the windscreen or the bulkhead so I am keen to see what they do to fix it. I have been disappointed with the Karoq almost from day one as it is nowhere near as good a car as my previous Octavia ( which I still think is the star in the Skoda range )

If it had not been for Covid and lockdowns I would have got rid of the Karoq by now but instead I have only done 7700 miles in two years and now this problem has pretty much sealed its fate. I don't like engines which burn oil and it would seem that most VAG engines do these days. Together with a bad petrol consumption and awful ride on rough roads it has to go.

[Ootohere]

@Rockinghorse  Where are you getting that 'most VAG engines burn oil these days' ?   

That is not something that is a coming up on this forum where those with a Skoda have cars with a VW Group engine.

There are lots that get good fuel consumption with the various engines the models have.

[kenfowler3966]

We are on our 7th Skoda and 200k plus miles and I have never had to top up the oil between services, most of which have been on extended intervals of about 18k miles. I don’t know where you have come up with them burning oil!

[Rockinghorse]

Its well publicized that the 1.5 engine has some real problems but tat said if you get a good one they are ok. If you get a bad one they are terrible, noisy and burn oil but they are not alone. It seems that over the last 5-8 years they have got bad.