The Safrane.Info Forum!

Hi all,

Got a bit of an annoying issue with my phase 2 Safrane which is that it mists up REALLY easily when the weather is wet. Speaking to a friend with the same car who has the exact same issue which he finds equally annoying - is it a design flaw or something that can be cured?

Even having the demisting program and AC on all the time isn't enough to keep the rear windows clear.

Thanks.

Clear the scuttle of any crap where the wiper arms are fitted. Any damp there gets sucked in and then you have damp being put directly on the glass. You may also want to remove the scuttle (and wiper arms - careful with these as they can snap) and clear out any more sludge that has built up in there.

Next up clean out the blower motor. It's located under the passenger side of the dashboard. You'll need to remove the plastic cover first - there are 3 screws at the bottom and two on the side which the door would normally cover.

Next you need to check the air pipes behind the dash and the passenger airbag. They're made of cardboard and split open allowing the warm air to be pumped into the dash but not out into the cabin where it's needed.

Finally the bond at the bottom of the windscreens is known to crack with age and this lets more cold air in which seems to make the condensation worse. No idea how to fix it other than to suggest bathroom sealant stuff.

Good ideas
Here are some of mine aswell.
Check the spare wheel well for water,and the sponge boot floor backing.
Another one is the front footwells,now these will seem bone dry to look at and feel,BUT underneath the carpet water can get in or if you have a weeping heater matrix it also leaks under the carpet,mostly into the passengers front footwell,the only way to check is to unclip the inner sill kick panels and lift the carpet and actually feel under the carpet,its plastic backed so you won,t feel it from above.

One more, be sure that the air recirculation flap is actually opening and closing properly when you turn on the heating / ac. If it doesn't open this just makes the problem worse as it simply pumps around air from inside the cabin. I had this on the safrane i broke up this year - it was a real pita as the thing would not open and I had to turn on/off the recirculation to get it to open - otherwise i'd just see condensation everywhere.

All great tips, thanks very much for the advice, I'll hopefully put them into action over the next few days. Where is the recirculating flap?

In a very difficult to reach place. The only way to determine if it's opening and closing is to turn on the heating with the blower motor set to minimum and the engine off (but with ignition on).

You should be able to hear it opening and closing gently and the sound of the air flow will change too.

If it doesn't open (note it is designed to close when you turn it off so it must open every time you turn on the heating) then try the recirc button on the AC panel - on and off). If that makes no difference then you may need to get the AC panel serviced or replaced. They are plug and play so you don't need to program it in etc - just buy one off ebay and hope for the best.

The mechanism itself is buried under the dash and can't be removed easily unless you strip half the car. To be honest though, it's not the flap or motor that have the fault, it seems to be the AC control panel.

I don't usually have an issue but the weather at the minute seems to make the car mist up worse than normal. The air con clears it in seconds though. It's never a problem in the Safrane. It's the best car out of all the cars I drive for this anyway.