Is there something about the ventilation system in the A4 that makes it particularly susceptible to fogging the windows in very cold weather? I notice this especially if I drive it for a few miles in the cold, then park it and come back to it an hour or so later (such as a short shopping trip). The inside of the windows will often be fogged over, especially if I had the family with me. I've not had this problem to this degree with other cars, so it must be something about the A4 that tends to do this. It's not a major deal, but sometimes I have to run the defroster for a few minutes before driving away.<p>BTW, I timed the purchase of this car perfectly. This is the most snow that we've had here in over 15 years and I'd be dying if I was still driving my Sentra SE-R (a nice pocket rocket, but terrible in the snow).<p> Doug G<br> 98.5 1.8TQM

If I have one bitch w/ the car (I've had 3 of them to date), it is the performance of the defroster in moist, near freezing temperatures. It is absolutely the worst I've ever seen - to the point of being dangerous in a wet snowstorm.<p>If you check the archives, you will find discussions on this topic. Some of us blame it on not being able to run the A/C in these conditions, others say we're ignorant of the physics involved...<p>There are also some hints which do seem to help a little (e.g., turn off your A/C before it turns itself off when its cold - it runs for a couple of minutes).<p>Has anyone out there found anything that might help? Maybe a cigarette lighter powered fan or hot air blower, etc?

I got my 99 1.8 on new years eve,I live in Noirthern VA and the weather here has been bad for the past two weeks...I have had the opportunity to drive the car in snow and ice, plus temps in the low teens! I have not experienced your problem with the wondows fogging up..actually I think it is the best defroster Ive seen yet! I keep the temp at about 70-73 and use the defroster button! No probs here.soory to here about your troubles.

In cold weather the compressor will not run and the defogging really stincks. Try driving while it's snowing out with 3 or 4 people in the car. Audi missed the boat on this one.

I haven't had the chance to drive my A4 in the cold yet, so I don't know if this will work but:<p>- I thought that when you turn the compressor will stay on all the time, regardless of temperature? Or are you referring to the "defrost" mode button?<p>If I ever had a lot of window fogging, I usually<br>- Switch to manual mode, turn the compressor on, high temperature, and turn on only the upper vents.<p>I also try to keep the interior of my windows clean, either by using a good window cleaner or using a damp chamois...<p>- Those "anti-fog" treatments from Rain-X, et. al. seem to work, but they tend to make the windows wetter.<p><br>Hope this helps,<p>-Phil

It's true, the compressor (air conditioner)won't run below a certain temp, probably around freezing. I seem to remember reading an archived post post stating that the compressor won't run at below freezing temps b/c it's bad for it.<p>Here's my recepie for fog-free windows:<br>-Position your car in front of a garage door or something that'll reflect light back through the windshield. Under a light will work too.<br>-Clean the interior of the windshield with the lights on. <br>-After the initial clean check for "foggy" areas on the windshield. Keep at them using new paper towels and a little bit of cleaner. You'll have to use a lot of elbow grease.<br>-Repeat process until the windshield is completely free of moisture (use reflected light to check for moisture, you can't see the moisture if there's no light coming through the windshield).<br>The front windshield alone took about 10 minutes to get right but I haven't had any fogging problems since then.<br>Good luck!<br>'99 A4 1.8T QMS Silver/Ecru Gray/Winter Mats from Clair Parts Express/Fog Free

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