[non sequitur]

Since the beginning, I've had this problem where if the car is hot from being parked in the sun, it starts making strange whining noises below the dashboard as soon I open the door the car door (before engine is even turned on). Then when I do start up the car and start driving, the windshield gets fogged up in the center, right above the vent.

Harleyguy has explained to me that this is a pretty common ailment, but with the recent thread about another part of the AC being defective (the thread started by Steven), I was interested in finding out how many drivers experience this problem (noise and/or fogging), or Steven's, or have had any problems relating to the AC.

So here's the question: have you experienced any problem with your HVAC (air conditioning).

 

[marswill]

I've had problems with the fogging for quite some time now. Just in the center and sometimes enough to where it actually drips down the inside of the windshield.

 

[AlJOHN]

Odd.... never had the problem. Parked in Garage most to the time, but even when outside in the rain, have not experienced.

I rarely even change the setting from auto to defrost.

 

[non sequitur]

Odd.... never had the problem. Parked in Garage most to the time, but even when outside in the rain, have not experienced.

I would say I experience it more on a sunny day than a rainy one - garage parking surely helps - but if you had the problem you would probably know it from that whining noise that comes from "in there" as soon as you open the door of the car.

What Marswill describes is exactly my experience.

 

[FiskerPhilly]

Are you relating the fog to the noise. Reason for asking is that the last thing to happen when the car goes to sleep is the dampers in the HVAC go to a rest position, and most cars typically open the recirc damper to outside air when you open the car door to vent the cabin and make the door easier to close. then shuts it after you get out. when you open the door, it quickly wakes up the system and returns the dampers to proper positioning. most likely what you are hearing. I haven't had any customers up here with that complaint, so may be a heat related issue. That sounds like a case of mosture residing in the HVAC unit that is evaporating out of the defrost vent when car sits in hot sun.? My 2 cents.

 

[Harleyguy]

Are you relating the fog to the noise. Reason for asking is that the last thing to happen when the car goes to sleep is the dampers in the HVAC go to a rest position, and most cars typically open the recirc damper to outside air when you open the car door to vent the cabin and make the door easier to close. then shuts it after you get out. when you open the door, it quickly wakes up the system and returns the dampers to proper positioning. most likely what you are hearing. I haven't had any customers up here with that complaint, so may be a heat related issue. That sounds like a case of mosture residing in the HVAC unit that is evaporating out of the defrost vent when car sits in hot sun.? My 2 cents.

The problem with the HVAC units is the blend screen they use either breaks or squeaks when going through the wake up process . After the screen breaks the unit defaults to the defroster and cold air continues to flow out of the vents . Changing the position where you want the air to come out doesn't help

 

[SD Karma]

I have not had the fog issue but I also live and drive in sunny San Diego where humidity is usually not an issue. However, I have not heard the noise issue that you have noted above. My issue with the AC relates to the engine turning on and changing the AC to heat for a few minuted before it returns back to AC. I know this is the heat from the engine and or exhaust system as it starts but that is one flaw that I hope gets fixed for the next gen of Fiskers.

 

[non sequitur]

Are you relating the fog to the noise. Reason for asking is that the last thing to happen when the car goes to sleep is the dampers in the HVAC go to a rest position, and most cars typically open the recirc damper to outside air when you open the car door to vent the cabin and make the door easier to close. then shuts it after you get out. when you open the door, it quickly wakes up the system and returns the dampers to proper positioning. most likely what you are hearing. I haven't had any customers up here with that complaint, so may be a heat related issue. That sounds like a case of mosture residing in the HVAC unit that is evaporating out of the defrost vent when car sits in hot sun.? My 2 cents.

Harleyguy has seen my problem first-hand, so i adopt his response to your question (the fog is related to the noise). I thought nearly everyone had some issue with the HVAC, so the poll results so far are comforting. Lets see if that holds when the sample is large enough to be representative.

 

[AlJOHN]

Non seq.... Clearly it is an issue I have not seen even after parking in the Atlanta Heat and Humidity. Therefore, I defer to experts and others. Thanks for clarification.

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

Haven't seen fog etc.; my only recurring A/C issue is that it seems to decide how much to blast based on what's going on when it first wakes up, so that on a long drive (SLC <-> SFBayArea), when it's cool at the coast, roasty in Sackamenna, and cool again in the mountains, you have to stop, get gas, take care of other things, and restart the car after a soft reboot to get the air conditioning to provide any "cool" while you're in the Sacramento part of the trip. (Of course I generally need to do that anyway it would just be more convenient if I could do that based on when I need to, rather than when it's getting too hot in the cabin.)

 

[Harleyguy]

If the HVAC unit changes vent positions you don't have a problem . This fault no longer lets you adjust where you would like the air to come out from so far everyone I've seen or change it defaults to the defrost vents . Hope that clears some questions up

 

[steven]

restart the car after a soft reboot to get the air conditioning to provide any "cool"

I just have to turn the air on and off a couple of times to get it cooling again. But I do have a crazy loud noise from the engine cooling fan at low speeds whenever the A/C randomly decides it wants the interior fans to go above 5 (usually 9). Then I manually bring them back to around 3