Anyone have Ice on the inside of the windshield? And yes it was on the inside because I went out to scrape it off and the scraper came up with nothing but when I ran my finger on the inside I got ice off. Has anyone confirmed that there is a deicer under the front cowl as shown on the HMS site?

Yes, I've gotten it a few times, under certain weather conditions. Just a thin frost layer on the inside of the windshield. Takes a while to go away.

I get the same problem, especially after carrying multiple heavy-breathing passengers and then parking in the cold for awhile. It helps to turn on the A/C with heat when driving, to dehumidify the interior. Some cars (ie: my last five Nissans) automatically turn on the A/C when the windshield setting is used, but the Santa Fe does not.

PS: Also make sure you're drawing fresh air, not recirculating.

Really? Are you sure? Mine does. I believe all vehicles now have the AC on when using defrost settings. I suggest you get yours checked.

Thanks everyone sounds like its a common thing on the Santa, never had it so bad on other cars. It really took a long time to clear. Thats one of four things that really need to be improved, rear defroster os too slow, outside mirror defroster too slow and cowl design is really bad builds up ice and snow too quickly and hard to defrost.

I live in SW Ohio where the temps get down near zero often. I have never seen any ice on the inside of my windshield of my 2007 Santa Fe. When I hit the Front de-ice button, my AC comes on automatically. But I don't believe the AC turns on with the combo defrost/heat position. My Santa Fe also stays clear on humid rainy days as long as the AC is on.

I had a Mazda 808 Mizer where the windows would fog over and freeze all the time. I had to have the heat on full and the AC on to just keep a small area clear. I kept a chamois rag in the glove box to clear the moisture off the side windows just to drive. My son had a Mazda 323 that was the same. I think it was a Japanese thing.

Reality check here. Cars have come a long way. I had a 62 VW Beetle that kept the windows clear and heat pouring out as long as the car was at speed. If you slowed for traffic or came to a stop, you got nothing! That model had no fan, just the engine speed pushing out the heat. I used the top of my thermos jug to keep a small area clean. Was living just south of Chicago at the time, and they have cold weather throughout the winter.

I have noticed that the Santa Fe climate control remembers the AC, fresh/recirculating air, and Air Quality Sensor on/off settings for each vent setting. So for the people who get AC coming on automatically when the front defrost setting is selected, that's because you had the AC on last time you used the front defrost setting.

No. No memory. The compressor comes on when Defrost is selected. Regardless what setting you were on previously. Works the way it should.

Mine has a memory of settings for each vent position. It's the auto dual climate control on the Limited. I don't know which model you have, trucker. Maybe it behaves differently for the base model?

Sorry. I better rephrase that. By no memory I meant with regards to to the AC with defrost.

On mine the compressor comes on for defrost settings. And I believe that all vehicles do that now. Of course I have no proof. But everyone I've had in the last 15 years or so, did. On many of them, the AC indicator light would not come on with Defrost. I don't know what the reason behind that is. On some, you could turn the AC off while in Defrost, but on most of them you could not.

AC should always be used to defrost, most of them are automatic (as Trucker said), the reason is simple: your windows fogs/ice up inside because it is more humid inside than out, the AC has a 'mysterious' way of getting rid of humidity :P

As to why this happens, it is simply because you have a source of humidity inside the car, perhaps the carpets/mats are wet, or you recently washed the car... it has nothing to do with the vehicle per se.

Or heavy breathing. :whistling: