When you jump into your car first thing in the morning, it’s not uncommon at all for your windshields and windows to be covered in condensation. It’s also not uncommon for them to be covered with frost or even ice when it’s very cold outside. When these things happen, it’s going to be important for you to clear your windows so that you can see out of them. There is a defroster in cars that is specifically designed to help you clear off your windows. You’ve probably gotten into the habit of using the defroster early and often, but you might not know exactly what it is or how it works. Learn more about the defroster in cars below.
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What Is a Defroster?
The defroster in cars actually goes by many different names. While it’s often referred to simply as the defroster, it’s also sometimes called the defogger or demister. But regardless of what you might call it, it plays a very important role in the overall well-being of your car. It’s in place to provide you with the air that you need to clear moisture off the windows in your car. A properly functioning defroster in cars should be able to keep both your front and rear windshields clear in addition to all the side windows in your car.
You could survive with a defroster in your car, but it would make life very inconvenient for you. You would have to constantly wipe down the inside and outside of your windows to keep them free from condensation. You would also have to work extra hard to remove ice from your car’s windows in the wintertime. The defroster in cars makes it possible for you to do these things with the push of a button.
How Do You Turn a Defroster On?
Turning on the defroster in cars is very easy to do. There is typically a defroster setting located right on your car’s temperature control dial that allows you to turn it on in the blink of an eye. This setting will fire up your car’s front defroster so that you can defrost your front windshield and the side windows in your car. There is also usually a button for your rear defroster that you can push to get your rear defroster up and running when your front defroster is turned on. The icon for both your front and rear defrosters looks like a windshield with three arrows coming up through it.
You can turn your defroster on whenever you would like. Whether you’re warming your car up in the morning and want to turn it on or want to turn it on while you’re driving down the street to clear some condensation off your windows, you’re welcome to do it. But you should know that it’s not necessary for you to keep the defroster in cars turned on all the time. You should try and only use your defroster when necessary. Otherwise, you’re going to waste a bunch of gas and make your car warmer or colder than it really has to be for no real reason at all.
How Does a Defroster Work?
Now that you know what a defroster in cars is and how you can turn it on when you need it, we want to take a little bit of a deeper dive into how one actually works. To do this, you’re going to need to understand what the two main types of defrosters in cars are. There is a primary car defroster that helps to control the condensation on your front windshield and your side windows and a secondary car defroster that handles defrosting your rear windshield and, in some cases, your car’s mirrors.
Your car’s primary car defroster uses your car’s HVAC system in order to defrost your front and side windshield. It draws fresh air into your car from outside, runs it through your car’s heater core, and then sends the air that it creates out vents that are located up near your windshield. By doing this, your primary car defroster is able to alter the temperature of your windshield and side windows, which helps to clear away any condensation that has formed on them. It’s also able to absorb most of the moisture that sits on the surface of your windows within just seconds.
Your car’s secondary car defroster, on the hands, works a lot differently than your primary one does. It doesn’t rely on your car’s HVAC system for warm air. Instead, it consists of a bunch of wire grids that run through the glass in your rear windshield and your mirrors, and it uses what’s called resistive heating to heat the surface of the glass up. In doing so, it’s able to remove condensation from the glass or melt any snow that might have accumulated on it. And while it might not work in the same way that your primary car defroster does, it’s just as effective as getting your windshield and mirrors cleared off.
Should You Use Hot or Cold Air With a Defroster?
Over the years, there has been a lot of debate over whether people should use warm air or cold air when utilizing the defroster in cars. Both seem to work to some degree, which is why not everyone agrees on which one people should use when they’re trying to clear condensation off their windows. You might want to give both a try to see which works better in your specific car.
Generally speaking, though, you should usually try and use warm air on your windows when you want to evaporate the moisture found on them fast. It’s going to absorb the moisture from any condensation on your windows and make it disappear instantly. However, you might also want to come back and hit your windows with cold air to change the temperature of the windows themselves. This will stop condensation from coming back and prove to be the best long-term fix.
What Can Cause a Defroster to Stop Working?
If the windshields and/or windows in your car are covered with condensation or ice despite the fact that you have your defroster turned on, it often means that there is an issue with your defroster. The defroster in cars isn’t impervious to problems. But it can be challenging figuring out what’s going on with your defroster that is preventing it from working.
Here are some of the most common issues that can affect the defroster in cars and stop it from doing its job:
- Bad heater core
- Broken heater valves
- Faulty air conditioning system
- Malfunctioning blower fan
You might be able to diagnose the exact problem with the defroster in cars yourself. If, for instance, you don’t feel any air coming out of your defroster vents when it’s turned on, the blower fan could be the issue. But whatever the case may be, you’re usually going to have to hire a mechanic to fix the issue for you so that you can begin using the defroster in cars like normal again.
Can You Defrost Your Car Without a Defroster?
If you ever notice that your car’s defroster has stopped working on you, you might wonder how in the world you’re going to clear your windows without it. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that you can take to get your car’s windows defrosted without relying on your defroster. It’s going to require a little bit of work on your part, but you will be able to get the job done.
People can take these steps when the defroster in cars stops working to get their windows clear:
- Begin by turning your car’s windshield wipers on to remove as much condensation and/or ice from the surface of your windows as you can
- Scrape ice off the windshield and windows of your car before wiping the inside and outside of them with a rag to remove condensation
- Spray the exterior of your windshield and windows with a special deicing formula that you can find at most auto part stores
- Repeat this process each and every time that you go to drive your car so that you can see out of your windshields and windows
As you can see, it is possible to defrost your windows by hand, but it’s not going to be particularly convenient. It’s only going to be a matter of time before you’ll break down and agree to fix whatever is wrong with your defroster.
Is It Safe to Drive a Car Without a Defroster?
Outside of the fact that driving around in a car without a defroster isn’t very convenient, it’s also not going to be super safe. Condensation can form on your car’s windshields and windows at almost any time and affect your ability to see what’s happening around you. This can increase the number of blind spots in your car and put you and your fellow drivers at risk.
With this in mind, you shouldn’t really drive without a working defroster for very long. While driving without one for a little while wouldn’t be the end of the world, you could potentially put yourself and others into danger if you’re not always able to see cleanly out of your car’s windshields and windows. People should arrange to have the defroster in cars fixed pronto to avoid putting themselves into risky situations.
How Can You Get a Broken Defroster Fixed?
If you discover that the defroster in your car isn’t working, it’s going to be something that you should get checked out. You should schedule service with an ASE-certified mechanic and have them evaluate your car to see what the problem seems to be. They should be able to figure out what’s going on with your car after turning your car’s defroster on and off just a few times. It’s usually a pretty easy problem to diagnose in the grand scheme of things.
That being said, you shouldn’t really try to fix a broken defroster in cars on your own if you’ve never done it before. There are, as we mentioned earlier, a number of things that can cause problems with a car’s defroster. As a result, you could end up missing something when diagnosing your defroster issues, which could end up coming back to bite you later. You should leave the job up to a professional who knows what to look out for,
How Much Does It Cost to Fix the Defroster in Cars?
Since the defroster in cars is controlled by so many different parts, it’s almost impossible for us to sit here and tell you exactly what it’ll cost to fix yours. You could be looking at paying between $350 and $400 to have a new blower motor put into your HVAC system so that your defroster starts working again. You could also be looking at paying almost $1,000 in some cases for heater core replacement.
This is a big part of the reason why you should have an experienced mechanic look at your defroster when it stops working. The last thing you want to do is replace something like your heater core only to discover that it wasn’t the part that was causing problems with your defroster in the first place. The final cost that you’ll pay to fix your defroster is all going to depend on what exactly is wrong with it.
Can You Sell a Car With a Broken Defroster in It?
If you take your car to a mechanic and find out that it’s going to cost an arm and a leg to fix it, you might want to consider selling it rather than fixing it. Believe it or not, you can sell your car despite the bad defroster that’s in it. There are companies that will buy old cars even when they have non-working defrosters in them.
The defroster in cars is important, but it’s not going to stop these companies from paying top dollar for the cars that they’re in. Cash Cars Buyer is one example of a company that will provide you with cash for your car in spite of the bad defroster that’s in it. Contact us now to learn about what your old car might be worth in its present condition.