Thanks for reading my next weeks comment. I predict the Fiat wins only based on my experience of the Smart. Smart might win on the first lower 3cm of glass. It's a glass half full type car, half full of opacity.
As far as the roof not sealing, I have a Cadillac that I presumed, had a leak up top. I read through the manual and it gave me instructions on how to reset it. Might be a thing.
Really Jon, you shafted yourself twice there. Not only will you be taking Mrs JC to work if you both wake up late, but you've now also over emphasised the wet interior issue with the Fiat ! And we all know who's job it will now be to sort it out - And it won't be Mrs JC. Doh ! 🤔
Even the fixed glass Panoramic roof 500's suffer, the Lounge models always seem to have grotty seats due to the dripping condensation. The water gets in somewhere else and causes the condensation on the roof glass, wet carpets and water in the spare wheel well are common.
Yeah :/ and Mrs JC only uses it to go to town and back. It never actually gets warm enough to dry out. I'm going to pop it in the garage over a weekend with a dehumidifier running
@JonCoupland my Mrs had an early 57 plate fully loaded 1.4 16V Lounge, was a great little car, then a tree fell on it.. the sunroof leaked after that!!!
My little 107 gets damp/ froz inside, probably needs new seals on the boot lid and lights, but there's always other jobs to do first. My son's Clio 3 is pretty bad for damp inside, though the "champ of damp" was my wife's old Corsa D.
I would just buy a half cover for the fiat to use in the winter months Jon ... the big advantage with the Smart in my opinion is you get the heat of the engine into the cabin and its a smaller area so that will help .. but yes get her a cover that does the roof and wing mirror's and she be go to go 👌 interesting tho 👍
Jon, dont know if anyone else suggested the simple (for those that can) expedient of running a fan heater out to the car (with suitable hd 13amp extension lead) when its been below 0°c for 2 or more days.Or as overwintering on boats, stick a tube heater on the dash/inside overnight.
@@JonCoupland had to do that before when sunroof drain got blocked with leaf mush, cleaned out with curtain wire. Ran dehumidifier for 3 days (don't forget to close any air vents and heater off) pulled out just over 1.1l, but was bone dry after.
If the 500 has air con fitted make sure it is running at all times, and if the blowers are on hot ask the mrs to put them on cold when approaching the house/destination and wind the windows down to get the hot air gone... should help somewhat... good result for the Smart 😅
Also on the AC. Check the drain isn't blocked on the heat exchanger, and when was the pollen filter last changed? My old 75 had its orignal filter still when I bought it a few years ago (RIP CONNIE SE) and it was caked in crap, and as such wasn't much cop bringing in fresh air. Running AC on recirculation will help get rid of the condensation, but only if the A/C drain is clear. Otherwise that water is only going back in the carpet and then the warmth of the car will make the moisture rise to the window when cold and condense/freeze as seen. I think they call it the circle of strife.
My preferred method of de-icing - start up, blowers on full, HRW on - cup of tea and sit in the drivers seat so when it starts to melt wipers can be deployed ................ tea is the most important issue here
@@JonCoupland yep - your body heat and the heat from a brew defrosts the side windows whilst front and rear screens get the treatment - now that IS science
Oh I predicted wrong. The 500 was terrible. I would say though in my mind smallest engines have the advantage for warming up, bigger take longer to reach operating temperature. shouldnt be much between 1.0 and 1.2 though. Would be interested in a 0.9 500 test! Side note: At 6:06 on 3rd element down on the smart window it says FART in condensation.
Jon lt would be interesting to see if the wipers were free, plus what can we do to stop the water freezing. Water ingress sun roof new seals ! Condensation just a split air crack of the window helps together with condensation bags that need to be microwaved dry 1st to ensure they work correctly just a thought
Thanks for your comment. Good idea. I didn't check the wipers. Id expect them to be free. I think I'm going to have to clean all the seal up a bit and see if that makes a difference
500 Lounges suffer from bad condensation coz of that glass roof - thats why the interiors are often badly stained. Look at old Chops Garage vids when he was down in Barnstaple and other 500 vloggers - you take moisture in on your feet and clothes and then when the sun shines you have a unique ecosystem in your 500 - maybe on very hot days on your drive leave it with the windows open and let any trapped moisture evaporate?
It's frustrating but I'm guessing that it's reassuring to hear I'm not the only person to be suffering with the same issue. I'm planning on getting it in the garage with the dehumidifier running for a day or two 😀👍
@@JonCoupland my wife wanted a 500 some time back - all those I saw had stained seats - then I saw Chops and he explained it perfectly - its condensation and that just drips or runs down
Never thought of having a Smart car but that Mclaren coloured one you have really does look 'Smart' and yes i would be seen dead in that car, hopefully not yet though 🤔
My Abarth never had that problem,I (69 plate), did however have the worst headlights I ever seen (or not)on a new car.I never just use the heater to defrost by though.Diesels always take longer unless have electric assist.
@@JonCoupland No glass roof on it.The gglass roof ones can have moisture go through the wiring bungs apparently.If search 500 panoramic sunroof leak , are a lot of results.
Never had either of those and honestly I would not because too small and unable to tow anything (just in case). They both beat my station wagon as my rear defrost doesn't work, and so is my main stork and my front washer bottle wich I happened to break again on the same tree stump 😂😂😂
Thanks for watching - Did you expect that result?
For us, the next 40 hours it's essentially Schrödinger's Defroster. 😂
Might just keep the video 'waiting' no one will ever know then 🤣 and neither will be disappointed @@evilutionltd
Thanks for reading my next weeks comment.
I predict the Fiat wins only based on my experience of the Smart. Smart might win on the first lower 3cm of glass.
It's a glass half full type car, half full of opacity.
Video is here 😁👌
As far as the roof not sealing, I have a Cadillac that I presumed, had a leak up top. I read through the manual and it gave me instructions on how to reset it. Might be a thing.
As a Navy guy, I love that you used the phrase "Nail my colors to the mast"! This wasn't an experiment, it was a race!
You are right! It was a race 😄👍
Your garden must look like “Tetris” from Google Earth 😂😂
🤣 MrsJC calls it Scrapyard Tetris
Bear lair, very cute 😻 That’s one damp 500, No sunroof drains, that’s a bit silly. I Had my money on the Smart anyway. Thanks for the fun video.
Thanks for watching! Quest for content. Too cold for Dad to be spannering this week
I had a non-sunroof 500S, never had any condensation issues. Reckon you are on the right track looking at the sunroof.
It's the only thing I can think of that would cause such an issue 😕
Really Jon, you shafted yourself twice there. Not only will you be taking Mrs JC to work if you both wake up late, but you've now also over emphasised the wet interior issue with the Fiat ! And we all know who's job it will now be to sort it out - And it won't be Mrs JC. Doh ! 🤔
Thankfully we work in totally different cities so she won't be able to pull that card 🤣 Dad's already formulating a plan to sort the damp
Bonus of it, more content.
Even the fixed glass Panoramic roof 500's suffer, the Lounge models always seem to have grotty seats due to the dripping condensation. The water gets in somewhere else and causes the condensation on the roof glass, wet carpets and water in the spare wheel well are common.
Yeah :/ and Mrs JC only uses it to go to town and back. It never actually gets warm enough to dry out. I'm going to pop it in the garage over a weekend with a dehumidifier running
@JonCoupland my Mrs had an early 57 plate fully loaded 1.4 16V Lounge, was a great little car, then a tree fell on it.. the sunroof leaked after that!!!
My little 107 gets damp/ froz inside, probably needs new seals on the boot lid and lights, but there's always other jobs to do first. My son's Clio 3 is pretty bad for damp inside, though the "champ of damp" was my wife's old Corsa D.
Ah interesting! It's been damp the entire time we've owned the car sadly and you are right ... We've got other jobs to domfirst 🤣
I would just buy a half cover for the fiat to use in the winter months Jon ... the big advantage with the Smart in my opinion is you get the heat of the engine into the cabin and its a smaller area so that will help .. but yes get her a cover that does the roof and wing mirror's and she be go to go 👌 interesting tho 👍
Full disclosure she does normally have one of those covers (but I wanted to film this so we left it off this weekend 😀👍)
Jon, dont know if anyone else suggested the simple (for those that can) expedient of running a fan heater out to the car (with suitable hd 13amp extension lead) when its been below 0°c for 2 or more days.Or as overwintering on boats, stick a tube heater on the dash/inside overnight.
I'm going to try popping it in the garage for a weekend with a dehumidifier running and see what it pulls out 😀👍
@@JonCoupland had to do that before when sunroof drain got blocked with leaf mush, cleaned out with curtain wire. Ran dehumidifier for 3 days (don't forget to close any air vents and heater off) pulled out just over 1.1l, but was bone dry after.
If the 500 has air con fitted make sure it is running at all times, and if the blowers are on hot ask the mrs to put them on cold when approaching the house/destination and wind the windows down to get the hot air gone... should help somewhat... good result for the Smart 😅
Good idea 💡
Also on the AC. Check the drain isn't blocked on the heat exchanger, and when was the pollen filter last changed? My old 75 had its orignal filter still when I bought it a few years ago (RIP CONNIE SE) and it was caked in crap, and as such wasn't much cop bringing in fresh air. Running AC on recirculation will help get rid of the condensation, but only if the A/C drain is clear. Otherwise that water is only going back in the carpet and then the warmth of the car will make the moisture rise to the window when cold and condense/freeze as seen. I think they call it the circle of strife.
Smart needs new key battery, hence multiple flashes when locked / unlocked 😮
It does (the cold doesn't help either!)
My preferred method of de-icing - start up, blowers on full, HRW on - cup of tea and sit in the drivers seat so when it starts to melt wipers can be deployed ................ tea is the most important issue here
I see what I did wrong here! ... 😉
@@JonCoupland yep - your body heat and the heat from a brew defrosts the side windows whilst front and rear screens get the treatment - now that IS science
Oh I predicted wrong. The 500 was terrible.
I would say though in my mind smallest engines have the advantage for warming up, bigger take longer to reach operating temperature. shouldnt be much between 1.0 and 1.2 though. Would be interested in a 0.9 500 test!
Side note: At 6:06 on 3rd element down on the smart window it says FART in condensation.
🤣🤣 oh yes it does
Jon lt would be interesting to see if the wipers were free, plus what can we do to stop the water freezing. Water ingress sun roof new seals ! Condensation just a split air crack of the window helps together with condensation bags that need to be microwaved dry 1st to ensure they work correctly just a thought
Thanks for your comment. Good idea. I didn't check the wipers. Id expect them to be free. I think I'm going to have to clean all the seal up a bit and see if that makes a difference
500 Lounges suffer from bad condensation coz of that glass roof - thats why the interiors are often badly stained. Look at old Chops Garage vids when he was down in Barnstaple and other 500 vloggers - you take moisture in on your feet and clothes and then when the sun shines you have a unique ecosystem in your 500 - maybe on very hot days on your drive leave it with the windows open and let any trapped moisture evaporate?
It's frustrating but I'm guessing that it's reassuring to hear I'm not the only person to be suffering with the same issue. I'm planning on getting it in the garage with the dehumidifier running for a day or two 😀👍
@@JonCoupland my wife wanted a 500 some time back - all those I saw had stained seats - then I saw Chops and he explained it perfectly - its condensation and that just drips or runs down
Never thought of having a Smart car but that Mclaren coloured one you have really does look 'Smart' and yes i would be seen dead in that car, hopefully not yet though 🤔
Thanks for watching 😄👍 the Orange really does stand out eh
My Abarth never had that problem,I (69 plate), did however have the worst headlights I ever seen (or not)on a new car.I never just use the heater to defrost by though.Diesels always take longer unless have electric assist.
That's interesting! Did it have the glass roof?
@@JonCoupland No glass roof on it.The gglass roof ones can have moisture go through the wiring bungs apparently.If search 500 panoramic sunroof leak , are a lot of results.
Ah that's a shout! I will have to have a look at them!
Not a fair test, the 500 was obviously more frosty and is a bigger car 😮
I think it would have been very difficult to make it 100% fair 😀👍 hence my caveat that it was just a bit of fun 😄
My wife has a flat 500 pop and it does the same
Handy to know!
Never had either of those and honestly I would not because too small and unable to tow anything (just in case). They both beat my station wagon as my rear defrost doesn't work, and so is my main stork and my front washer bottle wich I happened to break again on the same tree stump 😂😂😂
I know what you mean. Were lucky that these are useful for just nipping to work but do have towing cars (and my van) if needed 😄👍