AC Bleedoff on Windshield

[sipedo]

I recently purchased a 2019 Buick Encore.
I live in Florida and in the early morning and into the night I have a condensation problem on the outside of the window.
The AC blows through the defrost constantly. The defrost feature does not seal off like every vehicle I have ever had.
The Service Tech tells us this is the way the vehicle was designed. I'm not buying it.
Has anyone ever heard of this?

With the road grime from driving, and the bugs smashing against the windshield, it creates a hazard to constantly run the windshield wipers, even with washer fluid. It smears and makes it difficult to see.

If you blow cold air against a windshield in this climate, condensation is going to build up.
The defrost is not sealing off when I run the air conditioning.
Currently, the only thing I can do is to run the heat on the windshield, and that is very uncomfortable when temperatures are always above 70 or so.

So is the tech telling the truth? I have googled this subject every way I can think of, and talked to other Encore owners, and they don't have this problem. I have never heard of Bleedoff or Overbleed. This has become a big problem for me as I drive Uber and do Non Emergency Patient Transport with the Encore. I cannot get Buick or GM to answer me, and the dealer won't do anything about it. I am ready to park the vehicle at the dealership and leave it there and let GM Financial come and get it. I love the Encore other than that.

 

[DocBrown]

The defrost feature does not seal off like every vehicle I have ever had.

What does that mean, "seal off"? I've also never heard the term "AC bleed off".

The AC compressor on all cars with AC runs when the defroster runs. The idea being that it's drier air and it will deal with the fog & frost inside the window (we get layers of frost inside too where I live). That generally works fine except for those humid mornings where the dew point and temperature about about the same. Condensation quickly builds up on the outside of the window. The defroster actually makes it worse because it keeps the window cold which make a nice environment for condensation to form. That's where running the heat comes in. Warm up the window and as you have discovered, no more condensation.

I live in a climate where it's not unusual to have dramatic temperature swings through the course of a day, starting with chilly damp mornings, usually early spring and early fall. With every car we've ever owned we've had condensation on the outsides of the windshields. We've had to turn the heat up when running the defroster. Once the condensation is gone we turn the heat off. So for us this is a normal part of owning a car.

 

[G-153951]

What does that mean, "seal off"? I've also never heard the term "AC bleed off".

The AC compressor on all cars with AC runs when the defroster runs. The idea being that it's drier air and it will deal with the fog & frost inside the window (we get layers of frost inside too where I live). That generally works fine except for those humid mornings where the dew point and temperature about about the same. Condensation quickly builds up on the outside of the window. The defroster actually makes it worse because it keeps the window cold which make a nice environment for condensation to form. That's where running the heat comes in. Warm up the window and as you have discovered, no more condensation.

I live in a climate where it's not unusual to have dramatic temperature swings through the course of a day, starting with chilly damp mornings, usually early spring and early fall. With every car we've ever owned we've had condensation on the outsides of the windshields. We've had to turn the heat up when running the defroster. Once the condensation is gone we turn the heat off. So for us this is a normal part of owning a car.

By seal off, I mean, when the defrost setting is turned off, it does not blow at all on the windshield. It seals up. I don't know the technical words to use. I've had many cars, and also have a 17 Nissan that does not have this problem. I had a Ram 1500, a Dodge Journey, 2 F150s, Grand Ptix. Never ever had this issue. To me it is odd that the defrost vents blow when turned off. It really has become a safety issue for me as tbe driver, and a comfort issue for my riders, many who have medical conditions that makes them sensitive. Running the heat isn't.

The Buick tech used 2 terms, AC Overbleed and Bleedoff. I checked and cannot find either term anywhere.

 

[MelsRegal]

I concur with DocBrown, have near heard of "AC bleed off" or "seal off" in reference to the defrost function. As already stated and you are aware of you have to raise the temperature of the windshield to stop the outside condensation.

 

[G-836907]

I recently purchased a 2019 Buick Encore.
I live in Florida and in the early morning and into the night I have a condensation problem on the outside of the window.
The AC blows through the defrost constantly. The defrost feature does not seal off like every vehicle I have ever had.
The Service Tech tells us this is the way the vehicle was designed. I'm not buying it.
Has anyone ever heard of this?

With the road grime from driving, and the bugs smashing against the windshield, it creates a hazard to constantly run the windshield wipers, even with washer fluid. It smears and makes it difficult to see.

If you blow cold air against a windshield in this climate, condensation is going to build up.
The defrost is not sealing off when I run the air conditioning.
Currently, the only thing I can do is to run the heat on the windshield, and that is very uncomfortable when temperatures are always above 70 or so.

So is the tech telling the truth? I have googled this subject every way I can think of, and talked to other Encore owners, and they don't have this problem. I have never heard of Bleedoff or Overbleed. This has become a big problem for me as I drive Uber and do Non Emergency Patient Transport with the Encore. I cannot get Buick or GM to answer me, and the dealer won't do anything about it. I am ready to park the vehicle at the dealership and leave it there and let GM Financial come and get it. I love the Encore other than that.

I have a 2021 that's doing basically the same thing they keep telling me they can't find anything wrong. I will file lemon law against that car and they will have to take it back and put me in something decent