2004 Forester

117,000 miles

 

I got in my car this morning and headed for work. It was around 10 degrees F. I turned the defroster on and cranked the fan all the way up. Soon the snow that I was too lazy to remove from my hood was flying up over my windshield like normal.

 

It was all normal until a light snow started coating my dash, the inside of my windshield, and my face!

 

I've never had this happen. What gives???

 

 

 

 

PS: If there is more than about an inch of snow on the car I brush it off so that I don't blind other drivers. The little bit that was on the car was gone before the end of the driveway.

On the older cars when its really cold and you get the really fine powdery snow it can get sucked in through the cowl and get blown through the fan and the vents. The trick is to wait a few minutes for the heater core to warm up so anything that does make it in hits the core and melts and drips out of the drain.

 

But I'm thinking 04 should have a cabin air filter, which should catch anything that gets through the cowl. Might want to check that.

Really cold? Check.

 

Fine, powdery snow? Check.

 

Cabin Air filter? Nope. There is a spot for it, but there is not one installed.

 

So is that it? Just let the heater core warm up? I usually warm the car up before driving in the winter, but this morning I was in a hurry. Maybe that's why this is the first time it has happened.

 

Thanks Fairtax

This is not uncommon as snow will get into places that rain won't. Sounds lormal if it was a really powdery snow and no cabin filter

If it was windy with powdery snow coming down, it will get anywhere that air an flow. Blame it on the weather. That snow would have accumulated while the car was parked.

Putting in a cabin filter would eliminate the problem in the future though

It is strange to me that I have lived my whole life in places that get snow and I have never experienced this before.

 

Either way, I've got the answer I needed. Thank you people of USMB.

It is not unusual, but the conditions have to be just right. I have had quite a few cars do it over the years, and some not at all.