New owner to the 350z
HI,just got my first 2003 manual 350 Z. I have a question,why the cabin is so hot and fog up the window. everytime i drive it i start sweating.i had own many cars before,never had this issue.
im in ny,i had 2 other cars,no problem . i dont like opening the window for wind noises on hignway and ac on all the time for power loss. i know the 350z engine can run hot,but didnt know inside the car is aslo hot.
350Z/370Z Tech Moderator
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Joined: Oct 2014
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From: Northern California
Presuming.... Something is wrong with your car, this is not the norm. Probably something like a heater control valve is stuck open and/or leaking, causing the fogging and heating.
Is there air coming out of the vents when idling?
You said A/C is on, so does that mean you have to turn it on to make it stop getting hot? Is the car stock? I'm thinking you maybe have performance parts with no heat-shielding. Doesn't explain fogging window though, which implies something with the climate control like a stuck heater maybe.
You said A/C is on, so does that mean you have to turn it on to make it stop getting hot? Is the car stock? I'm thinking you maybe have performance parts with no heat-shielding. Doesn't explain fogging window though, which implies something with the climate control like a stuck heater maybe.
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Pull the AC condensation drain tube and snake it. It runs under the passenger footwell carpet where it plums into the floor pan. You can easily access it with minimal tools/time/effort. Only a few panels and a plastic nut or two need to be removed in order to pull the carpet back. If the condensed water around the evaporator core/heater core housing is not draining properly it will simply get trapped in the core box, increasing humidity in the vehicle. Not to mention this will increase the likelihood of mold growing! 350Zs don't come equipped with cabin filters, so mold/pollen can easily make it to the evaporator and heater cores.
I highly recommend using some bottles of to clean out the Evaporator Core box. This will kill any potential mold growth stinking up your AC vents, a nice bonus is that the tube/nozzle that comes included in the kit also works as snake tool to clear any potential blockages in the drain tube. Lastly, clean the inside of the windows and dashboard really good. There are some anti-fog products you can coat the glass with to help, but a good home brew method is using gel-based shaving cream (sounds crazy but it works!). If you notice a "wet" shine to your dash plastic, I would recommend cleaning this as well with some all-purpose cleaner. Many of these vinyl/plastic protection products that give a "wet" look can start evaporating or out-gassing leaving a chemical film on the glass. The shine also reflects sunlight straight into your eyes! There are good products on the market that will still give you the same UV protection properties while maintaining a clean matte finish on the plastics/vinyl.
Since you mentioned your're not getting much airflow through the vents. I recommend dropping the blower motor housing and inspecting/cleaning it. This also grants you another point of access to the evaporator core housing (from the top), which you can also spray in the Kool-it product (Note you don't have to use Kool-it, this is just the brand that I found worked best for me!). While the blower motor box is down, you can inspect the vent valve/flap and make sure it's working as intended.
Good Luck!
-Icer
I highly recommend using some bottles of to clean out the Evaporator Core box. This will kill any potential mold growth stinking up your AC vents, a nice bonus is that the tube/nozzle that comes included in the kit also works as snake tool to clear any potential blockages in the drain tube. Lastly, clean the inside of the windows and dashboard really good. There are some anti-fog products you can coat the glass with to help, but a good home brew method is using gel-based shaving cream (sounds crazy but it works!). If you notice a "wet" shine to your dash plastic, I would recommend cleaning this as well with some all-purpose cleaner. Many of these vinyl/plastic protection products that give a "wet" look can start evaporating or out-gassing leaving a chemical film on the glass. The shine also reflects sunlight straight into your eyes! There are good products on the market that will still give you the same UV protection properties while maintaining a clean matte finish on the plastics/vinyl.
Since you mentioned your're not getting much airflow through the vents. I recommend dropping the blower motor housing and inspecting/cleaning it. This also grants you another point of access to the evaporator core housing (from the top), which you can also spray in the Kool-it product (Note you don't have to use Kool-it, this is just the brand that I found worked best for me!). While the blower motor box is down, you can inspect the vent valve/flap and make sure it's working as intended.
Good Luck!
-Icer
Haven’t moved my Z around since I bought it in 2017, and now that I have been driving it more consistently around the block I ended up getting a SES light and I quickly turned back home. Tried getting the code read with the built in reader but failed. Ended up checking the oil, and it was low LOW like below the L. Been reading around forums and I’m scaring myself, but I literally just saw the light and returned back home. (Didn’t drive more than 1-3miles) just ordered 5Ls and new oil filter, hoping the SES light turns off after that or should I get a scanner to look at it and give me the precise issue? It also might be sensors since I have berk test pipes, headers, and resonated y pipe that’s broken off at the Y point. I was thinking it could be the fact my exhaust it chopped from there and I’m getting an emission code but I’m not that familiar with anything and I’m also new to Zs.
(haven’t moved it consistently since 2017 all I did for the past few years was just turn it on and move around the block so tires don’t get bruised up)
(haven’t moved it consistently since 2017 all I did for the past few years was just turn it on and move around the block so tires don’t get bruised up)
Last edited by Om4rx; Oct 1, 2020 at 09:26 AM.
Haven’t moved my Z around since I bought it in 2017, and now that I have been driving it more consistently around the block I ended up getting a SES light and I quickly turned back home. Tried getting the code read with the built in reader but failed. Ended up checking the oil, and it was low LOW like below the L. Been reading around forums and I’m scaring myself, but I literally just saw the light and returned back home. (Didn’t drive more than 1-3miles) just ordered 5Ls and new oil filter, hoping the SES light turns off after that or should I get a scanner to look at it and give me the precise issue? It also might be sensors since I have berk test pipes, headers, and resonated y pipe that’s broken off at the Y point. I was thinking it could be the fact my exhaust it chopped from there and I’m getting an emission code but I’m not that familiar with anything and I’m also new to Zs.
(haven’t moved it consistently since 2017 all I did for the past few years was just turn it on and move around the block so tires don’t get bruised up)
(haven’t moved it consistently since 2017 all I did for the past few years was just turn it on and move around the block so tires don’t get bruised up)
This is a completely unrelated issue to this thread. Please do not hijack someone elses thread. Create a new post for this issue in the relevant section of the forums.
Thanks!
-Icer
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