I'd always wondered where the outlet vents were. Can you see them from
within the boot?

If you run the fan on full speed (without recirc on!), shut the doors,
then feel along outside under the sills, around the centre of the car
there are two small holes. Air comes out of here with some force. I
suppose this is because the outlet vents are undersized.

The Focus is the worst car for window steaming that I have had in recent
years. The heater is pretty weedy generally, and I hate the fact that it
is not possible to have a setting that gives some air to the screen and
some out of the dash vents. Still great to drive even if I can't see
where I'm going! :-)

Chris

My 2000V 1.8 Zetec 5 door hatch has always been a pain with steaming up when the conditions are right (wrong??). It only happens about half a dozen times a year.
I agree with Paul, yes, the AC always clears it and very quickly but I have had this car for most of its life and sometimes, the AC has to run all the time to keep it clear. I recently did a 3 hour journey on the motorway when I had to keep the AC going
all the time (which was the first time this had happened). Most of the time, even when we have got into the car with wet
clothes, it is ok and no problem.
I have tried all settings, different fan speeds, different settings of blower and different directions of output, all to little avail when the conditions are in favour of the Focus steaming up.
As Paul says, the problem seems to be with the outlet vents, I am sure that if they were up near the rear lights at the top, there would be no problem. I find that if I clean the inside of the windows on a very regular basis (even when they don't look dirty) there is an improvement. I also found that by folding the rear corners of the boot liner/mat underneath themselves (leaving a hole into the "chassis/body" area) allows a little more air to flow. I assume that the airflow comes into the cabin at the front and needs to find an exit in order to flow. It has to get through the rear seats and the boot cover lid and through whatever is in the boot in order to exit (At least that is what I think it has to do?). I try to keep the rear corners clear of things in the boot and this has undoubtedly helped a bit but it still steams up very quickly at times. I have travelled with the seats down with luggage etc in the back and it has never steamed up like that. It has to be an airflow problem (providing it doesn't happen all the time which would be damp getting in somewhere problem of course- pollen filter, leak etc).
I also am lucky enough to have the Quickclear windscreen which I have used a couple of times (yesterday was one of them, about freezing point and the car had been parked for about 4 hours) but this time, once it had cleared, it stayed clear. I had only previously used this for melting ice and frost on the outside - only just clicked that it would be useful for steaming on the inside - and it is very good.
Didn't realise there was a TSB about it, guess not many people complain about it and assume it is just a feature.
I certainly am very prepared to put up with it (and put the AC on and off as required), it is a pain but it is a great car, a delight to drive !!!!

Justin Case

It seems to be unlimited amount of hot air when you direct it via the
dashboard outlets, but then nothing goes to the windshield and it fogs up
instantly. And when the air is directed to the windshield and floor, that
air seems to pretty much have lost most of the heat  before entering the
cabin. (Badly isolated air ducts, or leakages maybe).
The old SAAB 900 had a small hole in the vent flaps to the windshield. There
was always at least a small air flow to the windshield regardless of how you
set the distribution otherwise. This would be an improvement with the Focus
too.
Then you could get lots of heat into the car, without fogging the windshield
instantly.
A DIY article on one of the Focus websites with such a mod would be great.
Any takers?
/per