Windshield sensors fogging up rendering them useless

I am currently on a trip with my familiy and it is 3 degrees Celcius outside.
There was a lot of condensation on all the windows before starting the trip but we got rid of that by heating the car.
It is a bit rainy outside and somehow the automatic wipers have not been working most of the time today. After pulling into a gas station to fill up I noticed that there is heavy condensation on all of the small "holes" in the windscreen made for the different front facing sensors near the rearview mirror which might explain the wipers.

Sorry for the long storytelling. What i am getting at is that I would like to know if this is a common problem during the winter? And if not, could it be caused by a faulty windshield install made by the local Mazda dealer a couple of months ago due to a crack?

Strangehate said:

Sorry for the long storytelling. What i am getting at is that I would like to know if this is a common problem during the winter? And if not, could it be caused by a faulty windshield install made by the local Mazda dealer a couple of months ago due to a crack?

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I've never heard of that problem or experienced it myself and I've been driving my CX-5 between sea level and 4000 feet in the Cascade range, mostly in the winter. I think with all the cold rain, fog, snow, slush and freezing weather I've been through I would have noticed something if there was a design flaw. But I can see how there could be a problem with workmanship if you had your windshield replaced. All it would take is for the cover of the windshield sensor pod to have a gap around the perimeter. Then warm moist air could condense on the inside of the windshield behind the cover.

Inspect the fit of the windshield sensor pod against the inside of the windshield to either confirm or reject.

What your experiencing is common during poorly installed window replacements. I've had 2 other cars with auto wipers and we're never quite the same after the windshield was replaced. Take photos of the condensation and be prepared to run a demonstration for the installing dealership.
I can remember that on 1 of my cars the installer peeled the sensor off the original window and tried to reapply the sensor without stripping and reapplying new glue, so the point of contact was not vissually clear.

Bopper said:

What your experiencing is common during poorly installed window replacements. I've had 2 other cars with auto wipers and we're never quite the same after the windshield was replaced. Take photos of the condensation and be prepared to run a demonstration for the installing dealership.
I can remember that on 1 of my cars the installer peeled the sensor off the original window and tried to reapply the sensor without stripping and reapplying new glue, so the point of contact was not vissually clear.

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This when I had the debacle with poor quality windshield with my last cx-5, my sensor was never quite right. The problem was (which became clear when I finally got an OEM glass) that the aftermarket glass do not have the clip built in the same way as the OEM. That is why they are using glue and stuff. The OEM glass actually comes with a sensor in a separate box(if your vehicle is so equipped). The OEM glass has a track type clip built into it that the sensor clips on. Improper installation of the sensor and mirror with aftermarket glass TWICE caused a star crack to form on the glass over the sensor, and in the other case the rearview mirror fell off along with a chunk of glass it was attached too.. Safelite ended up giving me about 4 glasses before they finally gave me the OEM. Oh well, it was their loss for repeatedly putting a failing glass on my car lol.