J.D. Power released the results of its annual Vehicle Dependability Survey today, and one item has me scratching my head. They report that the fifth most commonly reported problem is “excessive window fogging.”

I’ve personally reviewed about 8,000 repair reports submitted by TrueDelta’s panel members over the last few years, and cannot remember a single report of “excessive window fogging.” But apparently it’s quite common.

TrueDelta’s survey does collect data on repairs–cases where a part needed to be adjusted or replaced to fix a problem–and not simply problems. Perhaps there’s no cure for “excessive window fogging?” Or is this more an annoyance than a problem, and people realize it doesn’t make sense to ask the dealer to fix it?

Why would this be a problem more in the third year than when a car is new? Maybe the interior surfaces of the windows need to be cleaned?

If someone has a clue about this apparently common problem, please enlighten me.