Instrument Cluster Brightness

[agfs]

Having found that, in certain daylight conditions, the lighting of the instrument cluster becomes dim, making the information it contains (excluding the HUD) somewhat difficult to see without taking ones eyes off the road for an abnormal time. Manual page 192 gives instructions on adjusting the brightness of the cluster ‘when the tail light is on’ but there appears to be no instruction as to how to adjust the brightness to cope with daylight conditions. When stationary, it is possible to cover what my local Mr.T’s servive manager called a ‘solar sensor’ which is a button sized object situated just below the windscreen on the passenger side. Its covering will induce night-time conditions enabling adjustment to be made when the ‘tail light’ is switched on.

There appears to be no other way of increasing the cluster brightness during daylight …..unless anyone knows how to do it ??????

[Jan&tone]

Hiya, not really sure what you mean.... The only time my displays change brightness is when I put the lights on, then the dashboard dims a little and the map display changes to a 'night display' otherwise the display is very clear..

[acetip]

om my auris,the daytime display is bright with no adjustment.but with light on the the display brightness can be adjusted.would have thought there would be a simuler choce on a prius.

[ian rooke]

Hi I have found no way to dim the display on the Gen 3 (you could do this on the Gen2) the display will auto dim if the lights are on and the light level outside is low enough.

[agfs]

Thanks guys, It would appear that there is no way to improve the brilliance of the Gen 3's instrument display during daylight.

[kevin h]

Hiya, not really sure what you mean.... The only time my displays change brightness is when I put the lights on, then the dashboard dims a little and the map display changes to a 'night display' otherwise the display is very clear..

Mine dims and brightens when going travelling along a road which becoms darker due to the large number of trees reducing visibility.

I also noticed that you say you can use EV mode everytime when starting the car. That has very rarely worked in both of my cars on a cold day or when the Battery is low.

[r04drunner1]

I've seen my instrument cluster go dim in daylight when travelling under a wide bridge. The aforementioned solar sensor evidently detects the drop in light, thinks you are driving in night and reduces the light intensity of the instrument panel. I reckon that the instrument panel is programmed to be brighter in daylight so that you can see it, but dimmer at night so that it does not dazzle you. Then, once you get out from under the bridge, the dashboard goes back up to the normal daylight intensity... which startled me a couple of times until I worked out what was going on!

On the US/Canadian spec models of the Gen 3, there is a manual adjustment knurled wheel in the lower control panel under the left hand side of the steering wheel. It's beside the similar knurl wheel for the headlamp beam adjustment. I would guess it would be the same in right hand drive cars, just under the right hand side of the steering wheel. But on my T4, however, the location for that instrument panel adjustment knurl wheel is blanked out.

So unless your T-Spirit is different, I reckon Toyota has decided that UK drivers don't need to adjust the instrument panel brightness!

If it becomes a pain, you could probably get the parts from somewhere and fit them to your car, thus giving you our transatlantic cousins' ability to control the dashboard lights to your heart's content.

[Doesn'tExist]

Yes ours varies whether lights are on or off, and the sensor is different compared to the auto lights as sometimes I have the interior bright and the lights on, and vice versa, or dimmed etc.Can't say it bothers me to be honest, everything stays very readable at all times.I haven't tried it, but probably the way to adjust it is like when you adjust the interior dashboard lighting when you have you headlights on.

[r04drunner1]

OK. I've gone back to the manual and checked; also I've done some experimenting. I can provide a bit more detail and also modify somewhat my own previous criticism of Toyota.

I had to remind myself of the OP's original question - can you brighten the dash during daylight?

Short answer is "No" - at least, not on UK cars.

It's exactly as the OP said.

IF (1) the dashboard light sensor is blanked off (so that the car thinks the outside conditions are low light / night time) then the dashboard auto dims.

AND IF

(2) the tail lights are switched on

THEN

you CAN adjust the brightness by pressing the button on the dash behind the leftmost portion of the steering wheel, just above the time adjust buttons (H) (M) (:00).

For identification, the button is marked "km/h MPH" and also has a dashboard light symbol on it. (Sorry but my ASCII keyboard skills are not good enough to show what this looks like!)

Just to make life more difficult, it is a dual function button. If you press and hold it in for about one second, it toggles the speedometer beween km/h and MPH. But if you press it briefly, it will step DOWN the dash light level.

Remember, it will only step down the dash light level if BOTH conditions (1) and (2) are met. During daylight hours, NEITHER condition will normally be met so we are doubly stuffed.

Going back to the dual function button. If you press the button again, it will dim the lights still further. This continues with progressive stabs at the button until, at the fourth press, the light level on the dash returns to full daytime brightness. But NOT an increased level of brightness.

Which is totally useless if, as the OP asked, you want to increase the light level of the dashboard during daylight.

I think it would have been better to use the dash brightness control shown on the US / Canadian spec cars, that at least might have given the possibility of more manual control of the dash lights. Why Toyota didn't keep it simple that way, I have no idea!

To be honest, it's never been an issue for me. The light levels have been just fine.

Mind you, a glove box light in the upper glove box would have been nice...

[Jan&tone]

Hiya, not really sure what you mean.... The only time my displays change brightness is when I put the lights on, then the dashboard dims a little and the map display changes to a 'night display' otherwise the display is very clear..

Mine dims and brightens when going travelling along a road which becoms darker due to the large number of trees reducing visibility.

I also noticed that you say you can use EV mode everytime when starting the car. That has very rarely worked in both of my cars on a cold day or when the Battery is low.

kevin, my car is garaged so maybe doesnt get cold enuf to stop me using ev to get it out, it's never had frost on it yet either! But now bird *******, thats another subject.... Lots of that - i park next to a river at work and the seagulls line up for a bombing run about 100 yards away and rarely miss

[Doesn'tExist]

I'm not certain why you seem to think that neither condition can be met though? I adjust mine just fine. Top brightness is top brightness no different to any other car though, no car you can make it brighter than the maximum setting.

You want a light in your glove box, I'd like some carpet first. It is cheap and nasty.

[one00100]

Just like the OP said, mine is VERY hard to see in bright sunlight.  I have tried all those ways to brighten, but no luck.  This is a big problem for me and I am considering reporting it as a defect for possible "Lemon Law" action.  This is a Toyota disgrace!!!