Interior Light

October 17, 2011

I would say that the interior LED light is excellent as a map-reading light (if you still use old-fashioned maps). Its directional nature means that use by a passenger does NOT distract the driver. However, shining on a single spot on the dark carpet does not make for an effective interior light.

What you need is a thin white diffuser (lamp shade)! Make one for yourself for 50p…. use half of a white ping-pong ball cut around the seam with kitchen scissors, attach with a thin strip of ‘white-tak’ or other plasticine-like adhesive. Hey presto - lots of interior illumination when entering the vehicle in the dark. Remove at will, to return to the map-reading lamp. The LED lamp never gets hot - so NO melted plastic.

Toyota would do well to supply a free ping pong ball with every iQ, or adapt the roof moulding to accept a clip-on diffuser.