Poor vision of instruments during daylight hours

[Haliotis]

Many modern cars - and I include my 2021 C-HR in this - provide poor visibility of the instruments during bright days, and particularly in sunny weather.  At these times, reading the speedometer is virtually impossible, and it is not safe to. Spend too much time squinting at the dashboard.   In my opinion, the instrument panel should be fully illuminated at all times that the ignition is “on”.  Annoyingly, some of the info in the MFD panel does remain illuminated and clearly visible at a glance.  Why this has not been extended to the main dashboard dials really vexes me.  When the car goes in for its annual service (next month) I intend to ask the service department if they can alter the wiring to the main dials so that they remain illuminated for all the time that the ignition is turned on.  If they can - and it should be easily possible - I expect that a charge will apply for this work.

[alan333]

Your post seems odd, the dash lighting on my 2021 is bright during daylight, or more specifically when the sidelights/headlights are off.  When they're on, irrespective of whether it's daylight or not, they can be dimmed.  Are yours set to on and dimmed perchance?

[Haliotis]

Hi Alan.  My C-HR is a 2021 model, and does not have a dimming facility.  I have done a bit of “playing around” to see how and when the instrument panel lights illuminate.  From what I have been able to deduce, I think they come on when the day is dull, but not on a bright or sunny day.  It is at this time when they are needed most.  In any case, I will be asking the service department to make the necessary alterations to ensure that the panel lights are on at all times when the ignition is on. Instrument visibility is essential and, in my honest opinion, these lights should perform as I am expecting them to.

Frankly, I think the manufacturers are too wrapped up in gimmickry and lose sight of the more important functions that are critical to safe driving.

[FROSTYBALLS]

All four of my Toyotas since 2006 have had dimmable instrument lighting, so can't imagine the C-HR doesn't have this feature.

[alan333]

6 hours ago, Haliotis said:

Hi Alan.  My C-HR is a 2021 model, and does not have a dimming facility.  I have done a bit of “playing around” to see how and when the instrument panel lights illuminate.  From what I have been able to deduce, I think they come on when the day is dull, but not on a bright or sunny day.  

Your car does have instrument panel dimming.  It's found in the multi info display under settings, although it's easy to miss since the option is only available if the lights are on.

If the lights are off then the dash will be lit to full brightness.  But if the lights are on, the dash will be lit at whatever level the dimming is set to.  This can mean the dash goes dim if you have the lights on during daytime.

[Haliotis]

If it’s there, Alan, I’ve missed it.  Will check it out tomorrow.

[alan333]

5 hours ago, Haliotis said:

If it’s there, Alan, I’ve missed it.  Will check it out tomorrow.

It’s on the settings tab, scroll up/down to the 2nd page, see pic  

[Haliotis]

I have searched the light settings in the menu.  For the vehicle it gives a choice of interior and exterior lights sensitivity.  It does not mention any specific light details, and the instrument lights are not separately detailed, and no dimming facility is shown. In each case, there is simply a horizontal bar along which can be a chosen point for “sensitivity” - it gives +/- value and shows neither which value is higher in terms of illumination, nor whether the value is for brightness or for reaction to ambient brightness.  Personally, I feel that Toyota are totally out of touch with the practical relationship between a driver and his/her instrument panel.  I will pursue my original plan, which is to ask the dealership to adjust the instrument panel settings to a straightforward set up which is “ignition OFF- panel lights OFF” or “ignition ON - panel lights ON”.   If the Toyota dealership can’t/won’t comply, I know of two automotive electrical specialists who can!

[alan333]

6 hours ago, Haliotis said:

I have searched the light settings in the menu.  For the vehicle it gives a choice of interior and exterior lights sensitivity.  It does not mention any specific light details, and the instrument lights are not separately detailed, and no dimming facility is shown. In each case, there is simply a horizontal bar along which can be a chosen point for “sensitivity” - it gives +/- value and shows neither which value is higher in terms of illumination, nor whether the value is for brightness or for reaction to ambient brightness.  Personally, I feel that Toyota are totally out of touch with the practical relationship between a driver and his/her instrument panel.  I will pursue my original plan, which is to ask the dealership to adjust the instrument panel settings to a straightforward set up which is “ignition OFF- panel lights OFF” or “ignition ON - panel lights ON”.   If the Toyota dealership can’t/won’t comply, I know of two automotive electrical specialists who can!

You're in the settings accessed via the infotainment (stereo).  You need to be in the settings in the multi info display (the bit between the speedo dials, accessed using the steering wheel buttons.

[Big_D]

Have you tried covering up the light sensor in the centre of the dashboard near the windscreen. When the Toyota technician adjusted mine, just after I bought the car, he covered this with a piece of paper, fooling the system into thinking it was dark. The system then displayed a different menu with additional settings which were only available when it was dark.

[Haliotis]

14 hours ago, alan333 said:

You're in the settings accessed via the infotainment (stereo).  You need to be in the settings in the multi info display (the bit between the speedo dials, accessed using the steering wheel buttons.

I’ve tried both.  The one you advise didn’t produce any help at all - it went through several menu screens until it started to just repeat them.

12 hours ago, Big_D said:

Have you tried covering up the light sensor in the centre of the dashboard near the windscreen. When the Toyota technician adjusted mine, just after I bought the car, he covered this with a piece of paper, fooling the system into thinking it was dark. The system then displayed a different menu with additional settings which were only available when it was dark.

I will try that. Where exactly is this located - didn’t see anything obvious during last attempt?  Cannot understand why the simple act of trying to set the instrument panel to be in full illumination has to be so complicated.  There are a couple of bits of frivolous info, just outside the box between the the main dials, that do remain fully illuminated whilst the ignition is on.

On previous cars I’ve owned, the instrument panel lights could be switched off (don’t know why anyone would want to do that), and on some there was a dimming function - which I never found to be of any use.

[Benzowner]

Shot in the dark, excuse the pun, there is a button to switch between trip modes when you push the button in under the speedo, sometimes that can also rotate to increase or decrease illumination. Thats how it worked on my old Nissan, worth a try.

[alan333]

5 hours ago, Haliotis said:

I’ve tried both.  The one you advise didn’t produce any help at all - it went through several menu screens until it started to just repeat them.

Press the left/right sides of the meter control switch on the rhs of the steering wheel to scroll left/right through the meter options (see screenshot).  There are 6 icons - stop at the rightmost one which looks like a cog (see screenshot).

Now press up/down, there are three 'pages', stop at the one with the speedometer with the bulb (see pictures of all 3 pages).

Press the enter/set button to select and set the speedo illumination setting.  

[Haliotis]

1 hour ago, Benzowner said:

Shot in the dark, excuse the pun, there is a button to switch between trip modes when you push the button in under the speedo, sometimes that can also rotate to increase or decrease illumination. Thats how it worked on my old Nissan, worth a try.

Sorry, Geoff, no button under my speedo - not even room for one.  I did have a similar problem with my previous car 2017 VW Caravelle. The dealership service dept could find nothing wrong - said a check found it same as all Caravelles on the forecourt.  In this case, the speedo was much easier to see than with my C-HR, which is quite a bit smaller in diameter and sunken into a deep bezel.

Would have been more practical if Toyota had scrapped the infortainment system and placed a large speedo centrally in its place (similar to a Morris 1000 Traveller I once had) and left it for the driver to mount a free-standing satnav on the dashboard.  I would go as far as to say that my instrument panel is rubbish.

[Bper]

I wouldn't stress over it,Toyota will adjust the settings via techstream if your vehicle has the necessary capability for adjustments. 😃

[Haliotis]

Alan, I have been through those screens, but could not find anything relating to instrument panel lighting.  If it were possible to set the lighting to be permanently “ON”, would it not be clearly indicated.  Your latest post gives a bit more info, and I will follow this (will have to be tomorrow now) and see if I get get further along with it.

[Haliotis]

3 minutes ago, Bper said:

I wouldn't stress over it,Toyota will adjust the settings via techstream if your vehicle has the necessary capability for adjustments. 😃

Sorry, Bob, you’ve lost me there.  If it can be done, how do I use “tech stream”, and what is it? 😥

[alan333]

Just now, Haliotis said:

Alan, I have been through those screens, but could not find anything relating to instrument panel lighting.  If it were possible to set the lighting to be permanently “ON”, would it not be clearly indicated.  Your latest post gives a bit more info, and I will follow this (will have to be tomorrow now) and see if I get get further along with it.

The backlighting is already always on.  What you're trying to do is tell it not to be dimmer when the lights come on.

I like my dash dim at night (I drive a lot at night) so I have my backlighting set to dim when my lights are on (this is what I believe yours is doing).  However it is at the cost of them being dim should I put my lights on for rain etc during the day (or if the car puts them on automatically when I go through a tunnel etc).

[Bper]

6 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Sorry, Bob, you’ve lost me there.  If it can be done, how do I use “tech stream”, and what is it? 😥

Hi Albert, Toyota Techstream is the official diagnostic software used by Toyota and Lexus dealerships and service centers. It is a comprehensive tool that allows mechanics and technicians to interface with the vehicle's onboard computer systems to diagnose and troubleshoot issues. The software allows for the customisation of various vehicle settings, such as enabling or disabling certain features e.g automatic door locking,You can adjust the brightness of the dashboard and instrument cluster lights. This might be useful if the manual adjustment via the dashboard dimmer switch doesn’t meet your needs or if you want to set a specific brightness level.😃

[Haliotis]

Thanks for that, Bob.  Incidentally, my C-HR does not have a dimming switch facility.  Neither does it have headlight levelling for when the boot is heavily loaded.  I did ask about this latter omission, and was told that the vehicle has automatic levelling installed for this purpose.

Alan,  I can appreciate that for some vehicles with an extensive amount of instrument panel illumination, the driver could benefit from dimming at night.  But my C-HR has fairly basic instrument panel illumination and, in IMHO, dimming at night is not necessary.  Permanent setting for full illumination is the best situation for safe, quick reference to the dials.

[Bper]

12 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Thanks for that, Bob.  Incidentally, my C-HR does not have a dimming switch facility.  Neither does it have headlight levelling for when the boot is heavily loaded.  I did ask about this latter omission, and was told that the vehicle has automatic levelling installed for this purpose.

Alan,  I can appreciate that for some vehicles with an extensive amount of instrument panel illumination, the driver could benefit from dimming at night.  But my C-HR has fairly basic instrument panel illumination and, in IMHO, dimming at night is not necessary.  Permanent setting for full illumination is the best situation for safe, quick reference to the dials.

Techstream software can enable or modify various settings that might not be available by default on certain models.😃

[FROSTYBALLS]

28 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Neither does it have headlight levelling for when the boot is heavily loaded.  I did ask about this latter omission, and was told that the vehicle has automatic levelling installed for this purpose.

So it does have headlight levelling - but just automatic.

[AndrueC]

Can't say I've ever noticed such a problem on any car I've owned. I think the dashboards have always been adequately shielded to prevent direct sunlight falling on them.

[Big_D]

@Haliotis

To answer your earlier question about the light sensor. It looks like a small dome on top of the dashboard in the centre, just in front of the windscreen. I've downloaded a C-HR dashboard from the interweb and have circled the sensor in Red

[Haliotis]

15 hours ago, AndrueC said:

Can't say I've ever noticed such a problem on any car I've owned. I think the dashboards have always been adequately shielded to prevent direct sunlight falling on them.

It isn’t so much the sun shining on the instruments - the problem is that the dials are in deep shadow because of the ambient bright light.  Possibly worse as we grow older, but our pupil irises close to adjust to the brightness, which adversely affects our ability to see that which is in shadow.  It’s all very well making a car’s interior pretty (perhaps relieving passenger boredom), but the practical needs of the driver should be the priority

12 hours ago, Big_D said:

@Haliotis

To answer your earlier question about the light sensor. It looks like a small dome on top of the dashboard in the centre, just in front of the windscreen. I've downloaded a C-HR dashboard from the interweb and have circled the sensor in Red

Thanks, Bob.  Must confess I hadn’t even noticed that as being a sensor - looks more like a bit of trim covering something such as a bolt head!   I thought that any sensor in the windscreen was built into the area at top centre of the screen.