My sunglasses blank out the display

1. Nav screen, active matric LCD TFT. Agreed. but we were not talking about the nav screen.
2. Speedometer, VFD.

What about the 5 inch MID (multi-information display: the right part of the screen showing the HSI, graphs, consumption, etc.)? -- I was pretty sure it is VFD.

Note: The multi-functional display (MFD) is gone with the 2010 Prius and replaced by a combination of the nav screen and the MID.

 

I noticed something even stranger.

There are four different display areas in the 2010 Prius: the left portion of the dash panel where the speedometer is displayed, the right portion of the dash panel (the MID), the navigation screen (if you have the navigation option) and the A/C screen. The left portion of the screen, the navigation screen, and the A/C screen are all polarized at different angles, and the MID is not polarized at all.

I found this out by looking through my polarized sun glasses and tilting them at different angles. Each screen area (except for the MID) was brightest at a different angle! And, NONE of them are bright when the sun glasses are held horizontally, as you would normally wear them.

 

Hmmm, my polarizing lenses don't blank out the displays until I turn on the headlights and turn down the dash to the bottom of the wheel. The only difference I have with them on is that the a/c temp control screen has a brown "wave" along the bottom of it.

Usually with these lenses (I got them for boating) I can't read any digital displays and even can see the tinting pattern on car windows (until I turn my head, of course )

If I hadn't heard of others having trouble, I'd have been super impressed with Toyota. As it is, I'm still seriously impressed with my little Black Prius :rockon:

 

And if you hold the decoder lens from a Cracker Jacks box in front of your glasses your will see a secret message displayed in each of the four display areas. Sorry, could not resist.

 

So I believe we all agree this is a problem with LCDs oriented to provide horizontally polarized light, which is exactly what polarized sunglasses are supposed to exclude. Why would Toyota orient their chips in this fashion, rather than at 90 degrees to that?

I have polarized prescription sunglasses. If I turn on my headlights during the day on a long highway, and have my sunglasses on, I cannot see the display at all. Even without the headlights on, the daytime reduction in brightness with polarized glasses is significant. It seems truly shortsighted.

 

Toyota is not alone is this. GM did it too with their HUD projected on the windshield of my C5 Vette (02). Of course, when I bought a pair of non-polarized sunglasses I noticed much more glare coming off the top of the dash of the Prius.

 

The climate display is partially obscured when I wear polarized sunglasses. I have to tip them up to read the outside temp. The other displays are fine. These are cheap $15 sunglasses.

 

I think in this case it is not intentional. The plastic display is getting partially polarized during the manufacturing process.

 

Can anyone recommend a brand that works for them in the Prius? I can't read the display when using the headlights during the day. I have the screen set to its highest brightness. Maybe a non polarized pair would be my best bet.

 

Drive Wear lenses. They are a yellow color, but they get rid of almost all glare but aren't polarized - at least mine aren't, but it may be an option you can add. I absolutely love them compared to my old polarized lenses.

 

I wear polarized sunglasses. I just had to turn the display intensity up until it "clicked" into a maximum brightness.
Is that so hard?

 

NON-Polarized. Pilots do NOT use polarized sunglasses because they interfere with their vision of the instruments which are often anti-glare coated.

Polarized sunglasses are great when you're on the water fishing. They are bad if you're skiing, they reduce depth perception. They are bad for pilots because of the coatings on the instruments AND the reduced depth perception.

Try VedaloHD sunglasses. Aviator Sunglasses | Sport Sunglasses | Sunglasses For Men | Golf Sunglasses | Best Sunglasses | Sunglases

 

Any idea how or why polarized lenses reduce depth perception?
I haven't noticed the problem too much with my polarized lenses--but maybe that's just been luck.

 

Make sure they are not polarized.
Take the old and the new and back to back. Then turn one pair at 90Degrees.
If looking thru the pair, one lens turns black. they both are polarized.

I have the same problem when I wear mine. and it is not fum. Turning up the brightness of the display does not help my situation. It blocks out my speed o.

 

NO but that don't work for me.

 

Here is what the FAA says about polarized sunglasses:

Tom

 

Same here.
I don't get it.

I love Prius drivers (usually) but MAN!!!!
You guys and gals get wrapped around the axle on some of the strangest topics......

 

Thank good ness for the search function, or I'd have started a new thread.

Why do we get caught up on little things? This isn't a little thing.

I put on my nice new 1980's stylin' Ray Ban polarized prescription sunglasses last week, and I thought something was seriously wrong.
At first I thought my headlights must have been on (as they often are when I first boot the car up in the AM, from the night before) since the speedo had exactly that level of dimness.

Then I realized that only the Speedo?Fuel/MPG section was dim, the MFD, the "ready" light, and a few other things were bright as normal.

Playing with the dimmer switch wouldn't do anything, as it was at maximum (exterior lights off) brightness.
And it was very disconcerting.

I understand the physics, and I understand that it's not a Prius only issue. But damn, it's annoying.


(BTW- why do polarized lenses decrease depth perception when skiing? Here's why: On a sunny day on the ski slope, you just don't have many cues to distinguish depth. A flat white surface is just too featureless. One of the ways your brain can put texture on that surface is by noticing subtleties like flashes of glare and shadow -- the sunglasses, especially polarized ones, filter out those highlights, bringing you back to a featureless white snowscape that your brain can't apply depth cues to.)