My sunglasses blank out the display

Do you wear polarized sunglasses?

Keith

 

If so, try turning them 90° and wear them vertically instead of horizontally, it should correct the problem.

(Sorry, couldn't resist :lol

 

No wear them normal, just tilt your head!!!

 

OK, I'll be more serious.

I haven't tried polarized sunglasses myself but some have reported that the MFD is hard to read with sunglasses and most suspect polarized sunglasses to be the issue.

I haven't read about the main display (speed, etc.) to be unreadable though.

You can seriously try to turn your sunglasses at a 90° angle to see the impact on visibility. Of course the darker they are, the less you will see. You may try another pair of sunglasses, as you are stuck with the display Toyota has chosen for you...

 

The problem is that your glasses are polarized (optically).

LCDs work by polarizing the liquid crystal. If you put another polarizer in front of it (in the correct orientation), some parts will be opaque while others are transparent. You can see the effect by holding your glasses in front of you and looking at the display through one of the lenses. If you start rotating it, you'll see the display fade in and out. If you have an LCD monitor, that'll work too.

If I remember from physics class, most glasses have the same polarization because glare off of things on the ground tend to have the same polarization.

 

If most glasses have the same polarization (and they probably do for the reason you state)-- why would anybody build a display that is oriented so that it is unreadable while wearing polarized sunglasses with your head level?

Not that it doesn't happen... I've seen it in BMWs and such, too.

 

It might be a manufacturing thing. If you orient two polarizers at 90 degrees from each other, they become completely opaque (which is what the display does). They probably have to be at a certain angle to make it easier to manufacture.

Fun polarizer note: The percentage of light transmitted through a pair of polarizers is the cosine of the angle between them. So, if I have two polarizers that are 45 degrees apart, 70% of the light gets through. If they are 90 degrees apart, 0% of the light gets through. Now, I take a 3rd filter and put it between the two that are 90 degrees from each other. I orient this middle filter to be at 45 degrees from the first one. Now, 50% of the light can make it through the stack. So, by having 3 filters, I can pass more light than with just 2.

 

Now would that be a valid argument in traffic court to beat a speeding ticket?

Keith

 

It's your sun glasses. I can't read my displays in my BMW or Lexus due to them. I either have to raise my head to look beneath the glasses or move them up.

 

I have polarized glasses and they do not completely block the display, but dim it so I can still read it. When I turn the glasses 90 degrees, the display becomes noticeably clearer. So far this confirms what the other posters said.

However, what I don't understand is why the MID glass is polarized. Polarized light is essential for LCD screens, but the MID is a fluorescent display which doesn't need polarized light.

 

They probably try to minimize reflections from the same orientation (vertical).

 

The MID uses low-tech passive matrix LCDs (lower costs) so it will never be bright. Earlier laptops used this same type od displays but are now using active matrive displays which gives you a much brighter image.

But either display can be washed out when the sunlight hits it at a certain angle.

 

Philosophe is correct. I wear polarized sunglasses and I simply tilt my head to get a better view of the display.

 

I'm not sure where you have found this. Everything I have read says the MID is a Vacuum Fluorescent Display.

I'm not sure about the nature of the speed/touch-tracer display though.

 

You were both mistaken.
The MFD (where NAVI map is displayed) is active matrix LCD TFT.
The VFD is used for other information (standard) display (speedometer, etc.).
These days, you cannot find any non-TFT LCD anymore.
Under direct sunlight, even TFT is not bright enough.
You would need the next-gen LED back-lit LCD TFT display.
(current TFT LCD uses CFL tubes at four sides to illuminate)
Ever seen the new Samsung LED LCD TV? Shocking, isn't it?