Reflection on Windscreen in Gen 2 Prius

I have never noticed this, and do 80% of my driving at night. Without going out and looking, I do know all dash lights are covered by a little overhang, presumably to prevent that very problem, and to allow you to see it clearly even in bright sunlight. Have you tried extending that overhang slightly with something like black construction paper on cardboard? A simple trick like that should fix it, and help you avoid losing a huge amount of money.

I'll look for the glare next time I'm out. Sorry to hear you're unhappy with your car, best of luck with the next one.

 

I agree that this glare sucks. For me, it's not enough of an issue to sell it but I can see where someone would not want to keep the car b/c of it. Hope you find another car that will work better for you.

By the way, the speedometer reading off by 2mph really bugs me too.

 

(OK, I'll bite...) You need to reduce the display brightness until the glare disappears. Rotate the little thumbwheel switch on the dash near the steering column.

 

Julian - I have a gen 2 and agree that the glare is a bit of a pain, but I think you are really blowing it out of proportion. When I bought my 2009 I was living in Philly and working in Providence RI so I was driving about 1,200 miles a week, most of it night and mostly highway. I never once thought of it as a safety issue. As others have mentioned, dim the speedo display and the glare is almost completely gone. Even with the dash on high I can see just fine at night - perhaps you are a bit night-blind.

I think that selling the car is an overreaction, but if you choose to cut off your nose to spite your face it is your right to do so. At least you have picked a good time to sell.

 

So is it that your dash display dimmer switch is not working at all,[the button beside the clock on the dash]or is it that it's not dimming the display enough,i work nights all the time, aswell as town driving i do quite a bit of "out in the sticks" driving,and it works well for me,i do agree that when it's at it's brightest at night it can be very distracting.

 

FWIW, the second post by the OP states "even if the dash is dimmed to max" -- not commenting one way or the other, just helping to clarify the position...

 

Have you looked at and/or fiddled with the source of the display? The little screen imbedded in the dash? Anyway, maybe you can change the angle of it. And I'll say it: its a great car you're missing out if you get rid of it.

 

Simple fix, like Mike mentioned, just get black construction paper / cardboard & tape or velcro it to extend the overhang just above the display. Problem solved for $0.50.

 

+1

 

+2

 

I never noticed this glare on the 09 I had for all of 8 weeks. But's its Replacement an 08 Touring I do notice the glare. Turning down the dash lights does wonders for "fixing" this issue.

 

i put duck tape on the windshield where the reflection is. problem solved. the quacking i can live with.

 

Hi Julian,

Well known problem with well known simple fix. You need to keep the glow of the dash lights from getting to the descending horizontal surface between you and the lights. Its from this surface, that the lights reflect upward into the windshield.

I used a piece of 1/2 inch thick floor mat polyurethane heavy duty foam, that I cut a 3/4 inch tall by 8 inch long piece out of. Then I used an adhesive transfer tape to secure it to the descending portion of the dash. The light hits the black foam, and refects off into an invisible area, and not up into the windshield.

The 3rd Gen Prius has this same problem, but the glow from the windshield is not in the line of sight to the roard.

 

I just tested it and found it was very noticeable on a dark road if I turned off the headlights (or turned them to down to parkers only). However I'm never going to be driving at night on a dark road without headlights so the point is moot.

Driving with the headlights on as per usual I can just barely notice the green reflection. As soon as I stop trying to notice it then it simply goes away (I mean it doesn't actually go away but I no longer see it). I think if you really obsessed over it then it could annoy you, but personally I find it really easy to just ignore.

Summary.
1. Turn down the instrument light brightness to minimum.
2. Ignore it and it will go away.

 

Since the windshield is close to the Brewster's angle, you could get rid of the glare by wearing polaroid sunglasses.

Actually, you probably could put a polaroid sheet over the area that reflects up (you would still have to look at the speedo through the sheet) and oriented so the reflection is eliminated. I should grab a sheet of the stuff at work and try this out. Anyone want to market this gizmo if it works?

 

i can't see it, i can't see it, i can't see it...

 

Can you post a pic? I wouldn't mind trying this out.

By the way, it's there even when dimmed to the lowest setting. These other posters must be driving blind if they can't see the glare driving at night.

 

At the lowest setting on my 06,i can't see the glare on the windscreen and i work nights all the time and it would be something that would wreck my head,maybe different year models had some minor differences with the brightness level.