Is this normal for a prius. I have owned mine for about 3 weeks now and have noticed something strange. Watching the instrument display and the radio. As I am driving, I notice that every once in a while the light would dim down some and then later brighten back up. Thought I would see if this is normal before I go and bug the guys at Toyota.
Does it get as dim as when you turn the headlights on? What is the brightness outside when this occures? Is there any variance in the light outside when it happens? I would set the adjustment wheel to full brightness and see if it continued
Turning on the headlights doesn't affect it at all. I have the dial set to full brightness all the time. The weather here has been sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.... Seems to happen no matter what the weather is doing.
It has some sort of automatic brightness adjustment, depending on the ambient light. I see it most in tunnels or darkly shaded areas. This is new for 2012, my 201o didn't do this. Owner's manual, p. 217: "Brightness of the instrument panel If the headlight switch is turned on while the surrounding area is dark, the instrument panel lights will dim."
That does sound like an explanation. Wonder why though. Seems like you would want it to be brighter in dark areas.
Yes, it is normal. There is a sensor in the front right of the dash, near the corner where the glass reaches the dash. The illumination is dimmed in three or four steps. Not every time the steps fit to the light conditions, but in general it is ok.
Bright lighting in dark area will hurt your night vision. You want them bright in bright daylight so you can see them.
