Steering wheel lights

does the dashboard lite dimmer effect them?

 

This has been discussed in a number of threads already. The steering wheel lights are dim and the panel dimmer has no effect on them. The only way to get them brighter is to swap out the LEDs.

 

I asked that same question back in '05 when I got my first Prius. Some things never change.

 

This could be a safety issue. Dashboard/steering wheel lights effect night vision. The dimmer the better. Here's some references:
Dim Your Instrument Panel and Dash Lights - Popular Mechanics
http://www.ies.org/leukos/samples/4_July12.pdf

 

Learn your controls by touch rather than relying on sight. The point of the steering wheel controls is to limit distraction from actual driving. Or get a co-pilot that you will actually allow to touch controls on the center council, lol.

 

C3/4 have touch tracer that show what you are touching on the display so that you never have to look down.

 

^Aah yes, forgot about that feature. I'm just so used to the button positions now that I don't pay attention to the display unless I'm stopped at a light.

 

OP apparently forgot about it as well as it looks like he has a 4.

 

should have a wheel on the left side of the driving wheel by the left side air port for air condition right under that should be a wheel that you can go high or go all the way low you should just keep it at mid unless you have bad eyes then crank it up.

 

That doesn't change the steering wheel controls.

 

Duhhhh. Don't mind me hahahaha

 

Ive been driving my C for over a year now and I have never even noticed that there are lights on the steering wheel controls.

 

I agree. My 2010 Prius 4 Steering wheel lights were so dim I couldn't see them at night. My 2014 Prius Plugin is the same. In Fact last night I was driving and got so frustrated I put on my Reading Glasses to see the lights. Luckily I didn't crash. Won't be doing that again. These lights need to be Adjustable!

 

I laughed when the dealer first explained this feature in the C3/4.. This is a classic example of a high tech solution to a low-tech problem.. The problem is that a user can't see the buttons clearly, so they put in a touch sensor and write software and use a heads-up display to show you where you're touching.. Could have been solved by just substituting brighter LEDs and/or wiring them into the dimmer circuit so that you can see the controls in the first place..

In terms of just "learning by touch", the problem for me is that the button functions and layout are so completely non-intuitive to me that I prefer to just reach over to the radio/climate control to make adjustments, and if I have to look down or even at the screen to figure out what I'm pressing, I might as well just reach over and do it on the dash control, so I just never use the steering controls enough to learn them... I would really prefer a bunch of generic buttons that are user programmable or remappable, because I have not yet sat in a vehicle of any make where the steering wheel controls were in a configuration that I felt were logical or intuitive.. I tend to like the 2008 model steering wheel controls better- they're not perfect, and with all those buttons, it was a very "busy" steering wheel, but there were more controls in the "right place" than the more minimal Prius C steering controls: for example, while I don't mind the position of the display/odometer toggles, I'd rather have the radio volume controls on the right side vs. the left, and I'd prefer a roller or a rocker switch vs. individual buttons for volume as this is the control I use the most (turn it up on a song I like, turn it down when there's a commercial or other content I don't care for or I want to have a conversation with a passenger or just want to concentrate on the road).. On the left side, I'd prefer the less used controls: radio station/audio input/climate controls.. The Bluetooth answer/hang up button should also be on the right side as they are used often, and color coded or labelled with clearer icons (if you look at them and think about it, the meaning is clear, but that's the point: you have to think- the differences are too slight (handset at a slight angle to base vs right over it) to instantly pick the right choice at a glance.. The bump/depression on the button also doesn't really help except to identify the buttons with tactile feel because the sense (why is "hang up" a bump and "answer" a depression and not the other way around) of these aids is not really intuitive (on my 2001 Classic, the door lock/unlock button had these same bump/depressions and I could never remember which was lock/unlock and usually ended up unlocking and then relocking the door, so I ended up painting the two ends of the switch: red for lock, green for unlock, and even though I used this control every single day, I never actually learned this control "by touch": if I couldn't see the colors (eg concentrating on the road or at night), I'd just press whichever end of the button and judge by the "thunk" sound whether the doors locked or unlocked and if it was the wrong sound, I'd hit the other side of the button..

In any case, I think this is an issue where it's not as cut and dried as "learn it by touch"- if there is not some logic or intuitiveness to a control, you can use a control very single day and never learn it as an automatic reflex: user interface issues are much, much more complicated than most people think and companies will spend millions on UI design, and even after all that effort, will not come up with a design that makes sense to everyone (for example, except for the "pinch to zoom", I find Apple's multi-touch gestures completely non-intuitive and never use them- I feel that their multitouch gestures are a classic example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should".. )

 

Or it's a safety issue where Toyota doesn't want you looking at the wheel and they want you to keep your eyes on the road. You know... one of those two.

 

If I'm trying to figure out which button is which "by feel" or watching the tracer display, in either case, my concentration is not on the road.. It would be much more efficient to have a control set that are logically and intuitively positioned and that I can identify at a glance so that any distraction from the road is minimized.. Making lights dimmer is *NOT* the right solution.. Again, I find it easier to just reach to the dash and use the radio or climate controls because they are visible and convenient vs. the steering controls which were placed there ostensibly to minimize the driver having to reach over, but if I can't see the buttons in the dark and/or I can't remember what each button does, this does not meet the intent..

 

True, you should know everything about your car... but in those rare circumstances where people don't, Toyota figures they'd rather have you keep your eyes mostly on the road rather than staring down at the steering wheel and not able to see the road at all.

 

Sorry, but you're setting yourself up for an argument here- I "know" my car- the way it feels and sounds when it drives- if there's something not quite right, I generally "know" it, and I "know" what all the controls do because I'm technology savvy and have read the manual, but do I necessarily use every single one of the controls on a frequent enough basis to remember the exact layout and to find them in the dark without some form of illumination? Heck no, and I'd argue that the majority of drivers, no matter what make or model of vehicle they use, would not "know" their vehicle so well that other than steering, shift and brake, they could find and operate all of the other miscellaneous controls first time, every time, in the dark.. You might know it's generally in this area, but to be able to just reach out and use a control without sight requires constant use and development of muscle memory.. If a control is infrequently used, it requires diversion of the operator's attention to think about where it is and what it's function is, and by keeping the lights dim and forcing people to search and hunt for the buttons, I'd argue that this is *much* more distracting than a brief glance to see a visibly lit button location and clearly identifiable functional icon.. Once I can see a button, I don't need to keep staring at it to use it: the point is that with the current dim to non-existent illumination, I do need to stare a lot longer just to find where the button is to press it... I absolutely do not buy the "safety" argument.. There are many more distracting things than a couple of lights on your steering wheel.. If this was truly a concern, I'd argue that they need to stop displaying the "passenger airbag off" (this is a "so what?" type message that is probably required by legislation vs. common sense) and the stupid tire pressure warning when you don't have TPMS sensors in your winter tires, as those lights are pretty much right in your face and much more distracting..

 

Then by the same argument, wouldn't looking down at a brief text message be okay as well? They must have made them illegal for some reason other than safety?