Does anyone else have this problem? When the sun is shining and high overhead, I am unable to see my touch screen to do anything, especially navigate. I have to use one hand above the screen to block out the sun so I can see or use the screen. Does Toyota maka a little visor that snaps or velcroes on to block the sun from the touch screen? If I make one, it isn't going to look very good, and it certainly isn't going to look like it belongs there. Fortunately, this is not going to be a year-round problem in Seattle, but what if I still lived in Tucson? Thanks,
I havent had that problem on mine. Have you gone into the settings to adjust the brightness/contrast?
Send an e-mail to Hoodman USA and ask if they've got a hood yet for the Prius. I know that they do not, but I've sent them enough e-mails and gotten responses that they will 'look into it' without actually producing one yet. I think it would be great if someone composed a nice e-mail with all the data on how many Prii have sold already, how gadget happy most Prius owners are, what the current problem is, etc. Maybe even suggest that Danny here at PC might be interested in organizing a group buy for the initial production run if they need a reason to justify the effort. The more people who right the more likely we are to see this product...and I'd like to have one too.
I have had this problem, but only very rarely (maybe 4 or 5 times in six months) when the sun is in just the wrong direction. On the other hand, I don't have NAV, so the only thing I really need the screen for is climate control.
I haven't noticed a problem with the sun at any angle so far, but I do notice that the screen & dashboard indicators dim considerably when driving with your headlights on. That's fine at night, & I don't drive with mine on during the day, but I know that a lot of people like to drive with their headlights on at all times. I would think it would be hard for them to read their screens during the day. Not at all saying that's the issue here; it's just something I've noticed.
The sun thing is a problem for me now and then -- about 1/2 the time the passenger visor can fix it, and the other half the sun is coming from the back passenger side and I can't do anything ... As for the headlights in the daytime dim screen, just dial the brightness dial all the way to the top, there is a little click and you're in "daytime mode" and have the daytime contrast & colors instead of the night ones.
i have had your problem and i think it has to do with the extreme angle of the sun as i live in the Puget Sound region also. when i cant see, i usually have something i hold to shade the sun out like a newspaper. i can say for certain that adjusting brightness and contrast is a waste of time. i also only have the problem most frequently late in the afternoon when the sun shines in directly onto the screen. this is aggravated by the fact that i live in Olympia where the freeway runs east west instead north south and the sun is directly in your face. forget the visor because its useless. im sure you know what im talking about. i have lived in so. cal for 9 years in constant sunshine and the angle of the sun just simply doesnt present as much of a problem as it does in Wa St. danny you being located as far north as us would also face the same extreme angle.
Finally - other people can share my pain. Living in Arizona, the sun is constantly in the the way of the nav screen causing it to be so bright that there's nothing you can do to see it. What I did was get a fat 6" limo tint strip at the top of the windshield, all the way across, even on the 'bumps' printed around the rearview mirror. It's helped tremendously since the Prius windshield is one of the largest windshields ever made for a car. It also makes the Prius look cooler - a lot cooler. It cost me about $15 to have installed and I'd never live without it. Granted, the screen is angled poorly and is in a poor location, and has poor shading. Due to this, before my strip of tint, the screen got so incredibly hot from direct sunshine that I could not even touch it without burning my fingertips! I still get direct sun on some occasions, but it's much, much less than it used to happen!
Then switch the display to "Day Mode"! With the lights on, there are 3 buttons in the top right. Day mode, Screen off and OK. Day mode supresses the auto dimming. It does not work if the KM/MPH is pressed, so maybe you will have to change the setting of MPH first, then select day mode then return the MPH to its original setting. This was taken from the German handbook, page 182. YMMV
On my recent drive through the California and Arizona deserts, I found that rather than wearing my hat, I placed it on the dash above the monitor. it did a fine job of removing the glare from the screen (brim overlapping the screen).
I got a piece of black plastic at a hardware store - I think it is a tread for a step or something, and any carpet store could sell you one piece of plastic mopboard - and I velcroed one piece hanging out over the speedometer and another above the touch screen. Works unless the sun is low and directly behind me. Since they are soft plastic I'm not worried about getting hurt if they fly around in an accident.
Hood inquiry update: let's start a letter campaign! At efusco's suggestion, I wrote a nice letter to Hoodman, and recieved the following reply: Dear Sir, Thank you for contacting Hoodman for information about a hood for the Toyota Prius. Please send us the screen dimensions (width and height of viewing area) so that we can determine whether we have a hood that will work on it. At this time we have no plans to develop a hood specifically for the Toyota Prius but we may consider it in the future. We will put you inquiry into our file of customers to notify if such a product should become available. Sincerely, Charlene Gordon Hoodman Corp. Customer Service 20445 Gramercy Place, Ste. 201 Torrance, CA 90501 (800) 818-3946 (310) 222-8608 (310) 222-8623 Worldwide Fax [email protected] www.hoodmanusa.com FYI: I replied to her w/ the viewable area screen dimensions of 6 1/8" wide x 3 3/4" tall. Let's let Hoodman see our numbers by unleashing a friendly email campaign!
Their response to me was that they aren't planning on a Prius-specific hood, but if I measured the display they'd see if they had a hood that would work. If I'm going to measure, I can cut construction paper and take care of it myself. Must be no other NAV system has visibility problems. Otherwise, one would think a company looking for new ways to sell a product would jump at the chance to develop a new application. Those plastic hood shields had to start with someone...
Re: Hood inquiry update: let's start a letter campaign! I sent them an e-mail too, and received the same response. I agree that if they get enough requests, they may reconsider producing a hood for the Prius screen.
