Hi everybody, I wonder what is the purpose of this red thing near on panel. In my older car there was sensor for interior temperature. But it was a bit different (it had like little dots on it) I tried to read about it in owners manual but couldn't find confirmation that it really is interior temperatures sensor. What could it be?
I think that's light level detector, for controlling dash light brightness, for one. Interior air temperature sensor is in the lower dash, near your right knee when you're in the (left side) driver's seat, behind a little grill.
That's really good idea. I'll try to cover it and see if it have any influence for brightness. Although sometimes brightness is a bit too hihg so I just rotate that wheel to lower the brightness. But from here comes another question. Does that click sound when rotating that wheel all the way to brightest position means something? Or it is just reminder that wheel is in its highesh position? Maybe this is auto mode for brightness?
First of all, I think the light sensor is not used for controlling dash brightness. I believe that the climate control system uses it (along with other inputs) when on the auto setting to adjust settings like air intake fan speed, heater or air conditioner output, etc. It assumes that sun contributes to warming the car interior. When you go up past the click on the wheel you defeat the normal effect of dimming the dash when you turn on your headlights. If, for example, you turn on your lights on a rainy day but find the dash too dim, rotate the wheel up past the click to get full brightness. Anything below that will be dim compared to the normal daytime brightness.
Automatic headlight timer sensor. Can be toggled in setup display to turn offi/on. Setup>Vehicle>HeadlightAuto-Off Timer>Seconds delay or Off/On
If I recall correctly, pushing the wheel all the way to the top, through that click, it'll stay bright all the time. One below the click, the dash lights will dim if the sensor detects ambient light levels drop. You can notice this when you go under an overpass sometimes. I was reading up on the heat/vent this morning a bit, and there was mention that this sensor is also used by that system, which makes sense.
In my car I can only see Maintenance option when I open vehicle settings. I read somewhere that lights turn off automatically after 30 seconds
It is a light sensor for your automatic climate control. If you have "Auto" position in your headlight switch, it also senses ambient light so the headlights can turn on or off automatically. BZzap's instructions don't apply to 2010 and 2011 Prius models but it applies to 2012 to 2015 Prius.
