Steering wheel buttons question

Josh,

It's a common problem. Several vendors are "working on it", but no solution yet.

Try to enjoy the good features of your new Prius.

 

Dim. I thought they were too dim to see when I bought my 2006, but I have adjusted. It depends on where you drive: in the city, there are too many other lights and your eyes don't night adjust, but in the country I can see them just fine. That said, a little brighter would be better.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Josh_ @ Dec 1 2006, 07:59 AM) [snapback]356200[/snapback]</div>

This should be a FAQ by now, certainly! Gets asked a lot. The dealer won't be able to do anything for you. Discussed above are *aftermarket* vendors trying to come up with a brighter solution. At this point they are what they are.

 

Congrats on your new Prius! I agree the steering wheel lights are very dim.

 

I find that dimming the display lights down to it's lowest setting doesn't make the steering wheel seem so dark. I think the reasoning is because my eyes don't need to adjust from the holy brightness of the display.

 

The poorly illuminated steering wheel buttons continue to be an issue for both me and my partner. My other car is a 2002 MB Hatchback, which conveniently adjusts the steering wheel button illumination along with the rest of the panel lights. Plus there are fewer buttons on the Benz. Someone suggested that I will learn where the buttons are and not need to look at them -- I suspect that this is not the case becase a switch between two cars and because the prius has LOTS of buttons. Still hoping for that after-market solution...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Dec 1 2006, 08:03 AM) [snapback]356209[/snapback]</div>

Does anyone know what "technology" is used for this lighting? Is is fiber optic, or LEDs in the wheel?

Anyone taken one apart to see? Anyone dare?

If it's fiber optic, then it probably has a light source somewhere in the dash. It seems like a brighter source would not be hard to accomplish.

If it's LEDs, then they would probably need to be replaced, which means unsoldering and resoldering. Not for the faint of heart. If they can even be gotten to. With the airbag, I'd be nervous about digging into the steering wheel.

 

Eat more carrots?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jan 5 2007, 12:43 AM) [snapback]371135[/snapback]</div>

OH!! Now thats a good one!! :lol: :lol: Thanks Rick for helping me start my morning with a laugh!
I agree with one of the above posts that if you dim the MFD and the other inside lights at night, the wheel lights will seem brighter. If left on the daytime setting, the MFD is very very bright at night, and much more than is needed. I know when I was taking flying lessons, my CFI told me to dim all cockpit lights at night to provide better visibility outside. I see no reason that would not stand true for a car as well......

 

David, one of the things I found when flying at night was how much a quick hit of oxygen improves night vision. (Actually it restores what you lose due to oxygen deprivation, even at 8000 feet.)

As for the topic at hand, however:

- If you're driving in a dark area, the buttons should be more visible;

- If you're in a brightly-lit area, there's often enough ambient light inside the car to see the buttons;

- After a while, you learn where they are on the wheel.

 

On another thread, someone said it could be done at the dealer, as well as the lights on the driver's arm rest. I don't know if anyone had this done, though.

 

You'll soon memorize the button locations and won't need to look at them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt @ Jan 5 2007, 06:47 PM) [snapback]371615[/snapback]</div>

Maybe you did. I won't. I switch between two cars with different buttons, and even before the Prius I still sometimes needed to look at the buttons on the car that I have had since 2002. (It illuminates well). Yes, I eat carrots. Yes, the Prius buttons are too dim or need to allow some sort of adjustment.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scoot @ Jan 10 2007, 10:14 AM) [snapback]373659[/snapback]</div>

It's all personal. I actually had the opposite experience today. I hopped into my old Cr-V that my wife uses to get through the snow to the Dr, and every control came back instantly even though Honda and Toyota are drastically different. Nine years of driving that car have it's whole interior ingrained in my head.

On my Prius, I can feel the bumps, valleys, dots and lines in the wheel controls that tell me what is where. I'm still getting used to them, but the next song and info buttons are already instinctual...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jan 4 2007, 09:43 PM) [snapback]371135[/snapback]</div>

:lol:

Actually, mine got brighter by doing two things:

1. Cleaning the buttons.
2. Washing my hands to prevent the buttons from getting dirty.

 

Someone should be able to take apart the steering wheel and get to the lights, and see whether they are LED or tiny bulbs. My guess is LED. I took apart the info screen in my 2004 Maxima and replaced all of the orange-colored LEDs (18 of them behind the 7" screen) with bright blue ones. So if anyone's even somewhat familiar with working with electronics and knows how to use a soldiering iron, they should be able to easily replace these. We did it in a couple hours, although each LED was less than 1/8" x 1/8" in size, so it takes a little finesse.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ucsbgaucho @ Jan 11 2007, 08:34 AM) [snapback]374111[/snapback]</div>

Considering the air bag is there, I'll let someone else do it.

 

without the NAV option (less buttons), it took me a few days to learn each button by touch...that is how i do it. the objective to having them on the steering wheel is that they dont need to be seen.

in fact, i dont really think there is a light on them...just glow in the dark paint. seems like they are slightly brighter at first then fade as the luminescence wears off.

what i dont like is dash controls that are not lit up. that is a mistake to me and i realized that the MFD brightness is what makes the dash so hard to see. hitting the hazards would be tough in an emergency and i think that was a mistake to not leave it on the steering column...although i suppose its nice that both front seat occupants have access to it. that is the only reason i can think of that would cause anyone to do that. still could of back lit it