I am new to forum and new Prius owner. '08 with only 300 miles on it. I have read many posts about nightime reflection on windshield which in my mind is minor compared to what I am seeing during sunny daylight driving conditions. When driving in morning or late afternoon with sun directly ahead or to right of car, there is a very obvious reflection of the dashboard on the windshield directly in my line of site. It is being caused by the relief in the shape of the dash forward of the speedometer and odometer. Basically I can best describe what I see as a not necessarily a glare but a dark reflection surrounded by a gray reflection. The dark reflection is ok but the outline of the vertical display panel (the one that houses the speedometer and odometer and warning lights is definitely a distraction. I am having problems describing this but if you'd have to have noticed this. Is this something you '08 owners don't even notice or is it that you've hopefully all gotten use to as I hope with time I will as well ?
Did your dealer or you put anything on the dash? Vinyl protectant that makes it shine or anything of that sort?
What you are seeing is actually the ghost of the gas-guzzler that you sold/traded when you bought the Prius coming back to haunt you. This spectre will fade in time..... Seriously, I have no clue why that is happening, I've not noticed any daytime reflection on my windshield that is bothersome. I'm guessing that maybe there is a bit too much shine on the dash and that stuff typically fades gradually over time. You might want to avoid using Armor-All or similar plastic/vinyl shining products in that area in the course of future vehicle cleanings, however.
I can not say whether the detailers at the dealership applied anything to the dash (ie armor all or other products). It doesn't appear to be so but if others aren't noticeing the reflection around the heads up display, maybe that is the case. My interior is grey and the the finish on the dash appears to come from Toyota as matted. The only way I could tell in my mind is to look at a prius that definitely hasn't had it applied and compare them. Is there anything safe to remove these type of products from the top of my dash ? Thanks in advance.
I bought a dash cover on Fleabay. Real soft carpet like material. Kills any glare from the dash and keeps it from getting too hot, too.
Hey that sounds great! But I thought black dashes would reflect the least, just because it's dark. Maybe you can post a picture or 2, so we can see?
I've got an 08 with the black dash and while I don't think I'm experiencing the same thing you are, I've found that polarized sunglasses are almost a necessity.
i'll give the windex a try on a section of the dash. When it dries it should be obvious if that section looks any different when compared to the surrounding dash that wasn't cleaned. I would not be surprised if they did do something in detailing. I say this because of something else I noticed 2 days after taking the car home. I called the dealership to let them know that my magnetic grey finish had a lot of micro scratches (not really swirls) along the length of one of the sides. I think someone used a rough or dirty towel on the car from the looks of it. I didn't notice it until a few days later when the sun came out. I got most of those scratch out myself but needless to say I was quite peeved and disappointed. There was no way I'd give it to their shop to remove them after that. Thank you for the suggestions. I'll let you know what I find perhaps tomorrow or this weekend. Right now it's raining so there are no problems. I love the car other than these minor issues. Amazing engineering and that is why I was quite surprised to find an oversight like the reflection thing. From what you folks are saying, I am guessing it is resolvable. Not putting $45 dollars of gas in every 4 days has been amazing. My other vehicle a mazda tribute got 16 miles to the gallon and the reliability was abysmal. The problems I encountered on that vehicle were unlike anything I'd experienced with any other car (american or japanese).
I tried the windex on a small section. It looks the same. I am guessing that there is no armour all or other protectant on the dash. The posts about polarizing sunglasses I read today sort of makes me think that dash reflection is not uncommon being that the windshield is so large and sloped. There are anecdotal comments about taking care of this problem with good sunglasses.
Time and lack of regular cleaning has put a layer of non-reflective dust over my 2004 dashboard. (jk)
Maybe it is more of a problem with a black dash. Mine is grey, and it has never bothered me with reflections. Or maybe it is because we don't have as much sunlight here in the Pacific Northwest.
I cant fathom driving without polarized glasses now (not because of the prius dash, though). worth every penny.
Okay, so I'm not a Prius owner yet. But I am asking my Prius driving friends for thier thoughts on their cars before I order my first Prius. Interestingly, I have heard exactly what you are describing. She told me, almost exactly, what you are noticing about the reflection in your line of sight. I'll have to ask her about the color of her dash and get back to you. I'll also ask her if she has been able to do anything about the situation. Stay tuned! Jeff
Ok, here's what is really happening with my reflection issues. I tried the windex - no difference. I now know why. I spent some time watching while my wife was driving and I was the passenger trying to understand what was going on with the different intensity of dash reflection during different times of day and how it relates to angle of travel relative to the sun. What I realized is this. The effect is being caused by the 'absence' of reflection. When the light comes in through front of the windshield, a shadow is cast on the dash board in front of the vertical display panel which houses the speedometer and odometer and other cluster warning lights. In essence, their is now an area on the dashboard that will have different 'look' to it when it is reflected up on the windshield. It is the reflection of this shadowed area surrounded by the grey dash. It appears as a cutout in the windshield surrounded by the grey matted reflection of the rest of the dash. It is not a glare mind you but actually an area that appears to be crystal clear visibility wise. Through the area of reflected shadow everything looks great. It does however cause your mind to pay attention to the other 90% of the reflected grey dash that cause the distraction. In actuality the reflected grey dash would not be noticed if not for the juxtaposition of this shadow reflection. The understanding of this effect doesn't make it any less distracting. Even though both reflections don't cause any problems with visibility, a uniform view out the window is not possible and it is projected right in my line of sight. Either I shrink a few inches and look out the portal of shadowed area or raise my seat (which isn't possible) to stay in the grey zone. I'd appreciate it if you folks that own a prius would let me know if you are seeing what I am seeing. Thanks in advance. Hope this explanation helps. Not sure if polarizing sunglasses will have any effect on this problem.
My husband sees it, I don't. We are within 1/2 inch of each other's height so that's not it. He found an old piece of black auto carpet and placed it on the dash on the driver's side to cut down on the glare.
Ok, since your post I have paid close attention to what I see looking through the windshield. I did see what you are describing. I can also understand why that could be a distraction. If it continues to bother you, I suggest you get a piece of dark flat carpet and lay it on the piece that meets the windshield behind the odometer. I think that might help to tone down what you are seeing. I do agree that the area looks clearer than the rest of the screen, however I never really noticed it until this post. Also I must admit that my eyes are aged, so my vision may not be as keen as yours. Anyway, you are not imagining it. And you are not the only one who see's what you mentioned. I wish you the best of luck! Ron
Thank you for explaining this! I’m over 6’ and my 08 with grey interior causes this and it’s always bothered me. And the previous owners had a carpet dash mat on there but it was grey to match so I still had the problem. I’m excited to order a black mat and see if that fixes it.
