Ok, MAY BE PARANOID, however.... A couple weeks ago, it appeared to me that my screen got noticably darker and hard to see in the daylight. Of course it has begun to get sunnier, but I dont recall it ever being hard to see last summer even on the sunniest days. I have a 2005 prius, so it is the lower res screen. It also seems darker at night, but not as noticable. I've searched but not seen this problem. I have seen this behaviour on laptop LCD screens, but have never heard of it happening on a car. Has anyone else run into this before? Havent been into the dealer yet, I almost went by but didnt want them to tell me I was crazy. And No, I'm not wearing sunglasses... Thanks for the help!
Yeah, tried that, also did the adjustments on the menu. Strange thing is when I do the adjustments on the menu it doesnt seem to get any brighter or dimmer. Thanks though!
It could be the back light is dying, though that's not a good thought to contemplate. The screen is always dimmer when it first comes on and gets brighter after a few minutes. If the dash dimmer switch is rolled up past the detent and it still isn't brighter, time to start eating carrots... or get it replaced.
Maybe I should start a new thread but anyway. My 2008 screen is OK but I find reading the speedometer panel next to impossible while driving on a sunny day wearing sunglasses. Thumb wheel is up past the detent. If I turn it down, below the detent the speedometer is blank with sunglasses and almost impossible even without them. The whole thumb wheel adjustment seems to be a waste of dash space. I put it on my list of things to ask the dealer about next time I'm in. Then maybe it's just these 64 year old eyes. <sigh> But I still LOVE the car. Bob
The light for the MFD is similar to a CFL ~ expecially on cold startups ... taking a bit of time to come up to full brightness, maybe that's what you mean? If so, that aspect is normal behavior.
---------------------------------------- i too noticed the odometer was hard to read during bright suuny days when i have my sun glasses on...then i remembered i had my headlights set to be 'on' all of the time to act a daytime running lights and night time headlights...when you turn on the headlights the interior lights dim automatically...when i turned off my headlights during the day the odometer display became much brighter and is easy to see when i have my sun glasses on...now i just use my headlights at night...
It is not due to a warmup period, it stays dim even after 30 minutes of driving. I am assuming warranty will cover it, as long as I can convince the dealer there is something wrong. It's just one of those things where it puts me in a bad spot since it hasnt failed completly. Thanks all for the help.
I just bought my 2005 and could not see the screen at all when the sun hit it. The contrast and brightness were both turned way up. On a lark I turned the contrast down just to see how bad it would get, and viola! I could see! So I know it's counterintuitive, but try turning the contrast DOWN.
That could help but then it defeats the whole point of "automatic" headlights. Maybe I should have kept the Camry. The automatic headlights worked as expected, automatically. Oh, well. live and learn. Thanks, Bob
I dont find those headlights to be automatic at all. Just on all the time. If you turn off the car with the lights on they go out. and when you start up the car they come back on. Automatic would mean they know when to come on and when not to. They are not meant to be daytime driving lights.
If I remember from the owner's manual during daylight the headlights should operate at a lower level to act as running lights. At night they should change to full brightness as headlights. There is a sensor in the dash just below the lower-left corner of the windshield. I'll try to remember to check it out tomorrow. Of course, my manual shows an "Auto" setting on the light controls so who knows what is true. I guess I have something else on my list of things to ask next time I see the dealer. But then, what makes me think they would know? <SIGH> If I get ambitious I may run some tests tomorrow in the driveway. So much fun, so little time... Bob
canadian models have daytime/auto lights i think..why us models dont is beyond me. As for the LCD pick up one of the visor's that velcro, it's a MFD hood that blocks out stray light particles..works very well. Sometimes i run for a few days with the MFD turned off to extend life in it. Ive hear they burn out pretty quick, some dont though.
Our 2005 did the same thing yesterday. I suspect some sort of backlight issue. Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
