Bright instruments

[LandCruiser]

WTF is with modern vehicles and blindingly bright instrument clusters at night.

I have to turn down the dimmer to a 1/4-1/3 turn and turn off the LCD panel so I'm not blinded when I drive at night.

Then when I see other cars, everyone has the display on full blast.

How can anyone see with that shit glaring them in the eyes?

 

[williamlv282]

WTF is with modern vehicles and blindingly bright instrument clusters at night.

I have to turn down the dimmer to a 1/4-1/3 turn and turn off the LCD panel so I'm not blinded when I drive at night.

Then when I see other cars, everyone has the display on full blast.

How can anyone see with that shit glaring them in the eyes?

I actually like it because I feel like it keeps me more alert at night while I drive. I used to have orange lights in the dash of my old truck and I honestly think it made me more sleepy while I drove. I've read that light that is emitted from TV's and Computer screens can suppress melatonin production and I feel like the 4runners dash might be doing the same thing.
So, yeah it's annoying, but I think it could be safer.

 

[meder24]

I think a lot of people turn the brightness all the way up during the day and never remember to turn it back down. Somehow they just get used to the excessive brightness.
I completely agree though that when too bright it is hard to see.
The 4R is not too bad but my previous Kia, the LCD screen for the head unit was terribly bright even when dimmed. One of the many reasons i got rid of it for the 4R.

 

[KidVermicious]

How can anyone see with that shit glaring them in the eyes?

They can't. Their night vision is blown.

[MENTION=100354]williamlv282[/MENTION], if you're so drowsy that a little amber light puts you to sleep, you've got no business being behind the wheel in the first place. Take the bus or call a ride or something.

 

[nevada]

WTF is with modern vehicles and blindingly bright instrument clusters at night.

I have to turn down the dimmer to a 1/4-1/3 turn and turn off the LCD panel so I'm not blinded when I drive at night.

Then when I see other cars, everyone has the display on full blast.

How can anyone see with that shit glaring them in the eyes?

perhaps the newer ones are different, but mine isn't too bad. they are brighter during the day, and as soon as I turn the headlights on, they dim down. perhaps that feature is not working properly on yours?

ive found that I like it. I notice whenever I drive the 85, even during the day, sometimes I click the park lights on, so I can SEE the dash better.

before driving the 06, would I have ever considered doing that...

 

[williamlv282]

They can't. Their night vision is blown.

[MENTION=100354]williamlv282[/MENTION], if you're so drowsy that a little amber light puts you to sleep, you've got no business being behind the wheel in the first place. Take the bus or call a ride or something.

LOL, that's not really what I was saying. So quick to judge based on one comment. I do a lot of interstate driving at night in the desert, where it is pitch black. After three to four hours anyone would start to feel drowsy. I always stopped for food or a redbull or whatever I had to do, but my point was that I think there's actually science (or rather, brain chemistry) behind putting bright white lights in the dash. I drove for years with vehicles that had orange lights in the dash, and my driving experience at night with the 4runner has been different.

Here's a decent article that talks about light effects on your sleep.
How artificial light is wrecking your sleep, and what to do about it Don't worry, they cite their sources.

It is well established that short-wavelength or “blue” light is the most melatonin-suppressive; this is the type of light typically emitted by devices such as televisions, computer screens, and cellphones.

One study showed that one hour of moderately bright light exposure (1000 lux) was sufficient to suppress nocturnal melatonin to daytime levels.

 

[KidVermicious]

I'm fully aware of the effects of different light colors, I'm getting sleep therapy for shift work disorder and I'm pretty religious about not exposing myself to white or blue light for an hour or so before bed. That doesn't change the fact that if amber or yellow dash lights are putting a person to sleep, that person is already way too drowsy to be driving safely.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I also have to turn the brightness down quite a bit at night on both 4runners. My 08 isn't too bad but my 14 is really bright. I have an older Pioneer touch screen head unit in the 08 that is pretty bright with no way to turn it down. I've been thinking of putting something different in there just to have the ability to dim it. I think the brightest dash was my 2012 F150. I had to have it turned all the way down on that truck. Almost tried having the instrument cluster cover tinted just so it wouldn't be so intense at night.

[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION] , not to change the topic but are you getting that sleep therapy to be able to sleep in the day or night? I also do shift work and I find that I can sleep amazing in the day but now I'm having trouble sleeping at night (like a normal person).

 

[KidVermicious]

[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION] , not to change the topic but are you getting that sleep therapy to be able to sleep in the day or night? I also do shift work and I find that I can sleep amazing in the day but now I'm having trouble sleeping at night (like a normal person).

I have trouble with both, I get to sleep alright but have trouble staying that way, night or day. Rigorous sleep hygiene has helped. They put me on a CPAP and they say that's helping too but I think it's a pain in the butt.

 

[noisebeam]

Agreed. I keep mine at max dimness at night and use the LCD screen off function. My eyes are very susceptible to glare due to glasses and medical condition. The glare of the dash at anything but max dim is enough to wash out my vision.

 

[CookieRoe]

interesting thread. I'm working on a mod to wire up to the cluster so when the lights turn on, the cluster doesn't dim. MANY times I like to have only the parking lights on or when it's raining (and daylight out). However turning any light dims the cluster to a level I don't like. Too dim. But yes, when it's night out, I like to dim the cluster lights.

 

[meltdown]

I had to show my dad how to dim his touchscreen. Maybe some people don't realize it can be done.

Agreed. I keep mine at max dimness at night and use the LCD screen off function. My eyes are very susceptible to glare due to glasses and medical condition. The glare of the dash at anything but max dim is enough to wash out my vision.

Same here. My wife typically reads on a kindle when we go on long trips. She hates it when I ask her to dim the screen or put in in night mode. With it reflecting off the passenger side glass and windshield, my field of vision is drastically reduced so it's a safety issue.

 

[Jaan]

My problem is that I have excellent night vision. I used to turn my dash lights off completely if it was really dark out in every car I've owned...my 2014 4Runner is the first time I had any light at all coming from my dash most of the time. Hell, I used to put resisters into my aftermarket gauges and radios to match the brightness of everything because that's how annoyed I was at anything that was brighter than anything else. It made the dash of my old 1970 Cutlass look damn cool too.

The dash lights automatically dimming with the headlights is annoying as all hell. They passed a law in The People's Republic of Massachusetts this year that makes people have to turn on their headlights with their windshield wipers regardless of how bright it actually is outside...and this after most car companies have perfected automatic headlights. That creates the perfect storm of annoying things...big nanny government collecting supplemental road tax, and big nanny engineers over-engineering too many automatic things into a car. It's like tweedle dumb meets tweedle smart.

I really wish there was a stealth mode where all the lights, including the idiot light that tell you your headlights are on (really?), would just shut off.

 

[theliman]

I'm fully aware of the effects of different light colors, I'm getting sleep therapy for shift work disorder and I'm pretty religious about not exposing myself to white or blue light for an hour or so before bed. That doesn't change the fact that if amber or yellow dash lights are putting a person to sleep, that person is already way too drowsy to be driving safely.

he didn't say anything about amber lights putting him to sleep, he just said it made him feel a little sleepy.

 

[williamlv282]

he didn't say anything about amber lights putting him to sleep, he just said it made him feel a little sleepy.

I didn't even really mean that...
I guess what I really meant to say is that they did nothing to help keep me alert like the bright lights do.
And again, that doesn't mean I am driving while I'm tired, I just meant than on 5-6 hour highway trips at night you can definitely start to feel drowsy. I believe the brighter lights prevent me from ever getting to that point so I look at them as a safety feature.

 

[nevada]

interesting thread. I'm working on a mod to wire up to the cluster so when the lights turn on, the cluster doesn't dim. MANY times I like to have only the parking lights on or when it's raining (and daylight out). However turning any light dims the cluster to a level I don't like. Too dim. But yes, when it's night out, I like to dim the cluster lights.

aren't the DRL's on already anyway?

 

[NoDak]

well on my 14 LE, I don't have it clicked to full brightness all the time. I move the wheel just below the full click.

that enables the brightness to adjust to daylight and when you turn on the lights, it dims accordingly.

 

[CookieRoe]

aren't the DRL's on already anyway?

Yes they are, but there some light conditions where I want the parking lights to be on and NOT my HID low beams. DRLs, remember, are for the front (rear front and rear marker lights are off).

 

[nevada]

Yes they are, but there some light conditions where I want the parking lights to be on and NOT my HID low beams. DRLs, remember, are for the front (rear front and rear marker lights are off).

yes, I thought about that just after I posted.