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guages hard to see in daylight

5K views 26 replies 20 participants last post by  RAP5 
#1 ·
I love my Tundra, but I hate my instrument panel. The guages are recessed so far in I can't see them easily in the daytime, even with the dash panel light up full tilt. The panel sure looks good at night all lit up though, hehe.
 
#3 ·
That's my second complaint. When I put on my sunglasses in daylight, the gauges seem to disappear. They could use a lot more light...Toyota should have put in some skylights on the top of the instrument panel for the tunnel gauges. My first complaint is the smaller spare tire...thought they were all the same!
 
#8 ·
That's my problem...polarized sunglasses. I can't read the radio display either, and when I test drove a DC with the backup camera I couldn't see that display as well. Guess I need some new, low-tech glasses.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
I can't understand all these posts about not seeing the instrument gauges, dash display, or radio / NAV. I have an 07 DC Limited and I tested it during bright sunlight and dark night, with dark polarized sunglasses and without, with the dash brightness knob set on low and high, and in all cases I could see everything fine. The only exception was with the brightness knob set on low, headlights on full power, and in direct bright sunlight: that made some things harder to see, but not impossible, and who would drive like this anyway? I can only assume those that have a problem have some really funky vision or some really bad glasses, or both. :)
 
#11 ·
I can't understand all these posts about not seeing the instrument gauges, dash display, or radio / NAV. I have an 07 DC Limited and I tested it during bright sunlight and dark night, with dark polarized sunglasses and without, with the dash brightness knob set on low and high, and in all cases I could see everything fine. The only exception was with the brightness knob set on low, headlights on full power, and in direct bright sunlight: that made some things harder to see, but not impossible, and who would drive like this anyway? I can only assume those that have a problem have some really funky vision or some really bad glasses, or both. :)
yea... i can seee everything just fine... and im asian and we all know asian people cant see at all because of our squinty eyes... maybe its just because i have optitron gauges that i can see everything... but the nav screen does suck in direct sunlight
 
#13 ·
but the nav screen does suck in direct sunlight
I agree with this. It slopes upward towards the windshield which makes it worse. I wish the angle was adjustable then it would be an easy fix.
 
#15 ·
Hey Wilee, you seem to be somewhat handy with the home-made mods so perhaps you can do some kind of shade box for the nav? ;)
Actually, this is on my list of potential projects but I have enough to finish as it is. Possible solutions include:
  • modifying the bezel and mounting angle of the NAV to make it vertical
  • installing some sort of retractable sun shade above the top edge of the NAV, would slide back in to the dash when not in use
  • installing an additional screen which mounts in the center console and swings up for viewing and use between the front seats
  • hacking the NAV firmware to make more display color options available to improve contrast
  • etc.
Sorry gang, this is low on my list for now but I will get to it someday. Hopefully someone else figures it out before me... :)
 
#16 ·
That's my problem...polarized sunglasses. I can't read the radio display either, and when I test drove a DC with the backup camera I couldn't see that display as well. Guess I need some new, low-tech glasses.
If you rotate your glasses, or head 90* can you read the display?
 
#18 ·
I take it that you guys are talking about the orange gages? I find the blue optitron gages are visible in all weather conditions, and polarized sunglasses do not affect the visibility at all.
 
#19 ·
That's my problem...polarized sunglasses. I can't read the radio display either, and when I test drove a DC with the backup camera I couldn't see that display as well. Guess I need some new, low-tech glasses.
You may want to change to high-quality non-polarized sunglasses anyway for reasons beyond your Tundra experiences. Many of these are actually higher-tech than polarized glasses.

I purposely buy non-polarized sunglasses because they adversly effect depth perception. I am a private pilot and depth perception and field of view are crtical for flying activities (especially landing, formation work, and taxiing tailwheel aircraft). Related, but not as important, some modern avionics equipment is more difficult to read with polarized lenses. Both the FAA and US Air Force have done studies revealing this. FAA recommends pilots were non-polarized sunglasses (DOT/FAA/AM-30/6). See the folowing link:

Steen Aero Lab - ColorEyes HDL-3C Performance Sunglasses - FAA Report

Ever hear, "I never saw them" in an accident report?

I have literally spent hundreds of dollars on sunglasses over the last few years, including the ColorEyes HDL-3C technology lenses referred to in the link above. Unfortunately I can't keep plastic lenses from scratching in short order so I have to use glass. I have been through a few pair of ColorEyes with their plastic lenses and they were great for the short time the plastic was in good shape. I use non-polarized glass-lensed Bosch & Lomb (driving) and Scheyden (flying) sunglasses now and they are not cheap or low-tech. The wife's Maui Jims are polarized and the Tundra rearview monitor, radio display and SR-5 guages are deffinitely harder to see with them (and it pains me that Maui Jim does not make a non-polarized lens).

Why wear two different sunglasses whether flying or driving? Well, aside from trying to keep my flying pair in good condition they are "flip ups" and the wife won't allow me to go out in public with them::rolleyes:

 
#20 ·
jliltd .....thanks for the info, something to check into. Polarized glasses are good for fishing, but other times they can be a nuisance! About the only time I can read my radio display in the daylight is when I am eating tacos cause I always tilt my head when taking a bite...lol.
 
#24 ·
Would someone mind posting a pic of the SR5 orange guages or direct me to a link that has some pics?:ts:

Along the same lines would someone mind posting a pic of the Limited Blue Optitron gauges? Purely for comparison purposes. Also is there a way to upgrade the SR5's insturment cluster to Optitrons?
 
#25 ·
Along the same lines would someone mind posting a pic of the Limited Blue Optitron gauges? Purely for comparison purposes.
I only have them at night...but here are the optitrons on my Limited.:D :tu:





 
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