Prius Interior Lighting

That'll be a matter of opinion. Seems fine on mine: UK T4, 2005.

Pass -- except that I doubt Toyota see it as a priority.

Because the instrument panel is up under the windsheild, in the middle of the dash and not right behind the wheel!

It is a little unnerving, isn't it? But, you'll get used to it.

I don't understand your answer - what does the instrument panel have to do with the steering wheel controls?

Gary Eickmeier

Have you tried turning up the rheostat to full bright?

Gary & Ray,

I also have inadequate illumination of the buttons on the steering wheel. It is so dim, even with the rheostat at max, that attempting to find the right button at night would take my eyes off the road for several seconds. My solution is to use the central display for the audio and climate adjustments. It's still a distraction, but it's quicker.

Of course, I'm old and my eyes are less sensitive in general. I wonder if this is a question that will draw different responses according to the responder's age??

Brent

C'mon, fellows, you're not _meant_ to look at the wheel when you work those controls. (The road, after all, contains so much more that is of interest to a driver.) That's what the little dimples and hollows and bars and what-nots are for: so you can _feel_ the controls. It does work; you just have to learn the way.

From the way you worded it, it sounded like the steering wheel itself, not the controls! I thought you were referring to the lack of backlighting that the Prius instrument cluster didn't provide.

I'm sure you're right, but during the learning process a visual cue is necessary. The bumps and dimples are not intuitive to me.

Brent

I gotta ask... Has that line ever worked for you in a bar/social gathering?

NOW he suggests it!...I coulda used that many years ago Ray...

LOL! It has to be good for a slap or two!

Well, there is generally not provided illumination on steering wheels, but yes, I could have worded it better. Just thought maybe it was such a well-known problem that it would be clear enough.

From the responses, sounds like what my friend said is true - we're supposed to learn braille to do it. I suppose I could learn it that way, but what the hay...

GAry Eickmeier

No guy that I know of has to learn Braille to take a leak in the dark...

Damned right...if you haven't earned a slap or two while growing up then you haven't been aggressive enough... :)

Amen to that!

My LHS has NO illumination for the Cruise Control. It does have raised bumps for "On" and "set".

I never drove a Prius at night, except for the "Classic" (1999) that didn't have the controls on the wheel.

How long have you had the car? I'm sure you'll become accostumed to it in no time!

A few days. I had a Pontiac Transsport that had complete radio controls on the steering wheel, and it was absolutely necessary to be able to read the buttons at night. My new Ford Freestar has no problem with it. If they bothered to illuminate the buttons, why not do it right?

Gary Eickmeier

The Pontiac was illuminates in red, right?

I think that is the best color to illuminate things with. Very easy to see at night.

A lot of aircraft cockpits are illuminated in red, they say that it not only makes instruments easy to see but doesn't tend to ruin your 'night vision'