2007 Camry XLE dash lights dim question - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

spike1 · 10-11-2006, 04:02 PM

The 2007 XLE does not have any painted marks or numbers for the dash speedometer or tach.
It depends on the backlight for illumination. This becomes a problem during dawn or dusk.
It seems that the sensor on top of the middle of the dash is either to sensitive or needs some kind of adjusting. During a morning commute to work when the sun isn't quite up, the dash lights will, depending on the lighting, will brighten or dim. This seems to happen a lot during the commute down a country road, where under the shade of trees, seems cause the sensor to dim the dash. The street lights can also affect the sensor.
It almost seems the sensor is too sensitive. This dimming and brightening causes one to take their eyes off the road because of the diffenence in the dash illumination. Kind of a safety hazard. Has anyone else have the same issue and what can be done about it? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me...

LunarMist · 10-11-2006, 04:19 PM

Soooooooooo why dont you just turn the dimmer knob ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT so the dash lights can be permenantly bright??? But even when I had my dash set to auto-dim, it was never a distraction for me. If you are distracted by that you probably shouldnt be driving because thats scary. As it mentions in your owner's manual (that you should have read), your sensor can be adjusted to be more or less sensative, by your dealer.

onsknht · 10-11-2006, 06:19 PM

You can get the sensitivity adjusted if you like... I find the feature annoying too, but the problem isn't really in the sensitivity, it's in the fact that you proabably do not need the "Auto" feature when driving during the day. Switching it to off, the dash lights stay on at a fixed level all the time.

El Tano · 10-11-2006, 07:53 PM

I didn't know you can have it adjusted...I just parked the car in the garage and It's a shinny day, and I saw the lights on, and I thought wow that's very sensitive, just like the cruise control, trans, etc etc, I swear, not kidding, hahaha(crazy)..

spike1 · 10-11-2006, 08:52 PM

Well thanks for the info on the dealer adjusting the auto sensor. Soon as I get the chance to bring it in to the dealer I'll have them adjust it. As for turning the switch all the way up to bright, who drives with that on at night. I've never, with all my trucks or cars in the past, had to keep adjusting the dash lights for desirable illumination. I do love this new Camry, but this auto sensor is a bit much and as for the markings on the dash I wish they did fill in the numbers instead of keeping it all blank. By the way, I'm just not talking about keeping the the lights on in the Auto position, it does it in all of the positions except off of course. I did hear that the LEs have the markings. Not sure why they didn't do it on the XLEs. I know this complaint is a small one compared to some problems that may arrise. Thanks again!

thoots · 10-11-2006, 11:46 PM

I keep mine "all the way on," unless I go driving at night outside well-lit areas, and then I'll turn the lighting down very substantially.

Works for me....

tymekeeper · 10-12-2006, 04:51 PM

Mine is sensitive also. Headlights come on when parking car in garage. If you turn the switch to off as mentioned above you also turn off the day time running lights! Anyoneone know how WE can adjust to sensitivity ourselves?

LunarMist · 10-12-2006, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tymekeeper

Mine is sensitive also. Headlights come on when parking car in garage. If you turn the switch to off as mentioned above you also turn off the day time running lights! Anyoneone know how WE can adjust to sensitivity ourselves?

I'm no Harvard grad but i'm going to take a shot at this...adjusting it "yourself" probably isn't possible. If it were your owners manual wouldn't tell you to go to the dealership to have it done. And the auto-lights should come on when going into your garage. That's the purpose of them. They are supposed to come on under certain lighting conditions to improve visibility and enhance safety. Its not supposed to be pitch black outside before the auto-lights kick in.

spike1 · 10-13-2006, 01:18 PM

I think we're talking about two different things here.
What I'm having a issue is, maybe I'm just more sensitive to it then most, is the dimming and brighting of the dash lights during dawn and dusk. No matter what setting I have the exterior lights on, except off, the dash illumination seems to be very sensitive to the slight changes of lighting outside the car during morning and early evening commutes. Like I said if I go under the shade of a tree, the dash lights will dim slightly, thinking it's getting dark outside, then when I come out of the shade, the dash lights will get brighter. It does drive me a little crazy, because it will draw my eyes off the road. It is a little distracting for me. I guess some might find it distracting some won't. Like it was mentioned, the dealer can adjust it. I was just wondering if someone already had it done. Thanks for all your comments!

onsknht · 10-13-2006, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike1

I think we're talking about two different things here.
What I'm having a issue is, maybe I'm just more sensitive to it then most, is the dimming and brighting of the dash lights during dawn and dusk. No matter what setting I have the exterior lights on, except off, the dash illumination seems to be very sensitive to the slight changes of lighting outside the car during morning and early evening commutes. Like I said if I go under the shade of a tree, the dash lights will dim slightly, thinking it's getting dark outside, then when I come out of the shade, the dash lights will get brighter. It does drive me a little crazy, because it will draw my eyes off the road. It is a little distracting for me. I guess some might find it distracting some won't. Like it was mentioned, the dealer can adjust it. I was just wondering if someone already had it done. Thanks for all your comments!

When I go under bridges the same thing happens... You either need to turn on or turn off the lights, the AUTO setting tries to sense what you want to see, but it isn't smart enough to figure that you're just going under a 100ft wide bridge.

The sensitivity setting may help, but then again you might be upset that the auto lights don't come on until it's well past o'dark-thirty.