Hello,

Being in the tech industry myself, and knowing that display panels can fade/lose their brightness after being exposed to direct sunlight over a period of time, I was wondering if anyone knows or thinks I should cover the hole where the HUD projection system is when the car is parked up?

I mean should I be concerned? Or is there some kind of in-built filter or protection screen that prevents sunlight damage?

Any thoughts?

TGL

[quote name='TGL' post='980377' date='Mar 4 2010, 03:15 PM']Hello,

Being in the tech industry myself, and knowing that display panels can fade/lose their brightness after being exposed to direct sunlight over a period of time, I was wondering if anyone knows or thinks I should cover the hole where the HUD projection system is when the car is parked up?

I mean should I be concerned? Or is there some kind of in-built filter or protection screen that prevents sunlight damage?

Any thoughts?

TGL[/quote]


How long you keeping the car? If you're keeping it as long as the warranty is in force then there's no worries.

I'd be surprised if sunlight would damage this. What you see is reflected up on the screen anyway, but I understand your concern.

One thing I did notice in the new pics of the top line Auris and CT200h models is that neither of them get a HUD. Which is particularly strange on the Lexus. I really like it and think it's a great aid to driving (I have both the speedo and energy monitor showing on mine).

I think what he means is that the high contrast monitor that displays the image that is reflected on the screen is actually facing upwards towards the sun and will probably feel the full force of heat and light on a hot summers day. This can't be good for the device and is probably a reason it is not sold on the USA models. However, even if the sun does damage it over time, this shouldn't be an issue unless you hope to keep the car over the warranty period.

[quote name='Grumpy Cabbie' date='05 March 2010 - 08:37 AM' timestamp='1267778234' post='980676']
I think what he means is that the high contrast monitor that displays the image that is reflected on the screen is actually facing upwards towards the sun and will probably feel the full force of heat and light on a hot summers day. This can't be good for the device and is probably a reason it is not sold on the USA models. However, even if the sun does damage it over time, this shouldn't be an issue unless you hope to keep the car over the warranty period.
[/quote]

Yep G-Cabbie you are right in what I was trying to describe as the potential issue. Good point about keeping the car beyond warranty period. Sell-off depends on what's even more economical to run in the market place. Who knows, Toyota may even have hydrogen fuel cells commercially viable as an option. Anyway, back to my query/concern, I've decided to make myself a plastic vented cover to place over the top of the HUD during sunny days.

[quote name='TGL' date='11 March 2010 - 02:32 PM' timestamp='1268317933' post='982593']
[quote name='Grumpy Cabbie' date='05 March 2010 - 08:37 AM' timestamp='1267778234' post='980676']
I think what he means is that the high contrast monitor that displays the image that is reflected on the screen is actually facing upwards towards the sun and will probably feel the full force of heat and light on a hot summers day. This can't be good for the device and is probably a reason it is not sold on the USA models. However, even if the sun does damage it over time, this shouldn't be an issue unless you hope to keep the car over the warranty period.
[/quote]

Yep G-Cabbie you are right in what I was trying to describe as the potential issue. Good point about keeping the car beyond warranty period. Sell-off depends on what's even more economical to run in the market place. Who knows, Toyota may even have hydrogen fuel cells commercially viable as an option. Anyway, back to my query/concern, I've decided to make myself a plastic vented cover to place over the top of the HUD during sunny days.
[/quote]

It's pure speculation that the HUD is not on US cars because of this reason. Cars sold in Southern Europe have the HUD I'm sure. And Lexus offers a HUD on several of it's models in the US.

I'm not sure how much of an issue this could be. A) I live in the Peak District and have forgotten what the sun looks like, but the aperture that the HUD shines through is quite small and deep, hence why the viewing angle is so small. I'd imagine that sun rarely shines on the display screen itself.

I know many towns have those free parking discs that you set your arrival time on. They're about 6 inches square and would do the trick. Two birds with one stone!

[quote name='Jonathan Mason' date='11 March 2010 - 10:22 PM' timestamp='1268346159' post='982848']
I'm not sure how much of an issue this could be. A) I live in the Peak District and have forgotten what the sun looks like, but the aperture that the HUD shines through is quite small and deep, hence why the viewing angle is so small. I'd imagine that sun rarely shines on the display screen itself.
[/quote]

Also, if you look down through the windscreen into the aperture for the HUD, you'll see that there's an angled mirror at the bottom of the hole, so the display screen is actually well out of any direct sunlight. The narrowness of the apperture, and the effective depth (thanks to bending 90 degrees via the mirror) mean that you need the sun to be directly overhead to be shining on the display screen... so not really worth worrying about.