Interior lights and screen lighting, how dimmable?

[missOutsyder]

Can anyone advise whether you can turn the interior dash lights etc all the way to very dim or maybe even completely off? I drive home for 25km in the dark with no street lights and prefer the interior as dark as possible. My Hyundai Tucson dims to very low, but a Nissan Rouge I drive dims to completely off. But then you can't always quickly find the button to increase the light as it's pitch black.

In addition to this, my husbands Chevy Colorado, you can dim the interior lights right down but as soon as we get home and reverse into the drive, the reverse camera kicks in and the screen goes uber bright when you've been used to the dark. It bugs the heck out of me!

Whatever the answer is, it's not going to affect my decision as my BS OB in A51 has been delivered to the dealership but I can't pick it up for a few weeks. I'm just really curious while I wait, thanks!

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[AlmostBroncoSport]

The dash lights will dim all the way down to be very dim, to the point where they are a bit hard to see when contrasted with the very bright headlights. (Reflective signs on the road often blind me, but this is my first vehicle with LEDs) The dash lights will not turn completely off.

There is a button to turn the screen completely off. I often drive with the screen off and dash lights dimmed all the way, and I think your BS will make you happy.

There is a setting in the screen that controls the screen brightness as well as it being controlled by the buttons to the left of the wheel. I am not completely sure how these two interact with each other, but I know one of the first things I did was turn the brightness all the way down in the in-screen menu.

Yes, the back-up camera does turn the screen back on when you put the car in reverse. Yes, it can be a bit blinding, but with everything set to minimum, it isn't all that bright. The actual brightness, for me, is usually dust on the camera being lit up by the license plate lights. There is a sprayer for the camera, but I don't find it to be terribly good at its job. It does turn the screen back off when the camera deactivates.

My biggest gripe with the dash lights is that when the car is in park, the lights can be very dim if the headlights are set to auto, on, or park; but if you turn the headlights all the way off, the interior dash lights (and gauge cluster screen) become VERY bright and can barely be dimmed. If anyone could explain the rationale behind this, I would love to know. As I recall, my 2011 Escape operated the same way.

 

[missOutsyder]

The dash lights will dim all the way down to be very dim, to the point where they are a bit hard to see when contrasted with the very bright headlights. (Reflective signs on the road often blind me, but this is my first vehicle with LEDs) The dash lights will not turn completely off.

There is a button to turn the screen completely off. I often drive with the screen off and dash lights dimmed all the way, and I think your BS will make you happy.

There is a setting in the screen that controls the screen brightness as well as it being controlled by the buttons to the left of the wheel. I am not completely sure how these two interact with each other, but I know one of the first things I did was turn the brightness all the way down in the in-screen menu.

Yes, the back-up camera does turn the screen back on when you put the car in reverse. Yes, it can be a bit blinding, but with everything set to minimum, it isn't all that bright. The actual brightness, for me, is usually dust on the camera being lit up by the license plate lights. There is a sprayer for the camera, but I don't find it to be terribly good at its job. It does turn the screen back off when the camera deactivates.

My biggest gripe with the dash lights is that when the car is in park, the lights can be very dim if the headlights are set to auto, on, or park; but if you turn the headlights all the way off, the interior dash lights (and gauge cluster screen) become VERY bright and can barely be dimmed. If anyone could explain the rationale behind this, I would love to know. As I recall, my 2011 Escape operated the same way.

Hi thanks for your detailed reply. I read this last week soon after your post but forgot to acknowledge your time in responding, so cheers, that’s super helpful!!

 

[AlmostBroncoSport]

Hi thanks for your detailed reply. I read this last week soon after your post but forgot to acknowledge your time in responding, so cheers, that’s super helpful!!

I was thinking a bit more about your question, and I do have one more comment that I have since noticed.

In the instrument cluster, while the screen and gauges do dim with the switch, the analog lights such as the blinkers and headlight indicators do not dim and end up being significantly brighter than everything else in the car. They are tiny lights and not too distracting, but they do stick out like a sore thumb when everything else in the car is dimmed. I will also add that this information is based on my Big Bend model with the smaller instrument cluster screen and may not apply to models with the larger screen and lack of physical fuel and oil temp gauges.

Maybe I will take a picture of the cluster tonight.

 

[AlmostBroncoSport]

This shot shows the lights in the panel that don't dim compared to the rest which are dimmed to the minimum. I adjusted the ISO on the camera to be realistic. Not seen here is the high beam light which is blue, which is naturally more harsh to the eye.

 

[missOutsyder]

This shot shows the lights in the panel that don't dim compared to the rest which are dimmed to the minimum. I adjusted the ISO on the camera to be realistic. Not seen here is the high beam light which is blue, which is naturally more harsh to the eye.

Thanks for the details and pic. I am hoping those lights don't bug me too much, however I do like how much the rest of the dash dims

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