I would like to confirm on the 2007 Prius what Toyota just told me... The steering wheel switch/button lighting is not adjustable by the dealer--I know I can't adjust it. It has one fixed intensity that cannot be set to any other intensity--by me or the dealer. Is this true? This would include the "Auto" driver's window up/down switch too? It is too bad that this lighting intensity isn't controllable. It is too bad that the window switches and door locks on all doors are not lit. Also the driver's door remote mirror adjustments. Also the overhead light switches. Those position settings should at least be in a contrasting color so they are visible. Thank you.
I have the 2008, and don't think I can adjust either....the steering wheel lighting bothers me the most i.e. too dim. Can't find anything in the manual, so I guess no changes in 08 from the 07's then ? Unless one of you has the 2008 and has more info ?
09 is the same...hope they did something to the 2010 to help with visibility of both these plus the homelink.
and goes outside the box (cause they could've simply put brighter light bulbs on the steering wheel and be done with it)
They're low-power LEDs, and they're integrated with the switches themselves. It isn't possible to replace them or change the brightness. They're so dim that at one stage I thought they were just fluorescent paint markings, but they turn on and off with the tail lights.
Do people need to look at the gear lever in a manual car to change gears? Each button on the steering wheel has a different feel, I never notice the lighting in the buttons. If you're busy looking at your steering wheel on a dark cold night who is driving?
My feelings exactly. I noticed the button lighting when I first started driving my Prius. After a week it didn't matter. Now I can see them just fine, and I know my eyes haven't improved. It's all a matter of feel. Tom
True, one should learn to use such switches without looking but if one drives more than one auto at nite with switches on the wheel they'd sure better be in the same location, at least for those of us who learn by rote. It's very hard to move back and forth and a quick glance at a dim but readable lighted switch makes all the difference in the world. Even Volvo, safety concerned as they are, made those lighted switches readable in the dark... perhaps it's just an old man thing
