VIBE instrument lighting + shade = invisible instrument.

[huy397]

Whenever I have my sunglasses ( black with a hint of green ) on, I can't see the LCD displays on the VIBE.The trip/odo/temp is completely gone and I can't see the time either from my position, I have to turn my head to the right a little in order to catch the time.I suppose I need to get a different colour pair of shades.

[micheles_bad_vibe]

the red lights bother me at night when i'm looking at brake lights in front of me. i don't think red was the best color for the instrument panel.

[Herb]

Are your sunglasses polarizied? Normally polarized lenses should black out an LCD display when rotated at 90 degrees

[cohocarl]

quote:Are your sunglasses polarizied? Normally polarized lenses should black out an LCD display when rotated at 90 degreesA few years ago, I bought one of those small Casio lcd televisions to watch the Red Wings at work. During break I went outside with my polarized sunglasses, turned on the tv and couldn't see anything....I thought the screen on the tv was screwed.....till I took my glasses off. I wear polarized sunglasses while driving, but haven't noticed a problem with the lcd in the vibe. I'll have to try turning my head sideways while driving to see if the lcd blacks out. I'm amazed at the number of people that don't know if you take two pair of polarized sunglasses and hold them up to look through both lenses at the same time, while rotating one pair that at 1 point the light will not pass through.

[meathead333]

i dont have any problem at all with mine. what icant see is the face to my kenwood deck when its really bright out. i think that is kind of due to the high placement of the stereo compartment.

[Houston]

Yeah, guys and gals... just take off those sunglasses and you won't have problems. I don't wear those things and have never had difficulty seeing Vibe gages. Lets stop blaiming Pontiac engineers for improperly designing colors for those gages. Just take off your strange sunglasses and all is well.

[geezer]

If I take off my sunglasses, I can't even find my car to drive it. I am totally blinded by bright sunlight. Even on cloudy days or inside some brightly lit offices, I have a lighter tinted pair of glasses that I have to wear.

[huy397]

Well, actually it's a clip-on.I wear glasses all the time and I leave my clip-on in my car.When I don't have the clip-on, I can see everything just fine but as soon as I put on the clip-on, the LCDs are gone.

[ragingfish]

quote:Yeah, guys and gals... just take off those sunglasses and you won't have problems. I don't wear those things and have never had difficulty seeing Vibe gages. Lets stop blaiming Pontiac engineers for improperly designing colors for those gages. Just take off your strange sunglasses and all is well. The reality is, not wearing sunglasses and squinting is dangerous, uncomfortable, and bad for your eyes. People have to -- and have the right to -- wear sunglasses. Is the setup ideal? No. But we're not blaming anyone. We're simply saying this is something that may have been overlooked in the coloring and/or design of the gauge cluster...Perhaps someone with an 04 model can tell us if the 04 gauges have the same problem...

[kaybeejay]

The recessed gauge clusters will do that. I don't think its a matter of them being red in color (VW's and other european cars have been using red for years). Its more a matter of the gauges being stuck so deep into those holes, that they are in a pit and can be hard to see sometimes. The solution for me, is to turn the intensity all the way up during the day. Then I usually turn the intensity down for night time driving. I read a report somewhere that having the intensity of full (in any car) all the time, especialy at night, causes unneccessary fatigue on your eyes.Personally, I think its a poor choice of design. Nissan cars also share this "flaw". The driver shouldn't have to be constantly changing the dash intensity.

[ragingfish]

quote:The recessed gauge clusters will do that. I don't think its a matter of them being red in color (VW's and other european cars have been using red for years). Its more a matter of the gauges being stuck so deep into those holes, that they are in a pit and can be hard to see sometimes.I believe the smoke-colored tinting on the plastic cover also contributes, as it prevents additional light from getting in...I had broke that plastic, and for the few days it was off, I had no problems seeing any part of the cluster -- even on night intensitiy.

[ragingfish]

quote:So is the 2004 clear plastic then?I have no idea.

[joatmon]

I looked in an 04 Matrix today and couldn't see through the plastic to check out the new gauges, so I'd say that the plastic on the new ones are not clear either.

[geezer]

They did change the 2004 Matrix instruments. I haven't ween them in person yet but here's a pic.

[NSimkins]

quote:They did change the 2004 Matrix instruments. I haven't ween them in person yet but here's a pic. They did the same for the 2004 Vibe. It also looks like the plastic lens over the gauges remained tinted as in 2003.

[ragingfish]

Regardless, looks much easier to read that way...

[Celtic_Curse]

I don't even use the gauges...really just listen to the engine sound you can tell after driving a while how fast your going through the revs and sound coming from the engine. Unfortunately I never really rev past 3000 rpm so I know the sound I need to make so that I don't get into trouble with the cops. To be honest I like the red of our dash I think it's rather cool.

[joatmon]

I use the gauges. Most of the time I can't hear the engine because I have the stereo cranked. I don't have any trouble reading the gauges, but I do think the '04 gauges look better.