Window Tint

[John6012]

Juat got the Prius and 48.3 MPG coming home over the space of 40 miles. My question is, will tinting the windows really interfere with the navigation system? The owners manual says there is "metal" in the tints and is is not recommended....what is your opinion?

[patrickindallas]

There might be some tints that are metallic in nature.
I'm thinking here about those silvery-looking ones.

But I can vouch for my tint. It does not interefere with the GPS reception.

Here is a pic:

[attachmentid=7860]

[cireecnop1]

No problems here either.

haven't heard of this issue.

[John6012]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TomorrowMatters @ May 5 2007, 08:18 AM) [snapback]435977[/snapback]</div>

No problems here either.

haven't heard of this issue.

[/b]

Thanks, the owners manual said the metallic content might interfere with the GPS. I think I'll go fo the tint!
I still maintain that Priuschat is one of the best - if not the very best Prius forum on the internet.

[David Beale]

The GPS antenna works through the windshield. Most jurestictions don't allow windshield tinting, so it wouldn't affect the GPS anyway.
Most tinting film does contain metal, and will attenuate the GPS signal if you tint the windshield. Whether it causes problems or not would depend on the tint you used. BTW, it also attenuates radar and laser, so detectors become less sensitive.

[fd143]

No problems here with a light tint on the windshield.

[NuShrike]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John6012 @ May 5 2007, 04:45 AM) [snapback]435964[/snapback]</div>

Juat got the Prius and 48.3 MPG coming home over the space of 40 miles. My question is, will tinting the windows really interfere with the navigation system? The owners manual says there is "metal" in the tints and is is not recommended....what is your opinion?[/b]

Here's an old thread: http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:zkGlbx...lient=firefox-a

Here's the old Tinting 101 thread: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=9473&hl=

And a general search: http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Apriu...lient=firefox-a

But basically, any metalized content in tint will block/reflect EM signals weakening it for GPS and cellphone reception. Since the GPS antenna is behind the display facing the windshield, try not to use metalized tint there.

Why does metalized tint exist? Because it generally has the best solar IR rejection abilities. Much like modding cars, some tint for looks and some do it technical improvement.

[BelowTheCrowd]

Most vehicles that have the GPS antenna inside put it on the rear deck somewhere. My old Acura did this, and I believe a number of other Honda products had the same design.

We tested with metallic tint material and found that it did have an adverse impact on GPS reception when placed (we used some scrap pieces) over the antenna.

To deal with that problem, we used the FormulaOne Pinnacle tint material which is ceramic based. It's a lot more expensive, but had no impact on the GPS signal. The only other alternative would have been a dye-based tint film, which tends to fade.

The system will generally try to rely as much as possible on satellites that are 45-75 degrees above the horizon. Satellites that are straight up tend to not allow for as good triangulation, although using one straight up combined with two off to the sides gives very accurate results too. Satellites lower on the horizon are very susceptible to interference. What this means for the Prius is that the location of the antenna forces it to pretty much focus on satellites that are visible through the windshield. Anything that might possibly be visible through some other window is going to be so low on the horizon that every building, tree and truck will cause intereference.

So, unless you tint your windshield (which is illegal in most places), you should have no problems.

Heavy metallic tints can theoretically impact cellphone reception as well, but cellphone signals are much more powerful than GPS, and I have never had a problem.

That said, I found the FormulaOne Pinnacle (ceramic) to be one of the best tint materials I have ever owned in terms of function. I got superb heat and glare reduction even with a relatively light (50%) tint, and none of the metallic look that you get from many metal-based films. I'm considering it again, but haven't decided for sure. Going to talk to my local tinter tomorrow.

-btc

[John6012]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BTC @ May 8 2007, 11:34 PM) [snapback]438070[/snapback]</div>

Most vehicles that have the GPS antenna inside put it on the rear deck somewhere. My old Acura did this, and I believe a number of other Honda products had the same design.

We tested with metallic tint material and found that it did have an adverse impact on GPS reception when placed (we used some scrap pieces) over the antenna.

To deal with that problem, we used the FormulaOne Pinnacle tint material which is ceramic based. It's a lot more expensive, but had no impact on the GPS signal. The only other alternative would have been a dye-based tint film, which tends to fade.

The system will generally try to rely as much as possible on satellites that are 45-75 degrees above the horizon. Satellites that are straight up tend to not allow for as good triangulation, although using one straight up combined with two off to the sides gives very accurate results too. Satellites lower on the horizon are very susceptible to interference. What this means for the Prius is that the location of the antenna forces it to pretty much focus on satellites that are visible through the windshield. Anything that might possibly be visible through some other window is going to be so low on the horizon that every building, tree and truck will cause intereference.

So, unless you tint your windshield (which is illegal in most places), you should have no problems.

Heavy metallic tints can theoretically impact cellphone reception as well, but cellphone signals are much more powerful than GPS, and I have never had a problem.

That said, I found the FormulaOne Pinnacle (ceramic) to be one of the best tint materials I have ever owned in terms of function. I got superb heat and glare reduction even with a relatively light (50%) tint, and none of the metallic look that you get from many metal-based films. I'm considering it again, but haven't decided for sure. Going to talk to my local tinter tomorrow.

-btc
[/b]

Thanks, I just wanted a strip acrosee the top of the windshield which is legal in Oklahoma but due to the replies will just tint all the other windows. Called a tint shop yesterday and was quoted $130.00 for windows tint.

[grubmans]

I'm considering FormulaOne Pinnacle and Huper Optik. What's anyone's experience? I want a ceramic film.