Night Mode

I think it only shows up when you have the dash lights brightness thumb wheel set at something other than it's all-the-way-up position.

 

That is my understanding as well. The dimmer wheel must be lower than the highest "detente" and it will go to night mode when headlights are turned on.

 

I thought I saw someone say you can make the MFD screen have a black background so it isn't so bright at night? Is that what it might mean?

Oops, that wasn't your question. Nevermind

 

Trust me. The button shows up when the dimming wheel is not at it's top most position. The button disappears when the dimming wheel is in it's top most position.

 

So I went and checked. I found a "Day Mode", not a "Night Mode" button on the Display Settings screen.

To get it, turn on the headlights and set the dimmer thumb wheel to a dimmed position, and the "Day Mode" button will magically appear. If the headlights are off or the dimmer thumb wheel is in it's max position, the button will disappear.

All it seems to do is put the MFD into it's full brightness mode while allowing you to keep the dashboard lights dimmed.

It doesn't seem to be very useful to me.

 

Using the Day Mode also keeps the Map Mode on white (although a little dimmer than normal). There are times you want to have the lights on (fog, rain or dusk) and don't want the map to change to black (it's harder for me to read when there's still light out).

 

I can understand having the MFD at full, "normal" brightness, and everything else dimmed. The MPH display center causes a reflection upon the windshield at night, right in my line of sight...

 

By the way, I believe that the reflection on the windsheld is a reflection off of the smooth bezel around the speedometer projector.

If you reach up into the hole in the dashboard "tray" where the speedometer projecter is located, you will feel a half inch wide bezel around the glass of the projecter. My guess is that the speedometer is reflecting off the plastic shield that is infront of the dashboard lights and the speedometer mirror, and is boucing off the projector bezel on onto the windshield.

So, if you find the reflection particularly bothersome, then you could probably attach a thin strip of black felt to the bezel using double sticky tape and make it go away. You probably wouldn't even be able to see the felt.

I'm pretty certain that it's not light leaking directly from the projector onto the windshield. But you can test it yourself. Turn the dash lights all the way up tonight and then reach up and put your fingers over the projecter bezel, but not on the projecter glass itself, and see if you obscure part of the windshield reflection. I seem to remember trying this myself about 6 months ago, but it wouldn't hurt to verify it.

Personally, I never noticed the reflection until I read about it here.

 

Heh, when used correctly, this can actually be entertaining. It's known as Pepper's Ghost, and can be seen in the ballroom scene in Disney's Haunted Mansion ride.