Corolla Head Unit and polarised sunglasses

[MobiusRift]

Hi all, 

Just making a decision about some new variofocals and wanted to check if anyone has found their polarising sunglasses interfere with viewing the car's head unit LCD?

 

Ta

[trashman1965]

1 hour ago, MobiusRift said:

Hi all, 

Just making a decision about some new variofocals and wanted to check if anyone has found their polarising sunglasses interfere with viewing the car's head unit LCD?

 

Ta

You'll see some colour patterns at certain angles, but the benefits of the sunglasses far outweigh this. You can still see the headunit clearly enough. I had polarised glasses, dropped them when I bought new and last year went back to polarised. The UV glass on the newest corolla does help though as well.

[MobiusRift]

27 minutes ago, trashman1965 said:

You'll see some colour patterns at certain angles, but the benefits of the sunglasses far outweigh this. You can still see the headunit clearly enough. I had polarised glasses, dropped them when I bought new and last year went back to polarised. The UV glass on the newest corolla does help though as well.

That helps a lot, many thanks. As long as the screen isn't blacked out. I can put up with the odd colour shift 🙂

[bewA]

I've had no issues with my polarising/reactions/transitions (whatever you want to call them) glasses with any of the displays (including HUD) in my GR Sport.

Edited October 20, 2021 by bewA
a word

[Geoff W]

8 hours ago, bewA said:

I've had no issues with my polarising/reactions/transitions (whatever you want to call them) glasses with any of the displays (including HUD) in my GR Sport.

Just a word of caution- Reactolite and Transitions glasses use photochromic glass, they are not polarising. I'm not saying polarising glasses won't be OK but they are very different to photochromic glasses.

[Cyker]

Hmm, that's interesting - When I wear my polarized shades my Mk4's HUD becomes completely invisible! Well annoying as the sunshade in my Mk4 is practically useless too so driving when the sun is low and the road is wet is a right PITA now!

 

[Geoff W]

Back when windscreens were made of toughened glass designed to shatter into tiny pieces polarised sunglasses were a disaster but they should be fine for looking through modern laminated glass windscreens. However,  I can’t comment on what they’re like for looking at reflections as in a HUD. What I can say is that I thoroughly recommend modern photochromic glasses. I have varifocal photochromic glasses as my only glasses. I wear them all the time - in the car, indoors, outdoors in bright sunlight and at night. They are almost clear in low light and darken rapidly in brighter light. I would never go back to Polaroid sunglasses.

[MobiusRift]

Thanks guys, some food for thought.

[trashman1965]

Havent tried on the other half's MK4 Yaris HUD, only my Corolla...same glasses, it is impossible to read a petrol pump LCD display. These are definitely polarized (hence the LCD fuel pump invisible).

[AndrueC]

Not had any problems myself. One of my previous cars (Honda Jazz) I couldn't read the climate control temperature but then the dealer pointed out that the bezel could be rotated. I think colour LCD screens are just less susceptible to the problem.

[Cyker]

All LCDs are polarized - Laptop screens, flatscreen TVs, phones, tablets, digital watches, anything using an LCD screen puts out polarized light - It's how they work. Some fancier screens seem to have some sort of 'depolarizer' layer, but it's not common (In fact I may have mistaken those for LEP/OLED displays!)

 

[AndrueC]

Just a note: I also have photochromic glasses but they are a bad choice for driving. The reason is that they are actually reacting to UV radiation not visible light and vehicle glass (certainly the windscreen) blocks most UV. They are therefore useless as sunglasses for drivers and for that reason I keep a pair of prescription sunglasses in the car.

There's no reason though why you can't have lenses that are both photochromic and polarised.

As an interesting aside: Photochromic lenses are also thermal dependant and react faster/more in lower temperatures. When originally invented it was assumed they'd only be good for winter sports. Over the decades the formula has been improved so that they work fine in warm temperatures. But I can still 'suffer' when trying to play golf on cold, bright winters days. My playing partners are enjoying a gorgeous day while I'm stuck in twilight conditions 😞