Random day/night detection and brightness adjustment

[murick]

It happened to me yesterday I was taking a fun drive in the late afternoon. The sun was in full swing, hard longish shadows everywhere, had to wear sunglasses. Maybe 15/20 minutes into the ride, my dashboard and the central console panels suddenly switched to the "night mode", which meant I could hardly read the gauges on the dashboard and could not see a thing on the console, which not only reduced brightness, but also switched into the "night mode" (which is basically a dark mode - everything is using dark colors - on Waze).

I could mitigate the dash by increasing the brightness, but it did not really help on the console (due to colors).

Anyway, it happened few times, each time lasted a different time, when I was driving on a highway (so nothing exotic, environment-wise), and it was quite annoying. I checked the windshield later, the part where the rear mirror camera and sensor are, but it was clean.
I wonder if there are some other sensors which measure ambient light, which might got confused, or malfunctioning. Anyone observed anything similar?

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[Ctodd1]

No dash pad or carpet, right?

 

[murick]

No dash pad or carpet, right?

Nope.

 

[Ctodd1]

Maybe try to clean the light sensor before heading to a dealer where they will say they can't duplicate it. :(

 

[murick]

Maybe try to clean the light sensor before heading to a dealer where they will say they can't duplicate it

I would, if I knew where it is. (Assuming the ones I mentioned were clean already).

 

[Charlemagne]

I was driving yesterday in the late afternoon too and nav kept switching to dark mode and headlights on through dark forest passages, that's normal, almost like a tunnel. I didn't notice digital dash to change, even at night is the same for me, I think.

 

[dhborden]

Was your headlight switch in automatic mode? I've found that's the cause when mine changes when I don't want it to.

 

[Ctodd1]

Not sure what sensor reads the light. The small eye in the upper glass or the one on the bottom close to the glass. Last gen was the lower.

 

[murick]

I was driving yesterday in the late afternoon too and nav kept switching to dark mode and headlights on through dark forest passages, that's normal, almost like a tunnel.

I was driving on a highway in the fields with no obstructions around or above

Was your headlight switch in automatic mode? I've found that's the cause when mine changes when I don't want it to.

I believe it was, but I do not remember if it actually triggered. I might need to keep an eye on it next time it happens. You might be onto something.

Not sure what sensor reads the light. The small eye in the upper glass or the one on the bottom close to the glass. Last gen was the lower.

I am a bit lost . What is an "upper glass" and where is the bottom "close to the glass"?

I am only aware of the two "things" in the rear mirror mount/base. One looks like a camera, the other might be a rain sensor, or ambient light sensor or what not. But both are basically in the same place. I was wondering if there is another sensor inside the cabin, which measures the ambient light in the cabin (as the two on the windshield, cannot have a clue what is an ambient light in the cabin).

Just now I realized that I was driving "from the sun" when it happened and both sensors on the windshield might have been in shade.

 

[Ctodd1]

upper and lower, not sure what is the light sensor yet.

 

[JuicySmollet]

This happens to me a lot. Especially in the mornings on cloudy days and afternoons. I turn off the automatic lights if it bothers me too much.

 

[Rhyanski]

Late afternoon around sunset or sunrise has very high contrast. When driving against the sun, the cameras may try to underexpose, but then darker areas may become fully black. Depending on the share dark vs bright, the system may get confused... This is just my understanding based on observing similar behavior both in the M1 and my Mazda cx5. It has happened that the mazda gives error it can't use forward collision sensors, keep lane assist and adaptive cruise control when I was driving eastbound early morning.

Car cameras are BW and they work with shades of gray to do estimations, and also, there's the array of other sensors they combine to judge environment. I have also experienced random wiper activation in similar conditions when the windshield is not clean.
To me its normal.

 

[murick]

To me its normal.

I do not remember I have ever experienced that, in the past when I was daily driving, to the point it would annoy me like this time. But back than I was daily driving puny VW .

 

[stageron]

It is the lower sensor on the dash, center, right near the windshield. If you cover it during the day the dash will switch to night mode

 

[Rhyanski]

The more sophisticated ( to be read complicated) the technology becomes, the more prone to error it gets.
Autolights is the best innovation introduced to modern cars. Despite it gets confused at times, I have set the lights to full auto and I don't get anymore calls fro my wife "honey it gets dark on the road and I can't see a thing. How do you turn the lights on?"

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