WINDSHIELD REFLECTIONS ( Dash & HUD)

[hwy17er]

Does it really look that bad with dash reflection?

To me, just my opinion of course, it looked horrific enough on my test drives that I skipped the "Tech pkg" when I ordered my GGT
We had a HUD in our former Audi Q5. I don't miss it at all and enjoy a clear view out my windshield.

...Now it he sun visors were just a bit wider

 

[eelpout]

Does it really look that bad with dash reflection?

having spent lots of time in my GT (of course) and several weeks in a GT loaner that didn't have the tech package, I'll respond in ever-popular negative speech, "it's not, not noticeable."

 

[DeaneG]

having spent lots of time in my GT (of course) and several weeks in a GT loaner that didn't have the tech package, I'll respond in ever-popular negative speech, "it's not, not noticeable."

Do you mean it didn't disappoint? Or it didn't didn't disappoint?

 

[eelpout]

Do you mean it didn't disappoint? Or it didn't didn't disappoint?

yes, not that.

 

[Aka-none]

Drivers, Windshields and HUD signal and noise.

Cars have dark dashes to limit dash reflection ghosts in the windshield. All cars have light conditions that cause visible reflections of dash. Chrome, vents, contrasting stitching and shadows from multilevel dashes and even varying dash surface textures project project.

On the small HUD projector on my son’s S class MB, the only reflection on the windshield was the HUD projected data. I call this a noticeable ‘signal’ imposed on the signals of the relevant view of the road and its surroundings. There was no other visual from the HUD. No ‘noise’.

In the early Dream Edition iteration of HUD there I saw a light white ‘greyed’ rectangle reflection ie a very consistent reflection of the larger projector surface. I assume ( usually not a good thing) that physical warping distorted this rectangle into the ‘orb ghosts’ that others saw.

On a recent build Gravity with HUD (I did not sit in but looked at through a n open side window) It was clear that the frame of the HUD was very clear sharply and it seemed unavoidably projected on the windshield. I could not tell if the screen projection partially ‘greyed’ the large rectangular shape inside that frame.

I categorized all of this, the greyed rectangle and even the visible frame as visual ‘noise’. Noise that your brain ‘filters’.

Interested in learning just how much secondary reflection persists in the recently delivered HUDs.

Note: a common Neurosensory phenomena for humans, signal to noise filtering declines as we age. (that is the reason many hearing aids are abandoned to a life in the patient’s dresser draw.)

And yes, I am old ( but have not yet retired my hearing aids to li in a drawer).

Keep them
Unaddressed hearing loss increases your chances of dementia by 20%
Heard that and immediately decided to pick them back up

 

[Saksak]

Does it really look that bad with dash reflection?

Yes, the HUD reflections are noticeable and the blue blob sometimes appears, depending on the sun angle. Whether or not it’s bad is subjective. Some people can’t stand it, while others are able to tune it out.

I do agree that the HUD reflections need to be improved, but at the same time, I still find the HUD useful and would rather have the HUD than not, having driven both versions of the Gravity extensively. Many others have decided the opposite.

 

[LucidGravityMike]

The HUD reflection is noticeable whether it’s on or off, and the HUD itself is currently not usable for me personally (out of focus, stretched, lack of info etc). I can live with the reflection but got the HUD off until they make improvements.

 

[skip5012]

For anyone still dealing with the bright "orb" reflection caused by the HUD mirror, here's the solution that worked for me.

I used automotive-grade suede material. Because the HUD opening is concave rather than a simple square or rectangle, it took a bit of trial and error to find dimensions that fit well and still looked nicely finished. Be sure to leave a little extra material around the edges so it can be tucked between the plastic HUD trim and the surrounding housing for a clean installation.

I left the backing paper on the adhesive so the suede isn't permanently attached and can be removed easily if Lucid eventually comes out with an official fix.

After installing it, the bright orb reflection was completely eliminated. In my opinion, it also looks much better than using a t-shirt, mouse pad, or other makeshift solution.

The reflection from the HUD housing itself doesn't bother me. For whatever reason, I can tune that out, but I could never ignore the bright orb reflected from the HUD mirror.

At this point, I'm not holding my breath waiting for Lucid to provide a fix. Since the current HUD functionality is still fairly limited, I can live without using it. Personally, because the instrument display sits high above the steering wheel, I don't find the HUD particularly necessary anyway.

 

[24jlucid]

God forbid someone has an accident and cites the blob hindering the visibility or even citing the disorientation some have expressed due to the HUD affecting their eyesight. Silvio, please issue a recall and provide a fix for this issue.

 

[skip5012]

@marqie I notice you were recently active in the 'phone as a key' thread. Are you able to provide an update on the HUD mirror reflection issue? This is the blinding windshield orb reflection that some Gravity owners with the HUD option are experiencing, as documented in this discussion thread. It is certainly a safety matter as it can be quite blinding in the driver’s frame of view. Any update would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[dbsb3233]

@marqie I notice you were recently active in the 'phone as a key' thread. Are you able to provide an update on the HUD mirror reflection issue? This is the blinding windshield orb reflection that some Gravity owners with the HUD option are experiencing, as documented in this discussion thread. It is certainly a safety matter as it can be quite blinding in the driver’s frame of view. Any update would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Is this the reflection of the HUD box screen that tends to have some lingering glow to it that fades when you go from sun to dark (like entering a parking garage)? I notice that in mine. Takes a couple of seconds for the system to detect and adjust the brightness to the dark outside environment, so I see a glow from the whole screen. Takes 3-4 seconds for it to turn down and go away.

 

[HC_79]

Is this the reflection of the HUD box screen that tends to have some lingering glow to it that fades when you go from sun to dark (like entering a parking garage)? I notice that in mine. Takes a couple of seconds for the system to detect and adjust the brightness to the dark outside environment, so I see a glow from the whole screen. Takes 3-4 seconds for it to turn down and go away.

No. Under certain conditions, this issue seems to occur during peak summer on specific roads where the sun strikes the HUD, producing a large bright orb that is practically blinding and partially blocks the view of cars ahead. It is not constant (certainly not for me), but when it happens, it is severe. Over my 16 months of ownership, it has likely occurred five or six times, always during the height of summer.

 

[skip5012]

Is this the reflection of the HUD box screen that tends to have some lingering glow to it that fades when you go from sun to dark (like entering a parking garage)? I notice that in mine. Takes a couple of seconds for the system to detect and adjust the brightness to the dark outside environment, so I see a glow from the whole screen. Takes 3-4 seconds for it to turn down and go away.

Cool. You have the same 2 cars I do. Gravity and Macan EV.

Take a look at this Reddit thread and the picture in the original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LUCID/comments/1wwtvz6/love_my_new_gravity_hate_the_hud_glare_good_thing

The reflection can be extremely blinding depending on the time of day.

 

[dbsb3233]

No. Under certain conditions, this issue seems to occur during peak summer on specific roads where the sun strikes the HUD, producing a large bright orb that is practically blinding and partially blocks the view of cars ahead. It is not constant (certainly not for me), but when it happens, it is severe. Over my 16 months of ownership, it has likely occurred five or six times, always during the height of summer.

Ah, the sun glare issue. So many different descriptions.

 

[Alex]

No. Under certain conditions, this issue seems to occur during peak summer on specific roads where the sun strikes the HUD, producing a large bright orb that is practically blinding and partially blocks the view of cars ahead. It is not constant (certainly not for me), but when it happens, it is severe. Over my 16 months of ownership, it has likely occurred five or six times, always during the height of summer.

I’ve been spending a lot of time driving in the Arizona sun, and when I head south into the glare, I realized that the “blue orb” is actually a reflection of the sky. You can even see clouds in it when they’re near the sun. I thought about blocking the part of the windshield where those rays come through—it’s pretty easy to spot when you compare the sun’s position to the glass—but that would also block my view.

If someone can figure out exactly where the reflection comes through the windshield, they might try using polarizing film to stop it. Next time I get my car back from service (sometime next year), I’ll bring some polarizing film to test it out. I’m not talking about putting it over the HUD itself, which could mess with the display, but placing it just above the HUD on the windshield.

 

[Chiquita]

My wife was so bothered by the reflection that she got a hand towel from her yoga bag and threw it over the HUD mirror. It works so I just left it there. lol

 

[zoomzoom]

Cool. You have the same 2 cars I do. Gravity and Macan EV.

Take a look at this Reddit thread and the picture in the original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LUCID/comments/1wwtvz6/love_my_new_gravity_hate_the_hud_glare_good_thing

The reflection can be extremely blinding depending on the time of day.

At certain times of the day with the sun high in the sky I have this exact same bright almost pixelated white glare and agree that it's a problem. The glare can be quite bad and in fact dangerous and I'm not usually prone to dramatics.

I have 3 separate reflections depending on the sun, sometimes all 3 at once.
1. The white glare shown
2. The blue oval
3. Outline of the HUD framing

All of them are annoying but only the white glare feels problematic per se. As noted in the picture the glare is so strong that it is no longer translucent - you cannot see through it like you can with the blue oval or HUD frame reflections. I've seen it be considerably larger than the photograph above and it is DIRECTLY straight ahead as in the photo. Fortunately I almost never drive during the times where these are most likely to show

If I could do this over I would not get the HUD. I do like the speed and directions and such but with the dash being so visible already it's really not necessary. The left and right eye (or however these things work) are also not perfectly calibrated so the speed limit shows up as very mild double vision, I've learned to adapt so I don't get eye strain anymore but I can still see it. My wife got her Gravity 1 year after me and skipped the HUD for these reasons. Even if the advertised HUD VR stuff actually gets developed and is AWESOME I don't think I can recommend the HUD because of these issues. I do think they are significant enough that a recall or some correction needs to be issued.

Aside from the HUD glare - love love love the Gravity on a day to day basis. So much so that we now have 2 as noted above.

@marqie - It has been frustrating that since Gravity launch there has been not a single comment made by Lucid to my knowledge regarding the wide spread issue of poorly aligned HUD, the glares, or the roadmap to the VR HUD that was advertised on launch.

 

[skip5012]

I am really hoping that someone from Lucid like @marqie can chime in and update us. I have been unsuccessful in getting anyone outside of my local service centre in Toronto to acknowledge this issue. They say until head office gives them a directive, there is nothing they can do. I am contemplating a more aggressive escalation, it is a serious safety issue, but I really don't want to do this. I love the car, it's amazing. I don't want to cause trouble for Lucid. However, for the price I paid, I feel that Lucid should acknowledge and correct the issue.

 

[tmichael]

I am really hoping that someone from Lucid like @marqie can chime in and update us. I have been unsuccessful in getting anyone outside of my local service centre in Toronto to acknowledge this issue. They say until head office gives them a directive, there is nothing they can do. I am contemplating a more aggressive escalation, it is a serious safety issue, but I really don't want to do this. I love the car, it's amazing. I don't want to cause trouble for Lucid. However, for the price I paid, I feel that Lucid should acknowledge and correct the issue.

I don't think they have simply thrown in the towel and stopped development. I just think they have yet to determiine the best solution. Like DDP or PAAK or numerous other things on the list, I believe we aren't done yet. There was virtually no knowledge on the timing of the UX 3.0 update for the Air and yet a seemingly really great update appeared without a great deal of fanfare and changed some people's motoring lives.

I'm (perhaps stupidly) trusting we're not done with the HUD solution.

 

[dbsb3233]

I don't think they have simply thrown in the towel and stopped development. I just think they have yet to determiine the best solution. Like DDP or PAAK or numerous other things on the list, I believe we aren't done yet. There was virtually no knowledge on the timing of the UX 3.0 update for the Air and yet a seemingly really great update appeared without a great deal of fanfare and changed some people's motoring lives.

I'm (perhaps stupidly) trusting we're not done with the HUD solution.

Just my guess, but I would be very surprised if anything gets done to fix/replace the glare issue on existing cars. That's a physical problem with the HUD/dash, which would take much more effort and cost than pushing out software updates to address some of the simpler HUD issues. Lucid is struggling mightily just to keep up with the "easy" issues, let alone take on take on thousands of expensive physical HUD/dash replacements (unless regulatory agencies forced them into a safety recall, of course). Heck, one could speculate that they're struggling mightily just to remaining in business 2 years from now.

I'm not getting my hopes up for any sort of fix on this one. Another "just have to live with it" compromise to get the other great things about this car. One part compromise for every two parts greatness.