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When the sun is high in the sky, there are considerable reflections in the windshield from the car dash. This is quite annoying especially when going from a sunny spot to a shady area on a tree road. See pictures below.
Shady dash....
Sunny dash...
The car has a Caramel interior so suspect the light color causes the reflections. May be just something to live with or only drive on cloudy days😎
Do black interiors have the same issue? Any thoughts on how to reduce the glare?
TIA
I had a Ford F150 white on white with the same reflection issues. Polarized glasses help a bit, but a better fix is to lay down a some black fabric over the light dash. It works wonders. Put it away when you park so the car looks pretty. I carry an extra hat to drop over the gearshift to stop annoying reflections from all the chrome.
I have owned three XKs, the middle one had a caramel dash as does yours. the reflections used to be a problem. As a result, I don't think I would get another vehicle with a light dash. The reflections off the dark dash are a really not a reason.
Yep, that's about the only way to get rid of the glare. I had a Thunderbird once with a light colored dash and the dealer threw in a FREE!!! dash pad. Yeah, it was color-coordinated, so still a light creme.
A can of black Fabric Spray fixed THAT problem.
Your description is endemic to light-colored dashes, hence very few cars come with them any more. The only rememdy is as suggested above.... a custom cover as i doubt you want to paint your dash a matte black.
Thanks to everyone for their replies. Come to think of it, I’ve never had a car with a light colored interior much less the dash. So never occurred to me it would be a problem.
Appreciate the links , Stuart. Yes, spray paining the dash black would be sub-optimum!
As there are color choices for the covers, I’ll try black and shades of brown towels/cloth on the dash to see what works best. Would be nice to sort of match the interior color with less reflections but am guessing black is the best.
When I bought my 07, I was looking for red with Carmel interior. That was the color combo on my Super V8 and if it had that problem, I never noticed it but clearly it's there in the XK. I couldn't find one so after 4 months, I searched for black with Carmel interior. No such luck. I finally went with black with black interior.
Polarized glasses is the answer IMO. Glare is just the price to look cool. Poor thing gets some glare in his Jaguar XK... I can hear the violins and line of sympathy (all in jest).
You think the XK has some glare, wait to you drive an Aston. It's absurd how much glare comes into the car. Polarized glasses should come with the car.
In answer to the OP's original question, yes my black XK interior produces the same problem, albeit not as severe as a light dash would.
When it's a problem (which isn't often in the UK) I just lay a small piece of dark travel rug over it, which works fine for me.
When I bought my 07, I was looking for red with Carmel interior. That was the color combo on my Super V8 and if it had that problem, I never noticed it but clearly it's there in the XK. I couldn't find one so after 4 months, I searched for black with Carmel interior. No such luck. I finally went with black with black interior.
Originally Posted by mosesbotbol
Polarized glasses is the answer IMO. Glare is just the price to look cool. Poor thing gets some glare in his Jaguar XK... I can hear the violins and line of sympathy (all in jest).
You think the XK has some glare, wait to you drive an Aston. It's absurd how much glare comes into the car. Polarized glasses should come with the car.
I’ve never been in a Super v8 or Aston but , from pictures I’ve seen, maybe the steeply raked windshield in the XK and Aston contributes to the glare. Suppose a heads up display would work very well though!
Yes. Polarized glasses would help but add to my already complicated (and expensive) eye glass prescription. A small price to pay for having a wonderful car. Will experiment with some cloth for now.
In answer to the OP's original question, yes my black XK interior produces the same problem, albeit not as severe as a light dash would.
When it's a problem (which isn't often in the UK) I just lay a small piece of dark travel rug over it, which works fine for me.
Went for a sunny afternoon drive through the local tree lined roads with one of the dogs today. Threw a black terry hand towel over the driver’s dash. Worked like a champ. No reflections to speak of, stayed on the dash through corners, and already ready paid for. We have a winner👍
Reflections in the windshield
