[sdorn]

I went to the mall today to buy a new pair of sunglasses. I got a nice pair of Ray Ban's with polarized lenses. I got back out to my car and was just about to pull out of the parking lot when I looked down (through my new sunglasses) and the display on the radio was blank! I turned the radio off and then back on again, but still no display.

Then I leaned over and all of a sudden the display showed back up again. Turns out the sunglasses were somehow filtering out the light from the display so that it appeared completely blank. If I turned my head one way, I could see the radio but the climate control display was blank. Then I turned my head back, and the radio display disappeared and the climate control display was back. It is really annoying. Is there anyway to adjust the color or brightness of the radio display to try and fix this problem? Has anyone else come across this before?

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by sdorn

I went to the mall today to buy a new pair of sunglasses. I got a nice pair of Ray Ban's with polarized lenses. I got back out to my car and was just about to pull out of the parking lot when I looked down (through my new sunglasses) and the display on the radio was blank! I turned the radio off and then back on again, but still no display.

Then I leaned over and all of a sudden the display showed back up again. Turns out the sunglasses were somehow filtering out the light from the display so that it appeared completely blank. If I turned my head one way, I could see the radio but the climate control display was blank. Then I turned my head back, and the radio display disappeared and the climate control display was back. It is really annoying. Is there anyway to adjust the color or brightness of the radio display to try and fix this problem? Has anyone else come across this before?

Yes I have a pair of Oakley's that do the same thing. It's because of the way that polarized lens handle light. See below...

How Do Polarized Lenses Work?
Light reflected from surfaces like a flat road or smooth water is generally horizontally polarized. This horizontally polarized light is blocked by the vertically oriented polarizers in the lenses.

The result: a reduction in annoying and sometimes dangerous glare.

There is some debate on the effects of polarized lenses on snow-covered surfaces. Some experts say they can reduce the intense glare that is caused by sunlight reflecting off snow. Others purport that the lenses are not satisfactory for sports such as downhill skiing because they may not provide the contrast the eye needs to distinguish ice patches or moguls.

In addition, polarized lenses may also react adversely with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) found on the dashboards of some cars or in other places such as the digital screens on automatic teller (bank) machines. The problem with LCDs is that when viewed through polarized lenses from a certain angle, they can be invisible.

[sdorn]

I wish the sunglass guy had mentioned that. I could have just bought sunglasses without polarized lenses. Now I have to tilt my head every time I want to see what is on the radio. So, is there anything you can do to fix it so you can see? I can still see the readout on the odometer, temperature, time, etc. I can even read the radio, but only if I tilt my head the right way.

[Carnage]

Tilting your head is the only option other than getting different lenses. Being able to see it through those polarized lenses is all about the angle at which you look.

[visor]

Do a search.
Someone has been able to stick a transparency film onto the display to shift the polarization angle by 90 degrees so that your polarized sunglasses can still work.

This is one of the things on the E90 that really bugs me. If BMW could get the central LCD display to work with polarized sunglasses, why couldn't they do the same for the radio display?

[RPD_UK]

Originally Posted by visor

This is one of the things on the E90 that really bugs me. If BMW could get the central LCD display to work with polarized sunglasses, why couldn't they do the same for the radio display?

I have just picked up my UK spec E90. Either they have fixed it or we have different spec displays here, because I can read the display perfectly with my polarized glasses on. If I turn my head on the side, then da-daaaa it dissapears!

Not much help to you I know, but maybe they are listening!!

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by visor

Do a search.
Someone has been able to stick a transparency film onto the display to shift the polarization angle by 90 degrees so that your polarized sunglasses can still work.

This is one of the things on the E90 that really bugs me. If BMW could get the central LCD display to work with polarized sunglasses, why couldn't they do the same for the radio display?

I found this in another topic where this was discussed. You can get film from here.

http://www.3dlens.com/enter.html

Title: Transmissive Polarizer 200 x 250mm
Price: $ 9.00
Weight: 20 gms
Item Number: #POAT-S (tip:when you search for the item number, do the search using names and descriptions)

Rotate it in front of your Radio Display until you can see through it
with your polarized glasses on.
Measure and cut the sheet to fit the display.

I just ordered some so this should take care of my issue.

[sdorn]

Thanks!

[Oz]

I had a non iDrive 325i today as a loaner today and I personally found the display lcd too low for my taste. It might be because I am too used to iDrive now but I don't really find it convenient..

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by matsarge

I found this in another topic where this was discussed. You can get film from here.

perfect!