Tacoma & 4 Runner sharing same interior

4Runner appears to have better headlights than the Tacoma

 

I haven't driven a 4th gen at night, but being able to turn it down is always helpful. I remember driving a Jetta with white gauges at night years ago and those lights did not get nearly dim enough.

That's a solid article, but it's missing a little bit of context. BMW may have found research on that particular wavelength, but aircraft instruments were using orange phosphor gauges for a long time before BMW picked up on it. Aircraft Instrument Orange got it's name from cockpits with those phosphor gauges, and it's largely the color that BMW used for a long time. My 135 is a wonderful place to have a nighttime drive, as are most BMWs made before the modern digital dash era.

I also wouldn't read too far into Toyota's response with the green, though the statement about it being the easiest nighttime color for contrast is largely true. Green gauge backlighting was a popular choice for truck makers in 90s. My '99 Mountaineer also had green gauges and it was also fine to use at night, though I personally prefer orange.

That's pretty rare. Most headlamps (including mine) only do white and red.

I've driven and owned a lot of cars over the last 20 years and my favorite ones to drive at night are old Nissans and old BMWs, with the edge toward BMWs. Aircraft Instrument Orange is seriously unparalleled for visibility and preserving your night vision.

But yeah that's a good point on turning the backlight all the way down on the Tacoma, I do the same. But by far the worst nighttime experience for me was a VW Jetta with white dials that you couldn't turn down nearly enough and I can't get in a car with white backlights without thinking about it. Not great.

 

You're making me miss my E30 325is! I seem to recall it had red or orange lighting, but that was several lifetimes ago.

I've thought about trying to backdate my 2.5G to the orange 2G lighting, but I think it's fairly involved and not just parts swapping..

 

In our prolonged testing of competitors and alternatives all the latest Toyotas were simplest and best for HVAC and tactile controls. A Ranger still required screen tapping and sliding for some climate control adjustments. Others were all screen based.

 

Not sure if they still make it: Black Diamond Storm 400

https://sportnoutdoor.com/product/black-diamond-equipment-storm-400-headlamp-black/

SKU: BD6206580002ALL1

 

It was. BMWs from the 70s until just a few years ago were backlit with instrument orange.

Just a guess, but I'd assume you would need to take apart every switch and the cluster and de-pin/solder the LEDs.