jennie

I've definitely noticed it's warmer especially when we have hot days when the transmission tunnel is like a heater. Not having ventilated seats doesn't help either but oh well.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Man, I hopped in today to move the cars around and scorched my skin on the leather. And that's on a 75 degree mid-afternoon (not much heat mass accumulation) with the sunroof visor closed and the sun shade in the window all day; hadn't been driven. This sucker is a serious magnifying glass. I'm going to have to seriously consider adding new window tint.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

Gets really hot! Especially with a black car with no/old tint. I have to get new tint soon or im going to get burned in this Texas sun!

Aron9000

Don't buy cheap tint either. Ask your tint guy what he uses, my guy had several different products he uses depending on how much you want to spend. The more expensive stuff blocks more UV rays, thus keeeping your interior cooler.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

The stuff I took off was in awful shape and probably wasn't very good quality in the first place. I paid the local pro to remove the rear window's tint so I wouldn't damage the defroster lines. If I add new tint, I'll be having him do it. If I'm not mistaken, he only offers one level and backs it with a lifetime guarantee, so he has to be pretty confident in the quality.

jennie

If you want to get tint for blocking out heat but don't really want your windows dark, you can look at tints like Llumar's Air Blue 80 or 3M's Crystalline tint. Not cheap by any means but they are very good at blocking out heat. I was in Arizona visiting a friend and she has the Llumar tint on her GS460. It was +105* outside and you can tell how well the tint blocks heat and keeps the front windshield from act like a magnifying glass.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Thanks jennie, that's definitely worth looking into. I could see adding that on the front window and dark tint on the others. I have nothing against tint -- I actually like the look of it -- it's just that while removing mine, I went on record with friends as saying that anyone who tints their windows should be shot. That's not a fun job removing it when it gets that bad... It was also creating really bad optics due to how deteriorated the material was.

Candela

iTrader: (1)

I think the transmission tunnel heat would be coming from the automatic cars, I've never experienced that in my 5 speed. But yes it does get hot as hell in there.

Mine is grey on grey and it still gets pretty hot I try to crack the windows and the sunroof slightly. I was thinking about getting a dashmat, and taking off my black tints and putting those blue mercedes-style tints I've read they lower cabin temps alot, I could care less for the darkness.

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

I ALWAYS leave the sunroof cracked and it works very well. If it rains it wont splash inside, the drains are very good and I never get a wet interior.

As for temps I have tint all around and put up the accordion style shade in the windshield, it's usually warmer but never hot like it would've been. Plus, for 250k my interior is in great shape and I'd like to keep it that way lol

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I have lots of pine trees overhead and those needles get everywhere, so I prefer to not leave the moon roof cracked for any length of time. And this is Oregon, land of the liquid sun, so no matter how good the drains are, that seems like an unwise tempting of fate...

I'm getting in the habit of putting the sun shade in the window and closing the moon roof slider, but even so, it's blazing hot in mid-70s weather with the windows closed. I imagine that heat has contributed to how poor of shape my driver's seat is in, and it probably speaks to my earlier questions of why the auto shift ***** (and steering wheels) are always so worn out in these cars. The leather is baking in an oven for years!

OBEEWON

Tint helps a TON.

michaelb20

Has anyone here ever tinted their windshield? And if so have you noticed a difference in the temperature of the cabin? I've been noticing that my car gets much hotter when I park with the windshield facing the sun so have been thinking about getting 3M crystalline tint on the windshield to preserve the OEM legality, and reduce heat/uv rays.

amckoy96

iTrader: (1)

I believe the interior is much warmer due to the insulation.Even during winter when snow is on the ground,i would park in sunlight and can sit in my car with a hoody and feel comfortable.when driving,i hear no wind noise,washing my car water dont seep through the door jams.The SC's are well built and crafted cars IMO.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I hadn't considered that angle, but that makes sense. Modern sound deadening probably works a lot better for solar insulation than the 20 year old technology was capable of. I can't even hear my V8 roar to life if someone is talking in the car, so you know Toyota went to great lengths to quiet everything down.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Crazy thought: Do the air vents remain open (circulating) when the key is out of the ignition? If not, can they be modified for that purpose? I didn't find anything in a quick search... Maybe retrofit the system somehow with a tiny electric fan to keep a small amount of air circulating? That shouldn't be much of a drain on the battery, and it could have an on/off switch wired in to only use it when needed.

I'm guessing LED gauge needle burn-out and HVAC LCD bleed can also be attributed to the crazy cabin heat. It wouldn't surprise me if the majority of the common SC points of failure fall under that umbrella, the more I think about it.