Back lighting for the 2 rows of Climate Control Buttons during the day?

[Jeff M.]

Is there anyway of turning the back lighting on during the day to be able to read the 2 rows of Climate Control buttons? The buttons are easy to read once it is dark outside when the headlights turn on.

 

[Lee]

What year Equinox?

 

[Lazy Bones]

agree completely - wrote to Chevy customer support about this. Also, maybe the controls on the door panel. Once my 25 is out of warranty, I will wire this panel into the drl circuit in addition to the current headlamp circuit.

 

[RIT333]

Please post the procedure for others to follow. Thx

 

[Autoworker 74]

Is there anyway of turning the back lighting on during the day to be able to read the 2 rows of Climate Control buttons? The buttons are easy to read once it is dark outside when the headlights turn on.

I gave up and trying to see it is just asking to rear end the car in front of you. Hey Google works great with the Temp and fan speed so you don't need to look and the actual temperature knob can be seen. I haven't tried to change air flow from the floor to the windshield or the A/C vents. Does anybody know the correct phrases. I don't like it but you can put a climate screen up instead of music or maps. It gives you full access to climate functions.

 

[Jeff M.]

What year Equinox?

2025 RS

 

[Lee]

2025 RS

Thanks
I realize you posted in the 2025 + section, but it's best if you also show the year in the post.
It's even better if you show your vehicle and year in your signature.

 

[habsrule999]

hi. I too have this issue. I also find the controls hard to see during the day. I especially find the fan up and down speed the most troubling one. Here is what i did. I just put a couple of dots on the buttons. They do not cover the illuminated part just the button. So i can see the stickers easily during the day and they illuminate at night. Red on the fan down speed and green on the fan up speed..I have attached a picture.. Hope this helps

 

[Autoworker 74]

Good idea I think everybody has the same daytime complaint. I usually just say "hey Google fan speed up or down or temperature to 73. It works every time because the voice recognition is absolutely flawless. Today for the first time I wanted the cold A/C out of my face so I said hey Google air flow on the floor which it did. Then I wasn't sure how to get it back up. I was driving so I just guessed and said air flow to middle vents which sounded stupid even to me. It actually thought for a second and said "okay air flow to your body" I think you can operate that whole HVAC system without any buttons. I haven't tried changing the temperature on only the right side or the left side separately. My guess is that it will work. The tech is amazing for such an inexpensive vehicle.

 

[tem3]

I Velcro'ed a rectangular led light to the front of the phone well. The USB cable is only needed for charging. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5BSCW5W?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

 

[Autoworker 74]

Good idea I think everybody has the same daytime complaint. I usually just say "hey Google fan speed up or down or temperature to 73. It works every time because the voice recognition is absolutely flawless. Today for the first time I wanted the cold A/C out of my face so I said hey Google air flow on the floor which it did. Then I wasn't sure how to get it back up. I was driving so I just guessed and said air flow to middle vents which sounded stupid even to me. It actually thought for a second and said "okay air flow to your body" I think you can operate that whole HVAC system without any buttons. I haven't tried changing the temperature on only the right side or the left side separately. My guess is that it will work. The tech is amazing for such an inexpensive vehicle.

 

[Kls9036]

Agree, this is a very poor feature of my Equinox. Hard to believe this passed the design phase, as it is truly difficult to see the buttons. Appreciate the various suggestions, though it is ridiculous to have to put on stickers or add your own external lighting. If someone can post the instructions, I'm sure my husband can implement the wiring change.

 

[Tnyce1]

Hmm, I've never thought about this being an issue because i always just use the automatic climate control, so I rarely have to touch any of those buttons unless I need defog/defrost.

 

[ArnoldHF]

I gave up and trying to see it is just asking to rear end the car in front of you. Hey Google works great with the Temp and fan speed so you don't need to look and the actual temperature knob can be seen. I haven't tried to change air flow from the floor to the windshield or the A/C vents. Does anybody know the correct phrases. I don't like it but you can put a climate screen up instead of music or maps. It gives you full access to climate functions.

FYI Google does not control these options on all Equinox models.

 

[ArnoldHF]

Good idea I think everybody has the same daytime complaint. I usually just say "hey Google fan speed up or down or temperature to 73. It works every time because the voice recognition is absolutely flawless. Today for the first time I wanted the cold A/C out of my face so I said hey Google air flow on the floor which it did. Then I wasn't sure how to get it back up. I was driving so I just guessed and said air flow to middle vents which sounded stupid even to me. It actually thought for a second and said "okay air flow to your body" I think you can operate that whole HVAC system without any buttons. I haven't tried changing the temperature on only the right side or the left side separately. My guess is that it will work. The tech is amazing for such an inexpensive vehicle.

FYI Google does not control these options on all Equinox models.

 

[Autoworker 74]

Is there anyway of turning the back lighting on during the day to be able to read the 2 rows of Climate Control buttons? The buttons are easy to read once it is dark outside when the headlights turn on.

That is the ONLY thing that I don't like about this vehicle. You can get use to using Hey Google which can replace the buttons. You can switch to the HVAC screen which will put all the controls up on your main screen in place of your radio or map or maybe it will be a split screen. Most people may not be aware of the HVAC SCREEN and I wonder if it was put there because the engineers knew the buttons would be a problem Day or Night. Lastly someone else suggested small colored sticky dots on the air flow direction and fan speed.

 

[dequardo]

Of all the faults of this model I would never describe this one. Set it to Auto and never touch it. Even if needed the LEDs are certainly bright enough

 

[2025 Red Equinox]

Of all the faults of this model I would never describe this one. Set it to Auto and never touch it. Even if needed the LEDs are certainly bright enough

The control buttons also control features such as heated and ventilated seats, the rear defogger switch, and the air recirculation mode. It is not simply a matter of setting the HVAC system to automatic. Not everyone likes the automatic feature (I don’t) and some prefer to set the air outlet discharge settings.

The lack of visibility of this control panel in the daytime, with the dash shading the buttons, is a terrible design issue. I can’t believe it passed the first design phase. I’d bet the panel of buttons was designed by a snowflake who has no real-world experience in driving and vehicle critical control visibility.

I thought I would light-up the buttons by turning on the headlamps in the daytime. However, GM designed the vehicle to turn off the dash lights in the daytime when the headlamps are turned on manually. It is as if the designers intentionally made this a stupid design.

 

[dequardo]

I see my comment was deleted. Would appreciate a mod explanation of why the comment above is allowed.