Glare has long been the bane of the computer user’s existence, and now that automakers are increasingly the providers of screens with some seats and wheels attached, it’s an issue that drivers have to reckon with, too. Jeep is the latest manufacturer to learn this lesson, and has started a recall of 2022 Compasses to address it.
A total of 90 examples of the compact crossover were built with incompatible vehicle components that make their screens too dim to see in the daylight. These Compasses were made between May 12 and August 8, 2022, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
That, unfortunately, may cause the center screen cluster on the vehicles, better known as the infotainment screen, to have insufficient backlighting. That, in turn, could lead the screen to be unreadable under the bright light of the midday sun.
Read: NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Jeep Compasses That Are Shutting Down Unexpectedly
Reasonably, U.S. federal regulations stipulate that if automakers are to provide their customers with a screen that provide important vehicle information and controls, the driver must be able to read it at all times.
As NHTSA puts it, a “center cluster that is not visible to the driver may result in the driver’s attention being distracted from the driving task while trying to locate a desired display, which can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning.”
Unfortunately, no amount of fiddling with the lighting settings (if the driver can even find them) will solve the problem. Jeep, therefore, has decided to initiate a voluntary recall campaign in the U.S.
It will start reaching out to customers on March 31, asking them to return their 2022 Compass to the dealership. Once there, the repairs will be surprisingly extensive, with a technician replacing the windshield and headlight switch, as well as adding a light sensor module and a wiring jumper harness to allow the infotainment screen’s backlighting to work correctly.
