Hi:
Like yourself, Scotty, I own and love my (2006) Toyota Matrix. I only have two minor issues bugging me for which you may have devised solutions. First is poor rearward visibility. I bought additional stick-on blind spot convex mirrors, which help some but could be better. (Your thoughts?) Second is the interior front dome light, which I have mistakenly left on a couple times in the past and totally drained my car battery before I realized it was on. I wish the light would turn itself off after 15 minutes or so. (Are there 'timed' bulbs which will automatically go out after awhile, for example?). Thanks for your time and attention. Dave
Switch the light to automatic. Install a reverse camera.
Thanks for your reply, MountainManJoe.
In this case, the front overhead map light I've had trouble with is only turns on or off by hand. Is there such thing as a timed relay or bulb I can install so that it turns itself off after, say, 15 minutes? What I've done as a temporary fix is to clip a battery-operated trouble light to the passenger visor. It's nice and bright, it can be removed for underhood or tire-changing, and if I ever forget to turn it off (which is unlikely), all I'll lose will be a few AA batteries.
Your idea of a reverse/backup camera is well-worth considering. Wiring it in does like a bit of a chore, especially since installing a dash display will also be necessary (might as well upgrade the radio). There are also what are sometimes called 'wink' mirrors that run across the whole width of the interior in place of sun visors. These look helpful for improving side vision, but I'd like to keep my sun visors in place and not punch holes in my headliner. So, for the time being, I'll keep exercising extra care to look around, to never depend on mirrors when changing lanes, to signal well in advance and to never make abrupt lane changes.
Best Regards,
Dave
I have a 2005 Matrix, here is what I have done.
Put in a good led light for the dome light, I have left that thing on numerous times, but my battery has never died.
I also needed a new battery, so I got the biggest one I could that would fit, no power issues even when it was well below zero temperatures.
I bought this backup camera. It also has a front camera and will record while driving, handy if you get in an accident. Running the cables are not too bad. I used the cigarette lighter plug for power, and mounted the rear camera up high on the rear door, on the inside. Not really that hard to run all the cables and make it look good.
The links to amazon don't seem to work, but here is the camera info,
Volway 10" 4K Mirror Dash Cam w/Voice Control
the front overhead map light I've had trouble with is only turns on or off by hand.
Ah ok you're referring to the manual map light, not the automatic dome lights.
But still ... Accessory power (which includes EVERY light in my car) shuts off automatically after about 15 minutes in my car. It would be really dumb if Toyota haven't thought of this basic feature that's been around for several decades. Maybe it's not working properly , or needs to be set up. I would read the owner's manual thoroughly
There are also what are sometimes called 'wink' mirrors that run across the whole width of the interior in place of sun visors.
Yeah I use a clip on convex mirror, like bus drivers have. I gives me much better visibility for my van.