Low-tech let-down

[Deleted User 1326]

In this forum, as with all other car forums, there are frequent threads about failures of various high-tech items that vary between nuisance and downright dangerous.

It’s perhaps understandable that new technology occasionally breaks down in our cars but when it comes to sun visors, well, they aren’t really new tech, let alone high tech. I first noticed some time ago that both sun visors in my Ultimate model have integrated extension pieces, presumably to block out sunlight between the rear view mirror and the actual visor.

Nice touch, I thought when I first discovered them but when I came to use them, at least the one on the driver’s side, I discovered they just don’t work. At first, I thought I must be doing something wrong but no matter which way I tried to manipulate the extension, it just wouldn’t do what I had imagined it would.

Someone at Hyundai HQ must have considered that theoretical driver aid and decided that it should be incorporated into some or all models within the range. I can’t believe, however, that someone actually tried out the new addition of this gizmo and signed it off as a smart piece of kit that would block out the sun from dazzling the driver through the little gap between mirror and visor.

I know I have encountered visor extensions before but it may well have been on a rental car as I can’t recall them on my previous cars. Whether they worked or not, I really can’t recall.

[EJH]

I think they are meant for side extension.
ie when swivelled to the side window, they extend to cover the shortfall to the door pillar.
Hope that helps.

[Al94]

I think they are meant for side extension.
ie when swivelled to the side window, they extend to cover the shortfall to the door pillar.
Hope that helps.

That's exactly what they are for.

[Deleted User 1326]

I think they are meant for side extension.
ie when swivelled to the side window, they extend to cover the shortfall to the door pillar.
Hope that helps.

That's exactly what they are for.

Thank you gentlemen for your views on the matter.

However, I find that odd as when I have had cause to swivel my sun visor to the driver’s side window, the visor does its job perfectly well with no need of extension pieces.

There are two places where cleverly shaped extensions to the visors would be useful; one is between the rear view mirror and the driver’s sun visor and the other is at the top, right corner of the windscreen. I find that I have to fiddle around with the position of the visor in certain sun positions to effectively block out dazzle in those areas.

Generally, sun coming through the driver’s side window doesn’t cause dazzle but can produce an annoying dappled effect through trees to that side of the road. Years ago, some cars came with a blue/green broad stripe across the top of the windscreen which went some way towards diffusing the glare so while we still had sun visors, the coloured section of screen helped a little. Some models provided the option of an external sun visor although I never owned one nor can I recall a customer’s car with that option in place.

[EJH]