Caprirooster

Hi guys and gals,

I need your help... I managed to scratch my NAV screen while I was cleaning it. Does anyone know if it is easily replacable and the cost.

At this moment, I am not completely thrilled about it but I need to get it fixed as it is an eye-sore since I have to look at the NAV screen daily.


Thanks!
Cap

kensteele

Try the dealership, I do think they are replaceable, I sure hope so.

daverman

I don't think it'll be a cheap replacement. The touch screen surface is actually part of the LCD display assembly. That's a pretty costly component (probably about $250) to replace. What's worse is that it's unlikely that any local service center has the capability to replace just the LCD assembly. More likely than not you'll have to replace the whole head unit.

CarFreak

That really sucks. I've seen something like this posted a month ago and the guy said that the dealer isn't able to fix just the screen. I believe that you would have to replace the unit which is a lot of money. I would call up junkyards and see if they have any NAVI units.

Caprirooster

My god... that's an expensive accident to make...

I guess I'll have to look for something that will adhere to the top of the NAVI screen and live with it.

Thanks for your suggestions.. will check with the dealer and get a price for replacement.

Cap

01SILVERCL-S

Here is an idea..

Does any rental car company rent Acuras with the Nav ????

PAW

I know there are screen protector products for Palm Pilots and the like. It's a thin plastic film that adheres to the screen. You simply work out the air bubbles with credit card. It has a slight texture which does decrease the sharpness of the display. Are there any screen protectors make for the Navi? I wonder if the Palm Pilot stuff is available in sheets?

PAW

I know there are screen protector products for Palm Pilots and the like. It's a thin plastic film that adheres to the screen. You simply work out the air bubbles with credit card. It has a slight texture which does decrease the sharpness of the display. Are there any screen protectors make for the Navi? I wonder if the Palm Pilot stuff is available in sheets?

FTM-1

I was one of the people that sratched up my Navi screen.
I asked the service advisor at the dealership how much it would cost & he told me they replace the unit not the screen. I can't see the sratch on mine if the unit is on.

blulegend

If I am not mistaken, the touch screen works not like a Palm Pilot screen that is pressure sensitive, but more like a touch pad for a laptop that is heat sensitive. Try touching, your screen with your finger nail and see if it works. I can't remember if I'm right or not (I know, I know...) but if I am, putting a protective covering over the screen may make it difficult for the unit to detect whether, and where, it is being touched.

kensteele

Not exactly heat-sensitive, but infra-red.

From page 22-300 of the 3.2CL Service (Helms) Manual:

"The touch panel is an infrared system, so there is no need to press hard. If a touch switch does not function immediately, shift your finger slightly on the switch, and touch it again."

From page 22-313 of the 3.2CL Service (Helms) Manual:

"The display unit uses liquid crystal display (LCD). The LCD is a six-inch-wide, Thin Film Transistor (TFT), stripe type with 280,800 picture elements, The color film and flourescent light are laid out on the bank of the liquid crystal film. The touch sensor on the front of the LCD is an infrared type with ten vertical and seven horizontal infrared rays to produce 70 sensing points. The display unit transmits the signal from each operation key and the touch switches to the navigation unit."

daverman

The touchscreen appears to be a resistive-type touch surface, a la the old Sharp Wizard PDA's. There are two layers of conductive plastic over the LCD separated by lots of tiny spacers. When you press on the surface with your finger, you make the two layers contact each other, thus registering a touch.

In fact, take a look at the Navi screen when the unit is completely off. You'll see a gridlike pattern of tiny dots--these are the spacers between the two plastic surfaces.

kensteele mentioned that it was an IR touchscreen. It's possible that the touchscreen uses an array of IR LED's across and down the edges of the screen with a matching set of IR receivers on the opposite edges. A touch will then interrupt a pair of X-Y IR beams, giving the touch coordinate. This seems to be a very expensive alternative to the resistive screen.

The Palm screen is also a resistive-type touch screen, but separated by a very thin layer of nonconductive oil instead of spacers. This gives the surface a very high resolution.

Those touchpads on laptops (like the one I have) are capacitive-type touch surfaces. These surfaces hold a teeny-tiny charge across its entire surface. A touch from your finger will drain the charge from a point on the surface, thus registering a touch. An added bonus to this scheme is that the harder you press on the surface, the more finger area gets exposed to the touch surface, and more charge gets drained around a central point. Smart device drivers can use this information to simulate pressure sensitivity.

No consumer touch surfaces are currently truly pressure sensitive, and none are heat-sensitive.

Sorry for rambling!

blulegend

Good explanation Daverman. Perhaps, that is why my PalmPilot screen needs to be recalibrated so dang often (the oil can move). Maybe the use of IR has something to do with not having to calibrate the unit periodically.

Caprirooster

Mine is the same way, can't see it when it is on but clearly when it is off when light is hitting on the screen.

How much did the Service Advisor quote on on the replacement?

I am planning on getting this product which is like the ones that they put your next oil change on your windsheild at www.easypeel.com. I am not sure if it will cover the scratch but it is an eyesore during the day when it unit is not on.

Thanks for all the info....

Cap

asif2002

did you use it?

Laurelcrest

Sorry to hear about what happened. What were you cleaning your screen with?

Caprirooster

Yes, I did and it works. All I did was cut the film to fit the NAVI screen and I could still use it with no problem.

As for how I scratched it it was me vaccuming the dash and the vaccum head dropping onto the screen causing it to scratch.

Cap

aralam

Strong Engineering (http://www.strongengineering.com) has bunch of Navi screen protectors. I just got mine for a 04 TL.

Atif

vtec 6300

This thread is sooo old!!!

Strannik

The thread is old, but it is nice to know about screen protector. Thanks Atif!