Hi everyone!
I have an R56, non-S...Recently, I have noticed that while driving, the gas gauge 'dims' then goes back 'normal brightness'. It happens while driving during the day, with no lights on. I have never experienced this while driving at night. Although it has never completely 'gone dark', it is kind of freaky. The gas tank is always more than half-full when it happens. Has anyone else experienced this? Any information appreciated!

I thought mine has, but just thought my eyes were tricking me.

YAY someon ealse noticed this! Its kinda annoying. I have a post on this as well I think a few months back I posted it.

Its not only the gas guage that dims but also the radio display too! It also does it when you have your lights on.

I THINK there is a sensor on the tach right above the trip reset button. Its a little black dot. I've shined a flashnight on it and it affects the display. I notice it more when its sunny and driving in shaded areas. When it gets sunny it gets brighter when you go in the shade it gets dimmer.

Yep, it does dim during daylight and covering that black dot on the tach makes it change. I've never noticed it at night with the lights on though.

Gotta be honest, I haven't noticed this, though I'm sure I will now.

YAY im not totally insane!!!! (lol well, maybe) i noticed this yesterday too and i was like eh maybe im just seeing things. it can get rather annoying though because it causes you to shift attention to what its doing.

I was browsing around a link someone had posted to a website that had some electrical references on the R56, and one of the docs on the dash electronics made reference to an active brightness adjustment in addition to the passive reflective background on the LCDs. It didn't get into specifics though.

This is a common feature in cars now. My current car dims the displays when I turn the headlights and dash lights on to lower the contrast against the dash lights. I noticed my displays are a little brighter during the day so that they don't get washed out by the sun. Sounds like the Mini's displays do this automatically during low lighting conditions so that they don't become distracting in low light conditions. I would imagine if you turned on the dash lights even in sunlight that they would dim too.