Toyota Interior Comfort

Toyota Interior Comfort

ProtoType Testing



Components and subassemblies that go into a prototype vehicle undergo severe testing procedures. For instance, this heat chamber recreates the surface temperature on the top of an instrument panel, which can exceed 110° Celsius on a sunny day.



Precise coordinates are meticulously measured before and after each test. This interior component just spent 8 days alternating between 50° Celsius at 95% humidity, and -30°.



Seats are subjected to a complex 750,000-cycle durability test... modelled after the extreme range of punishment a seat might experience during its lifetime.



This power window goes up and down automatically thousands of times, to rate its endurance over a 10-year period. To increase the severity, a dirt solution is intermittently sprayed on the window.

Quietness



Toyota sets industry standards for interior quietness through constant research and development. Specialized microphones measure acoustic intensity the same way a human perceives sound, at speeds in excess of 250 KPH. A computer then generates a map of all sounds transmitted to the interior.



Toyota also spends extra effort during manufacturing, on details like the firewall, composed of an asphalt sheet sandwiched between two steel sheets



Special asphalt sheets coated with a layer of resin cover the floor panels, further dampening vibration and noise. Softened by the heat of the oven which dries the primer, they form smoothly to the contours of the body.

Assembly



A dash silencer, composed of a poly-vinyl-chloride outer surface backed by a thick layer of felt, is fitted to the inside of the firewall behind the dash, and helps reduce engine noise.



Also hidden behind the dash is a hefty instrument panel brace, which doubles as a structural unit, lending added horizontal rigidity for more secure handling and greater safety



Toyota instrument panels are a modular design. With fewer parts, everything fits together more precisely, for a superior fit-and-finish and less chance of squeaks or rattles. The entire instrument panel is built off-line as a complete sub-assembly, and then installed as a single unit.