[dhreiner]

The information/display screen on my 9 month old 04 Prius has been acting up for a week. The basic screen grid often appears without any current information, the buttons to the left of the screen become inoperable, making it impossible to bring up the climate screen and change heat/ac settings, etc, and the radio shuts off automatically. The problem is intermittent, and the screen sometimes works fine for a few minutes before acting up again.

The dealer I went to said it was the "computer", they've ordered a new one, and will have to dismantle the dashboard to install it. (BTW, I have little trust of dealers after several horror stories with my Subaru Forester and dealers who made the car worse before it got better.) Even though the Prius is under warranty, and I don't have to pay for the $2000 to $3000 part, I'm not comfortable with the situation. Any ideas on this? Might it be a software fix rather than a parts replacement? Any suggestion where else I might go to verify the situation? Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

[ALoLA]

I had my display (computer?) replaced for the same problem just recently. It was an apparently easy and relatively quick job as well (about 2 hours). I haven't had any problems with the display since then.

 

[hyperion]

This is one car where you just have to trust the dealer. I believe they rely completely on their computer readouts and service manuals about the replacement of parts. I only wish their service managers knew as much about the systems as "Grahmn" Mine does't understand how the hybrid system works and will admit it. Time will bring experience and his excuse for the "lack of" is, "the darn things just don't break" He did mention that any problem with the hybrid power is cured by a complete "swap" and the final fix is in "Japan"

 

[FutureGlyph]

Mine started malfunctioning intermitently this weekend as well. The steering wheel controls for the AC, radio etc still worked though the display didn't and even went dark. It did get a bit colder this weekend and the dealer suggested it may be temperature related. The problem has temporarily gone away. One of the messages on the display said to check the AC connection.

I'm at just under 6000 pampered miles...