[SnakePuncess]

:::: strong worrying noises:::::

OK, I'm befuddled and worried about my little spaceship. This morning she was fine. This afternoon, I went to get some groceries, and noticed that as my husband approached, the yellow key light came on, as though there were no key present. At the same time, I noticed that the info screen with the mileage info, etc., was BLANK. No temp showing, no mileage showing, no anything but the blank template for that screen. I pointed this out to DH, who started pressing buttons on the MFD. At that point, the display went dark. Uh, oh.... (Keep in mind that we have just begun reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and just read about the ship's computer being stuck while trying to figure out how to make tea. It seems that my Prius is doing the same.)

We proceeded to the grocery, about 12 miles away, and tried all manner of button pressing, cajoling, swearing, etc., to get the screen back on. We did find:

1) the stereo system still works, just nothing showing on the MFD
2) the nav system reports that the "external device not activated", just as my older classic prius did that had no nav system
3) the message "air conditioner error - please check air conditioner connection" came up
4) sometimes the screen will come on to show parts of the "info" menu
5) "Bluetooth connection successful" comes up, but the phone will not connect through the speaker system
6) at one point, the bootup "Hybrid Synergy drive" screen came up and froze for several minutes, after which the screen went dark again.

We tried rebooting the car several times, no go.

On the way home, same thing, until I pressed the voice command button the steering wheel. At that point, the little icon for the mic came up, and the voice announced that it was only available in map mode. So, I pressed the map key on the steering wheel, and the map screen came on. The info key then showed the correct screen, too, with current mileage, etc. However, we noticed that the usual annoying "beep" that indicates screen changes was missing.

I got home and pressed my luck too far. I rebooted. Or tried to. It did not recognize that I had a key. It took several tries to get it to start, and then it went back to a blank display and went dark again....

My DH is a computer tech, and he seems to think the computer is in need of a total wipe and reinstall... (uh, oh)...

Anyone else have similar experience? What was the outcome?? Do I need to call a priest to deliver last rites, or just wait until the computer realizes it can't make tea???

Worried in Richmond,

Bonnie

 

[mrv]

It's still safe to drive. The problem is intermittant. Usually the steering wheel controls will still work when you have the problem. Fix is usually a new MFD, covered under the 3/36k basic warranty.

Symptoms: no outside air temperature display, no energy flow arrows, a "stuck" consumption screen, phantom playing audio, "external system not connected" or "check system" errors for the navigation system and climate control system, and really long delays after pressing a soft button on the MFD.

What to tell your Prius tech: describe your problems as in your post, and have them look up US TSB EL002-05

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toy ... 002-05.zip
or
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Toyota/11053 ... index.html
US TSB EL002-05. January 10, 2005. MULTI-DISPLAY FUNCTIONS ARE INOPERATIVE. 2004 Highlander, Land Cruiser, and Prius. (Check connections to multi-display, if OK, replace multi-display.)

Make sure that your Prius tech orders the correct display unit for you (nav or non-nav), or you could be waiting longer than you should while they reorder... It's possible that you'll have up to a 2 week wait for a part, depends on the demand in your area for the replacement.

 

[SnakePuncess]

AHA!!!! THank you, Michelle!!!

Exactly the issues I'm having... whew... nothing to do with brewing tea... thank goodness!!!

--

 

[Howie]

Somebody mention tea. A little milk, no sugar please! :wink:

 

[jeff_kash]

You will need to get your MFD replaced. The same thing happened to me and I had it replaced. There was no problem with the work, and all is has been fine since.

 

[DanMan32]

Why would anyone want dried leaves boiled?

I love NPR's broadcast of that series.

 

[Astrowoman]

Why would anyone want dried leaves boiled?

Because they are awfully dry when they aren't boiled!

"I wonder if it's friendly!"

The movie opens next week, right? Speaking of screens....

 

[hill]

Defective Screen

First Post
Our 04 is nearing 35K miles & we now have the bug-a-boo intermittent screen issue. The dealer says ONE WEEK 'till the "part" comes in ... a circuit board. CIRCUIT BOARD? Anyone hear of dealers going cheap? We don't want no stinking cheezy fix, if in fact the whole dang screen needs replacing. Perhaps we ought to show them what EL002-05 states.
hill

 

[BIF]

I would show them.

Put your complaint into writing now, so that you can prove that you told them about it BEFORE the end of the warranty period.

You might even get the service manager to put (in writing) that if you do need a new screen, it will be covered, even if they so decide after your warranty has ended.


NOTE: I just realized that my two occurrences of "no button sounds" may have been an indication that I am having the same MFD problem. But my latest occurrence happened about 3 weeks ago. I'm unsure whether or not I should say anything to my dealer. I have 20,000 miles on the clock.

 

[An04Prius]

*

 

[mrv]

I'm feeling better all the time that I recently decided to buy the Platinum ext warranty 7yr/100kmi/0 deduc. Wonder what an out of pocket cost would be to replace the MD.?

My recollection is that it is about US$1000-$1300. The TSB is for 3 years/36,000 miles, and they're using refurbished MFDs for the TSB (so it's now cheaper). Someone (I think on this board) was over the 36,000miles, and had to do the replacement, and got a reduced price (since it's not something that should wear out on mileage).

 

[An04Prius]

*

 

[sub3marathonman]

I wondered what was going on when I didn't see the arrows and there was no outside temperature. Of course I knew that mrv would know. However, mrv then said that Toyota is using refurbished units to fix this problem.

How can they be allowed to do that? I don't want a refurbished unit from a car with maybe 100,000 miles when this car only has 12,000 miles. I thought they had to use factory new parts until a car was out of warranty.

 

[Roger V]

screen malfunction?

I had a similar problem on my '04 at 20k miles, but did not have nav option. A new screen was ordered and replaced within one week, but the new one was for a nav equipped car. The only difference I noticed, other than the buttons, is that I can no longer change the background color of the display. Just curious, but has anyone else noticed that the display is usually referred to as the "MFD"? Could it mean something besides "Multi-function"?

 

[liev]

Hi, I have just joined and already feel better with the knowledge that I am not alone with my malfunctioning screen. I have an 04 with 59,000 on it and went to the dealer 2 days ago to report the malfunction. They said a new one would cost $4200. YIKES. I immeadiately talked to a lawyer/toyota customer standing beside me at the service window and the guys said to give them a chance to see what Toyota was willing to do because I am out of warranty.

This sounds like a Toyota problem to me and maybe a recall is warranted? I will keep he group posted.
Liev

 

[DanMan32]

Toyota had been offering a reconditioned MFD for about $400.
Since this is a known problem that is not related to mileage, Toyota should have made a warranty exception where mileage would be disregarded. In other words, warranty this problem for 3 years regardless of the mileage.

You should get offered the $400 display, but I doubt you'll get anything better than that.

One of the reasons for extended warranty. I did it not in consideration of the drivetrain, but rather the electronics.

 

[David Beale]

This failure has been discussed here and elsewhere a lot. I understand it's a connection failure just after the main MFD connector -inside- the MFD. Refurbs are reported to cost $400. A new unit has been quoted around $2000 several times. The quote above sounds a little high. Dealer may be padding in case they have to charge the customer - they would then say, "oh, we decided to give you a break", and charge the real price, making the customer feel a little better. -I- think, after this many failures, Toyota had better bite the bullet and cover everyone on this! -Before- they are forced to!

Edit - and I see Dan beat me to it.

 

[DanMan32]

I have seen it listed as $4000 at online toyota parts suppliers, so the dealer may not be wrong about that. Seems pricey to me, but then all auto electronics in almost any car seems pricey to me.

They do more than fix the connection. The software inside it is updated so that one can toggle between energy and consumption screen using the Info button on the steering wheel.

 

[eegah]

When we saw this on our Prius today, I checked the internet and noticed on the "John's Stuff" Prius website that when he saw this it turned out to just be that the Climate button was stuck:

http://john1701a.com/prius/logs/prius-log183.htm

I went out and banged on the Climate button a few times and voila!, the problem cleared up. Don't know if the fix is permanent, though. He never mentions it again, so maybe it is.

 

[Hep]

I went out and banged on the Climate button a few times and voila!, the problem cleared up. Don't know if the fix is permanent, though. He never mentions it again, so maybe it is.

This is know as the "Hep technique" of automotive repair.