Speedometer display has died....

Uhh, assuming there's nothing blocking the speedo, I'd take it to the dealer. No point in wasting money if you're under warranty.

 

Stupid question but are you sure you didnt knock the backlight knob to low? It turns off the whole display too.

We had a high of -20C (~ -3F) and it was about -25C (~ -10F) on the drive home earlier tonight. My display did ok, so the cold alone isn't the problem. Perhaps the cold + bad solder joint + driving vibration could snap a connection?

 

Looks like at some point when Gen III's go out of warranty, I'll be repairing these too!

 

Unk takes out his extended warranty and gives it a hug.

 

My money's on an i-d-10-t error, not a hardware problem.

 

A surprising amount of people have admitted this! Many found a receipt or other small paper sitting up in the convenient "tray" up at the far end of the dash, which was causing the display to go out in certain places.

Please triple-check this area before crying "broken"! The easiest way is to look from outside the car straight down. If there is *anything* on the dash, remove it, no matter how benign you might think it is!

 

Not necessarily. This happened to me before Columbus Day, with moderate temps (50 deg+) on a 3hr ride to VT. I drove back to the dealership and the service rep went to my car to check it out, probably thinking the old blonde broad had missed the obvious. Wrong - the board was bad and they replaced it under warranty. Other folks have reported this same problem with half of the display going out.

 

My Prius did the same thing but cold was not a factor. Now at dealer having display replaced.

 

Yes, apparently Toyota/Yazaki (the makers of the display), haven't learned much from their experience on the Gen II. I suspect this will be an ongoing problem, and I am offering repairs/component upgrades for Gen III owners that find themselves without a warranty option.

On the Gen II, I've identified several design weaknesses that can be upgraded to prevent the problem from recurring. Sounds like this will be needed on the Gen III as well.

 

have a gen 2 2004, with no speed display, no snowflake and no instant mileage calculation...happened all at once and it was -3 degrees F...so if pEEF has a solution/upgrade i would be interested...

 

I can repair this for you, and fix the design deficiency. See [this] post for info.

 

My right side went out 2 weeks after i bought my new 2011. Toyota will replace it under the warranty. I get my new display tomorrow.

 

Mine just went as well. Gen 3, III. Seems like I am in good company. However, what I have not seen here is the discussion about tearing the dash apart. IMO, dashes never go together as rattle free as from the factory.

The last event....check engine light....new charcaol filter needed at gas fill area....they took a week to do it and when I got it back large body parts were in the trunk. When I inquired..."ops, our bad...bring it back and we'll finish the job"....what else did they not put back?

Never had these issues with my Honda!

Sigh.

 

You would not believe what's involved in removing the dash plate to get to the cluster. I have the manual.

 

I've had almost all of my interior panels off quite a few times, and I have no new rattles, and everything looks as it did. It's really about the skill of the person doing the work. Sounds like you had a typical dealer experience. I have yet to be impressed by any dealer tech I've ever met!

Luckily Toyota is excellent at designing the car so it can be assembled easily and without problems, so as long as they actually put all the parts back in, it's likely they will be in correctly.

 

I can have the cluster out in a Gen II in under 10 minutes, and I'm not that fast. I've watched Carolyn at Luscious Garage have it fully apart in under 5 minutes! According to TIS, it's not much different on the Gen III. [Here] are the instructions for a Gen II if you want to see what's entailed.

 

Thanks for posting that. Gen 3 is a bit different. For one, the cluster is way back near the defroster vents. Some of the "garnish" panels are different too. If you can get the top plate off in 10 minutes, you are good!

 

I've taken the dash apart in my RX350 and also a GX470 (to install the Vaistech SoundlinQ iPod integration system). Not that difficult but I had to be careful not to break the clips because some of the molded wood panels can cost $1,000 each.

 

The clusters (combination meter) in the Gen II is also in the very front by the defroster vents. There is little difference between the generations. Now if you mean the MFD, that is indeed different.