My MFD stopped functioning out of the blue today. It worked fine when I parked my 2009 Prius at lunch and wasn't working when I turned the car on after lunch. I've done a bit of research here on the forums. It doesn't seem to be a fuse since I have no issues with the clock, AC, power mirrors, etc. The ONLY thing that isn't working is the MFD itself and the buttons on either side of it (i.e. NAV, RADIO, INFO, ETC.) Before buying a replacement, I read on here that I should try "power cycling" the MFD -- but I can't for the life of me figure out *how* I do that. Can someone point me in the right direction? Also if I do need to buy a replacement, where can I look up the part number? I have a 2009 Prius with Nav and Backup Camera so want to make sure all of those features are accessible in a new MFD> Thank you so much! The OTHER thing I realize is that it might be a dying 12V battery, right? With no access to the MFD to check, is my only hope to buy a voltage meter?
I use this website to look up part numbers. Plug in your VIN. Yes, you should have a multimeter. They practically give them away at Harbor Freight Tools. In fact, they often do--I have several of their freebies.
TRY Rebooting at power button 2-3 times. If that doesn't do it try rebooting the 12V battery, i.e.: disconnect Neg. lead at 12V battery. With Power OFF. This reboots most if not all the computers and will hopefully restore the MFD. DISCONNECT TIME: 10 seconds or so. You may have to try this twice. Don't be afraid of the small spark you get upon reconnecting, it's normal. Totally agree with Andrew. If you know nothing of multimeters, now is a good time to learn. Plenty of instruction on line. HF for 5.00 and they give them away too. You can also have the 12V checked for nothing at any battery shop. Battery plus.
great! Thanks to both of you. I'll at least try and disconnecting the negative lead at the battery a couple of times first and see if that helps. If not, I'm off to bed a multimeter. Is it easy to access the leads -- looking online it seems taking the battery out is a project.
it's not as easy as under the hood, but there are some write ups here if you can find them. it takes a few minutes to disconnect the junk on top of the battery.
Just disconnecting the negative lead is pretty easy, though. You need a 10mm wrench. Lift the battery cover and look where the black wire bolts to the body at the rear of the car. Remove that bolt and lift and secure the wire. You'll see some sparking, that's normal. If you think it's easier to remove the battery terminal clamp, that works too.
I got the battery all uncovered only to realize I didn't have the right size socket wrench! Oh well! I may swing by a battery shop to get the voltage tested tomorrow and go from there. One additional thing -- while I was driving today the screen came back to life BRIEFLY (like we're talking less than a minute). Does that give any hope that it may be a battery issue over an MFD issue?
Not likely, probably just an intermittent problem for now. It will probably become more frequent. Start looking for a replacement Pull yours out and conform the part #. I believe it is 86110-47220 86110-47220 | eBay
In the past, there have been owners that have disconnected the MFD AND TOUCHED UP ALL THE SOLDERED JOINTS. After checking the tightness of the MFD connection. AND : Fixed it. If you have never done a touch-up to soldered joints be careful, too much heat can be disastrous. The MFDs are probably available on line, these are usually guaranteed. One more warning, I also lose the MFD often, and then find that my dimmer rheostat has been changed " by me "