combination meter repair - DIY

I can perhaps answer my own question now, having read this old thread and this new one.

It sounds like I should plan for replacing vents at minimum. Are those usually the only casualties or do I need to have more dash pieces on hand?

 

I actually have found the dash vents are robust. Wait until you do the work, then replace whatever breaks. That is not a big deal, you can replace broken plastic parts whenever you want, this does not impact the car's functioning.

 

I've had the dash out of my 04 and 06 MANY times over the years, and the only thing that has broken to this point is the backer panel for the upper glovebox on the 04.

But that is because of the bad design of that backing, a known problem. The springs on the hinges break the plastic apart. Years ago, I drilled a couple of small holes in the area, wired them down, and filled the area with epoxy, and it held until I was replacing the combination meter yesterday. The wire/epoxy was holding fine, but the plastic around it and around the hinge pins disintegrated.

No 04-05s in the local junkyard, but they had an 06 and 08, so I was prepared to swap in the 08 dash panels that I could (upper and lower gloveboxes, Start button panel), but I was able to pull the hinge pins on the upper gloveboxes and transfer the 06 backer panel to the 04 painted panel, and it's all back together again, with the improved backer panel that hopefully will not break for many years.

 

So my 04 is back on the road with the caps replaced, so far so good.

I bought an 08 combination meter as a backup. I haven't replaced the caps on it, but I did plug it into my 04 to verify it works. It has 125,577 miles on it.

If anyone has an 06-09 with the issue that doesn't want to try fixing it themselves, and is close to that mileage, I could sell it if you wanted it. I'm keeping it as a backup for now, but I use a sunshade and carpeted dash panel on my 06, so I might not need it.

I suppose I could also replace the caps on it now and test it again in my 06. That should only require pulling the driver's outer vent panel, knee panel, and Start button panel to access the plugs for the upper dash, as I took the entire CM, wiring harness, and passenger light panel from the 08.

NOTE - plugging the entire harness from an 06-09 into those plugs above the steering wheel on an 04-05 doesn't seem to work. When I was testing the 06 and 08 CMs at the junkyard, I tried that and got no display, and the passenger turn signal light stayed on. I had to plug the CMs directly into the 04 CM harness up where they bolt to the upper dash.

 

I am not familiar with this fob trick and based on my combo meter events of the past 2 weeks, I think I need to learn it until I have time to get the replacement in.

Is it

1. Brake on
2. Lock doors
3. Lights on
4. Release brake
5. Unlock doors

Do I have that right? Or do the lights get turned off in a particular part of the sequence?

 

No, the lights stay on. Unless the sequence fails, in which case you'll need to turn them off before trying again.

It works a decent amount of the time at first, but less and less over time.

 

Yeah, I just need to get through a few weeks, but hope I can coax it into working for a couple longish drives first. It's back working for me the past 2 days, but clearly I can't imagine that it's not going to fail again.

One more question, are the lock/unlock steps with the fob or the rocker on the door?

 

I always used the door switch.

 

OK, I've got the broken plastic part count now, and it's the two center vents. The driver side one was SUPER brittle! I'm looking at a set of all 4 on ebay (used) for $115 unless there's a better idea!

 

If you want, I can check with the yard I get my parts from, I'm guessing I could get them cheaper for you.

 

Correct! That's the way to remove SM caps. You know what your doing.
And Mouser sells a line of Panasonic low ESR caps. I always try to replace
SM caps with regular caps size permitting with slightly higher voltage rating.
Then when done clean the board with Q Tips and acetone. Looks brand new.[/QUOTE]

Unless you're boujee like me and have thermal tweezers, then you don't need to worry about that...

 

Sorry for my english
i also have this problem, i searched many information about this board and many way to fix it.
first, when i removed combination metter plate, i noticed bad soldering and renew all its
then i replaced 16v 100 uf cap( i have no capacitor tester, i testet it by Recharge / discharge with "arrow" tester , and compare that, wich has best result take it) put combination meter back, i thought that problem fixed, but i was wrong. sometimes in the morning meter fails.
after this i removed plate again, put it into refrigator about 15 min,tested on the table and it fail to start, after warm up plate it was OK.
someone offered me from other forum to solder 100k ohm resistor between 6-9 legs on TLE4278 , i did it testet again in refrigator, test on table and started OK.
I thought I had everything done, but dashboard fails again.

this problems of this combination metter comes from the same source. and fixes are many (as people say) but 100 % fix is one

i have read this thread, all posts but i can not say with certainty wich is best fix of this problem

please give me advice, what should i do
P.S. i have repaired coolant flow control valve, and who tells me really how fix combination metter problems, i would tell him how repair coolant flow control valve

 

So my local yard is less than half that. No idea what the shipping would cost, though. The size of the vents would put it in Large Package, but it shouldn't be too heavy.

 

Hey, I appreciate that! But if the set I have on order arrives OK, I am set. I was afraid to let it slip away because the one with the Park button seems to be most scarce and that's the one that really crumbled on me.

In other news, the Prius got rear-ended today. Figures! Not sure that I can develop an argument that it caused the vents to break

 

I'm about 99% sure my combo meter is going (gone). Just dropped $100 on a tow and $285 for my dealership to replace a battery and it's still happening. They told me to bring it back in but I'm not sure if I should just buy a service on ebay before losing some more money. Are there any current sellers that anyone can recommend to send to? Is there any chance that the dealership could be talked into honoring the warranty extension even though I'm a few years out of it?

 

Talk to Matt @Texas Hybrid Batteries. Also, discuss with him retrofitting a 2006-2009 CM and a 2006-229 light cluster, to ensure the ODO does not top out at 299,999 miles.

I highly doubt it, and you don't want to go that route anyway as the replacement CM will still top out at 299,999 miles.

 

I sent him a message via his site with the symptoms. It's a 2005 and only at 150k, so that 299,999 may never even come into question. Regardless, I've dropped almost $500 in the past few days for the problem to not even be fixed so I may have to take a shot with Toyota if they'd honor it for money's sake at the moment. I'm not having a good week lol.

 

Here's where I sent my niece's to.

Module Repair Pro INC

 

I was less then 9 weeks PAST the 9 year extended warrantee period and there was NO sympathy from Toyota so your best bet is to go with Texas Hybrids and install it yourself..
they don't care how much you spend on repairs and towing.. they want to sell you new parts at retail plus insane labor charges.

 

I pressed hard into Toyota corporate about this exact situation on my own Prius, and eventually they gave me $400 off. It was not easy though. (It was an $800ish repair). Worth it for me so I didn't have to fiddle with it in the cold.