MFD failing? What's happening?

At Evan's (efusco) suggestion, I am putting up my first post. Anyone experience similar problems? Is the MFD going bad? Evan's comments are included.

I was waiting in my car with the ACC mode on so only the radio was on, display showed white, empty battery, and the clock was lit. The display began to blink and then turned black and the radio stopped. I powered off and waited then powered back on. The display message said something about parking on an uneven surface - it came & went so fast I couldn't read it fast enough to understand what it was saying. I tried to listen to the radio again in the ACC mode and the screen blinked and the radio sound went off and on then the black screen was back again.

Since then when in ACC mode, either: A) the screen flickers and radio sound goes off and on and display comes on like it's booting up w/ the Prius logo then back to normal with the Energy Monitor screen, or B) the display attempts to boot up with the Prius logo flickering and the screen goes black.

Observations: 1) symptoms begin about 2 minutes after putting car in ACC mode after each power off, 2) the ACC is still on after the screen goes black - I'm guessing since the screen is black and when I open the door to exit, the car is beeping and won't stop until I close the door and push the power button and I think the clock is still on. 3) no problems starting the car after powering off, 4) there are 4 or more blue battery bars showing, 5) the display is not dim like some of the other members have talked about, 6) message about parking on uneven surface only happened 2x

Car factors: 2005 pkg #5, 36,600 miles, Platinum 7 yr/100K mile extended warranty from Troy before 36K miles, have no iPod or other add-ons. No problems when car is in IG ON mode. Haven't had a dead battery or run out of gas. Previously only used ACC mode for less than 15 minutes at a time, only 1-2x/week if that.

Here is Evan's response:
"That really does NOT sound typical of the MFD failures others have seen. And, if I'm reading your note correctly, you're saying the only time there's a problem is when you're in ACC mode? How about IG On mode? If you get similar behavior in IG ON my guess would be that your 12v battery is bad/dying and what you experienced was a draining of your 12v. Your car is a little young for that, but if you frequently listen to the radio in ACC mode for extended time you may have stressed it more than usual."

Thanks for any help anyone can give before I talk to the Toyota service people.

 

Thanks very much for the helpful responses. The First-post fears are gone!

Evan, I will check on the IG-ON mode...how many times did I push the Power button and was the LED amber? Initially I thought there was no problem, but is it in ACC or IG-ON mode?

And, I will take Bill's suggestion to have the battery checked today and post the findings. -Blu

 

It is looking more like the 12V battery that is the problem rather than the MFD failing.

When on IG-ON, several times now, I've seen the message on the display in orange letters: "Caution - The transmission lock mechanism is abnormal. Park on a level surface and set parking brake" (or close to this) then the screen goes blank. I found a CNET article about this message and the author wrote that the battery was running low.

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Sam's Club and my usual garage could not test the battery - I don't know why not. I did find a shop locally that has the Optima D51 YT ($189) in stock but they don't carry the installation kit. The Toyota battery is $198 at the dealer. Ground shipping is not an option here. Not many options.

Now I know what I need to do - check for loose connection, get the battery tested, and no more listening to the radio on ACC mode. Thanks so much - you guys are *gooood*! -Blu

 

Hi again, Blu here,
I got the battery tested -by an electrician - does that count?? It read 10V with the dome lights on. Now I need to go over to the 12V battery threads: can my battery be charged or do I need to buy a new one? Is this why my mileage has been slipping downwards? Moving on... -Blu

 

Hi All,
I wanted to post the end of the story for my MFD turned battery problem.

I got a new 12V Optima D51 YT battery, locally at a battery shop. They didn't have the installation kit and I didn't want to pay -$25 for the one from elearnaid.com ($15 + $10 s/h). Bill at Battery Bill's was intrigued with the Prius and fabricated his own adapter for me. I got a new battery ($189) and he gained experience in fabricating the adapter, removing the old battery and installing the new one. Thanks to the detailed installation instructions from PC members, everything went smoothly. Now other Prius owners around town have an option to replace with the dealer's battery ($200) or go with the Optima. Most everything costs more here in Hawaii, but that's the price we pay for living in paradise.

The new battery made a difference with the display booting up more quickly. Mileage is still not good - I must be driving recklessly. The only glitch was right after the new battery went in, my auto-window button wouldn't work for up or down. This worked itself out quickly as Battery Bill thought it would.

Thanks again to you all!
-Blu