Foggy Area in Speedometer Display

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by AllymonPrius, Dec 2, 2010.

  1. AllymonPrius

    AllymonPrius New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2010
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    N/A
    Sorry if I'm asking a question that has already come up, but after a quick search I wasn't able to find an answer. But it seems like a problem that must be common...

    In the center of the speedometer display, an area has become difficult to read because of a foggy streak. It's about an inch high and two inches wide. It's not on the reflective mirror, and it won't wipe off of any easily reachable surface. I read elsewhere that people have experienced water droplets on the inside of the plastic cover that is over the LED display, and maybe this is the same problem.

    The only solutions I've read are a) to either take it to the dealer, which I'm afraid will cost me my first born, or b) go it alone and take apart the entire dash, which looks really scary.

    I was thinking of heating the area with a blow dryer, but I read where someone tried that. Even if it worked for a moment, after the gas inside the space cools, the moisture could very well re-condense on the plastic again.

    Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
     
    #1 AllymonPrius, Dec 2, 2010
  2. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    If you have less than 36k miles on your car, the dealer should fix this under warranty. If not, then I think you should be able to disassemble the instrument panel and clean the lenses.

    I had a similar issue with my 2010 instrument panel which was moisture that entered while using the defroster during a heavy period of rain. The dealer was able to remove the top dash panel, disassemble the instrument panel and clean the lenses. It looks great now. It was done under warranty.

    Hope this helps.
     
    #2 jdcollins5, Dec 2, 2010
  3. riles

    riles Junior Member

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    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I'm having the same problem with my 2010 Prius. The entire upper area of the display is fogged. It started out as a couple spots, but has now spread. After you had yours fixed, have you had any rattles or squeaks in the dash? My wife, who drives the car most, is reluctant to have the dealer fix it for fear of squeak problems afterwards.
     
    #3 riles, Oct 2, 2011
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