A few years ago the volume control knob on the stock JBL radio began to respond intermittently, e.g. twisting the knob might change the volume level 1 or 2 "clicks" per full rotation of the knob. I had no idea how to fix it, so I started using the steering wheel buttons which I had mostly ignored. But now the steering wheel buttons are starting to fail. The climate "recirculate" and defrost buttons no longer work. If the volume control buttons fail, that'll be an issue. Has anyone had any experience with these issues and/or have recommendations on how to fix?
I believe the two problems are independent of each other. For the radio check out this thread, Radio buttons failing | PriusChat and for the steering wheel buttons, probably the spiral cable is failing; Steering Wheel wiring assemblies | PriusChat
Thank you very much. Following those two links gave me exactly what I needed. The radio problem is very well known and can be solved for about $100 on eBay. The Spiral Cable a.k.a. Clock Spring cable can be solved for about $65 on eBay. Now to find the time to actually do it. But I've also been eyeing the new plug-in model ...
Volume Gone Wild (and then stops working) | PriusChat was another thread on this. I also have the problem w/the volume knob on my JBL stereo either going crazy or not working. A push on the left side of the faceplate "fixes" it. I'm a bit disappointed by whoever supplies radios and MFDs to Toyota. I had a stock radio on my 91 Camry totally die. It let out a bad smell before it quit. It was from Fujitsu Ten. OP, do you have an 06 AND '10 Prius?
I had the problem of the recirculate button on the steering wheel not working when the wheels were straight. If I turned the steering wheel 90 degrees the recirculate button would work. It was the spiral cable. Purchased a new part from eBay. Easy repair if you have a steering wheel puller and the correct size and thread pitch of bolts. You should be able to disconnect the negative battery cable by removing the battery access cover without pulling the entire cargo area floor and storage compartment. I was 1 spline tooth off putting the steering wheel back on but when I got an alignment and tires the next month the alignment fixed the 1 tooth off problem. Good luck on finding time, that will probably be the hard part.
Thanks, I'll see if pushing on the faceplate works. One thing I did try related to the idea that the knob internal contacts needed cleaning was that I had noticed that if I spun the knob for a long time, it improved for a while. So I got my cordless drill, removed the bit, and put a round knot of masking tape on the end. Then I held the tape end to the button where it "stuck" and then used the drill to spin the knob for a while. And, yes, we have two Prius' (Prii?). And I agree with your disappointment with the MFD supplier. With my 2010 I discovered that it would refuse to play certain mp3 files. A little digging and I discovered that it only refused to play mp3's which had cover art in the file which was over 256kb. Mind you the player does not display the cover art on the MFD. Regardless, I had to find a tool which enabled me to delete the art from the mp3 and then they played fine. In short, my MFD needs a firmware update.
