USB Box - Error Message?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Justin Valle, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. Justin Valle

    Justin Valle New Member

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    This red thing looks like an error message to me, anyone familiar with it?

    [​IMG]
     
  2. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Red probably indicates you have nothing plugged into the USB port. Did you test with a flash drive or iPhone?
     
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  3. Justin Valle

    Justin Valle New Member

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    I took it into the dealer and they said it must have been an old error message, so they simply cleared it away. I did no testing, but I do constantly have an iphone 5 charger plugged in that occasionally gets used.
     
  4. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    What's the chicken dance to get to that screen?? I know, I could search for it. Maybe similar to the Gen II?
     
  5. Justin Valle

    Justin Valle New Member

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    Hold INFO near audio/map controls and flick the HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF 3 times

    Now you're in super secret mode and can poke around freely on the touchscreen for weird codes and such
     
    #5 Justin Valle, Mar 13, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2015
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  6. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    Yup. Works just like the Gen II. The only step to add is one press of the power button with foot off the brake to get into ACC mode. Then hold INFO and lights on/off three times. You only have to rotate to the parking lights and then off.

    Quite a bit more information available compared to my Gen II. It's funny that the information on the GPS screen isn't available somewhere in the navigation display. Maybe it is? I would like to know the satellite fix count for accuracy considerations, and the UTC time and actual latitude/longitude would be nice to know also. Don't remember if elevation was there, and if it was it would only be a rough estimate. I found the signal check screen and see that my most-likely 4 year old 12 volt auxiliary battery is only reading 11.5 volts. That was after maybe sitting for an hour or so. I'll check it again tomorrow and also check it with my DVOM. I wonder if a failing 12V affects mpg as much as it did in the Gen II. I'm still getting 50+ on my daily commute. I better start saving up my lunch money for a new battery.

    EDIT: So, 10 minutes later, I have checked the jump points under the hood with my DVOM. It's reading 12.69 volts, which I would say is pretty good. Wonder why the signal check reads so low. In the Gen II the first reading was barely under load with just the MFD operating. The second press of the power button would put load on the battery and give you a good read on capacity. If it dropped much below 12V it was probably time for a new one. Curious.

    BTW, my USB BOX was reading OK.
     
    #6 AzWxGuy, Mar 14, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2015
  7. Justin Valle

    Justin Valle New Member

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    The same error popped up, but a little different this time; instead of EXCH, it says CHCK. I took it in to the dealership, they blamed my off brand phone (LG VOLT) for not being on the list of "approved compatible phones". I demanded proof, so they sat me down in my passenger seat, tested an iphone, my LG Volt and my old Moto 4G, sure enough the iphone did not draw an error and both androids DID draw the error via the USB connection. Further, we did the same test in another Prius with the same results, I'm convinced this is not an issue.