I have been having trouble with the combination meter for over 2 years now. Occasionally, the dash would go black and I would not be able to turn the car off. I would take it to my mechanic and they would get it back on, but a few weeks ago, I was going to jury duty (of all places) when I went to turn the car off it would not go off. Finally got it off, but thought I should turn it back on to see if it was going to do it again and it did along with the dash going black. I couldn't get it turned off for about 5 minutes. When I did get it off, it wouldn't lock up. I would lock it and it would immediately unlock. I went on and got in line and got into the court. Went up to the lady and told her my situation and she let me out of it. I went straight over to my mechanic and they got it to work by undoing the 12v battery and plugging it back in. It's done this a few times since. I have to go back to the battery and undo it and do it back. My mechanic said I needed a new combination meter and so I called Toyota and told them my problem. They said they couldn't help me that they had already done an extention in 2013 and if I didn't get it done then, I was out of luck!!!!! I had no letter and no idea it was a problem and it had been a problem for sometime, but got worse!!. Bottom line is I'm trying to find a combination meter and there is none to be had. If anyone out there knows anywhere to go, I would appreciate it. Luscious Garage is not online anymore. Any clues from all of you? Losing faith in Toyota. So many stories from this one car. i wanted to be a pioneer and it's turning into a fiasco. Thanks to all!
Why didn't you look up the problem two years ago? Mine went out on my 2005 last summer and got it replaced for free. Also I'm glad that it's replaced because the 04-05's get stuck at 299,999 miles. But mine shouldn't now. Currently at 260,000 miles
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Wish I had. The last 3 years have been loaded with my parents dying, my daughters having children and needing me and living far away. I have no excuse. It's good to hear you were able to. Good luck and may it go farther than anyone could dream it could. Thank you.
Toyota didn't tell most owners about this problem - they only did so in states that required them to. And most dealers will not replace the combination meter until a problem is actually experienced because this is not a safety recall. Some of us with older Prius models are experiencing failure of the dash display and inability to turn the car off, a problem which may come and go, caused by the combination meter, this happened to me last night while driving. Toyota is telling me that, since I bought mine in February 2006 and the extended warranty they issued for this was for 9 years only, that it is no longer covered and I am facing a $1300 repair. Toyota apparently came up with this extended warranty to avoid being forced into a safety recall, but the problem is still there for the rest of us who received no letter about this and who are having the problem after the nine year cut-off. I have discovered that you can, and should, file a complaint with the National Highway Safety Administration and also with the Federal Trade Commission about this. If enough reports are filed, there will be an investigation and possibly a recall issued for the combination meter, which is probably going to eventually fail for all of us. I filed with both agencies today. I will have to go ahead and pay for the repair in the mean time.
i'm not sure they will all fail. i wonder what percent have so far? doesn't seem like that many. anyway, not many manufacturers warranty's are good for more than 10 years on any part of a car.
If I get time I am going to get fluids changed in August at my dealer and ask him to check my Combo meter. This way if my batt or something fails, I got a recent service record. See if they volunteer on the Combo meter.
I have two Gen 2 Prius(es), a 2004 and a 2005. My 2005 started having problems with the panel coming up dark and unable to power down 6 months ago. My 2004 just started showing the same behavior a few weeks ago, almost immediately after replacing the 12V auxiliary battery. I have handled the 2005 situations by installing a cutoff switch on the 12V negative terminal to ground cable which I toggle when the situation occurs.Not the greatest of solutions but is handier than actually disconnecting the terminal. I do have a service appointment for the 2004 and will be interested to get an estimate maybe asking for a package deal on the two. Not expecting great news though as both cars have exceeded the enhanced warranty.
you can power down by holding down the power buttons for a few seconds I actually believe this should be a recall and not a warranty enhancement. If you have an attached garage and not know your car is still on (dash lights out, no engine noise), you would die from carbon monoxide entering your home.
In those cases when I could not power down, I tried powering down by holding the power button down for several seconds but the MFD never would shut down, staying illuminated. So I would end up disconnecting the negative terminal of the 12V battery to ensure that the car really was off. This also has the benefit of clearing the condition for several days or sometimes weeks.
To power down the vehicle you need to have the FOB inserted and hold the power button down until you here a click. This is the power shutting down but the screen will still be on. As soon as you pull the FOB out the power will cut to the screen. Hope this helps. I just ordered one from the link above. I'm tired of the dang thing going out. Gus//
yes when I stopped into the dealership, they said the whole thing has to be replaced (it's not a a repair) and with labor the tune of $1100 was given ....
yes, about every few times or so, I have to do this, 3 -5 seconds hold then u can pull the key out - if the phobe system were working of course I would think this could be avoided.
