How to Replace a Defective Touchscreen (Digitizer) on a 2010 (Gen 3) Toyota Prius

Awesome..Thanks for sharing this step..I'm saving this outline for the future if that should ever happen..

 

Worked perfectly for me. 2010 Prius. The only difference is I didn't have springs to remove from the display on the head unit frame. I see elsewhere that it may be possible to heat and squeeze the touchscreen glass at its connector leads to the ribbon cable. You may be able to repair your own display this way, or otherwise, replace w/ a new one for $80. Either way, super happy how easy this repair was.

Start to finish in 60 mins, with no familiarity other than repairing smart phones. Thanks for putting all the bits together!

 

Work perfect for me too! Thanks Duck Pants! Same results as traveler415. I had some difficulty reattaching the large ribbon cable at the end of the process but it finally went in to the slot and we are good to go!

 

Gonna try this out I am going to order my part today hopefully I have the same luck as everyone else bc I am tired of rolling around with no touch screen capabilities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for putting this together!

The link to the US based seller is sold out, but I sent a message to the seller and he pointed me towards his new listing:

2010-11 Toyota Prius JBL E7022 Navigation Touchscreen Digitizer Stopped Working? | eBay

In case the above link doesn't work, the eBay seller's name is AUTONAVIFIX. I ordered it and received it the next day. It works perfectly.

A couple of thoughts on the process:

Read the instructions posted by the OP (@Duck Pants) carefully! Don't try to yank the old ribbon cable connectors out without FIRST unlocking the connector harnesses. Likewise, when reinserting the ribbon cables, you'll need to re-lock the connector harnesses to keep the ribbon cables in place.

This is important to note because the youtube video posted above shows the guy just pulling the LCD ribbon cable out of the system board without unlocking the connector harness. Don't do that!!! You need to unlock the connector harness first, or you may damage your system board and/or cable.

I'm going to paste all 3 photos from Duck Pants' above link to try to make that process clear. Notice how in the first photo that the brown/tan plastic piece is held close against the white piece. The brown/tan plastic piece is the locking portion. It needs to be pulled out and away from the white piece, as shown in the second photo. Once is has been unlocked, the ribbon cable will pull out without any force at all. Of course, when re-inserting the cables, you need to push the lock back in place in order to hold the ribbon cable in place.

You will encounter 2 connector harnesses and ribbon cables while doing this fix: one is for the LCD (the thick one shown in the youtube video above) and one is for the touchscreen (the skinny one seen after disassembling the LCD assembly).







Thanks again for the great writeup, Duck Pants!

 

Here's a pdf, combining the content of post #1 and #6, everything but the video in post #1.

 

I've had the same problem with my 2010 Prius touch screen about 18 months ago, and searched for a solution, to no avail at the time - I posted a question on Priuschat at the time, but didn't hear much. About the only lead I had at the time was to find that the issue wasn't the whole display in the unit, but a digitizer overlay - the touch screen. But, there were no sources at the time for the part, or instructions.

Two weeks ago, I had the driver's side mirror hit overnight and was searching eBay and salvage sites for a replacement for my 2010 Prius. I found the exact mirror assembly I needed, and on a whim searched for Prius touch screen. Lo and behold, I found the merchant and then found this great set of instructions. Thank you to Duck Pants and the others. I completed the mirror and touch screen replacement in about 2 hours, and the speed was due to the incredible resources on-line.

A few comments about the instructions that may help another:

• The large ribbon cable that needs to be detached in Step 4 before the MFD can be removed is described in some detail here. But, I think it's important to note that the locking mechanism needs to be opened outwards and this can be tricky without a steady hand and some decent tools. It is hard to do, and I found it easiest to pull on the corners of the locking mechanism rather than try to pull it out by latching something to the center of the locking piece. It's pretty easy to lock the mechanism when the ribbon is reconnected by pushing on the two outer edges of the locking mechanism.
• When separating the MFD from the plastic cover, in Step 6, there are a few photos that really help. What's missing, though, is a photo that shows the opposite view to the second photo under 6.C. That would show the 4 hook tabs on the side opposite the side with two screws. There are no screws on that side, but hooks that in my case, needed to be freed by pulling the plastic housing away from the hooks. Easy to do, but necessary.

Thanks folks!

 

^ Copied AND bookmarked! Means for sure this will never befall me, but hey.

I've attached an updated pdf, with @Aires posting added.

 

My touchscreen went out a few weeks ago and I was able to buy a new touchscreen digitizer on eBay for about $80.

The directions on this thread were super clear and helped me to install the new one. Thank you to all who contributed!

A couple of things from my experience:
-The large ribbon cable was difficult to reattach at the end. When I first uninstalled the thing, it slid out on its own. When reinstalling, I didn’t initially realize that there was a thin silver bar that you flip up to unlock. Once I flipped that up and unlocked it, it was super easy to slide in and then relock. I didn’t do this at first and just set the large ribbon in and no images showed up on the touchscreen when I tried to reinstall.
-When installing the large ribbon back in to the unit in the car, there wasn’t much room to wiggle out the locking clip. I used a tiny screwdriver to drag it out and then push it back in once the ribbon was in.

If could do it, anyone can! It was so satisfying to press the touchscreen and have it do as expected!

 

Can you post some pictures on how to reconnect the large ribbon? I don't know what the locking clip looks like.

 

Reading the reviews on eBay, some mention a "shimmery" look to the replacement digitizer. I'm debating between this 80 dollar fix or buying a complete unit (entire unit including disc changer) from a junkyard for $300.00. I'm leaning towards the couple hundred extra to have a completely OEM look.

Anyone else notice this in the replacement?

 

If you are talking about the seller I linked to above: the touchscreen I purchased does NOT have a "shimmer". The seller included a short note in the box that had some installation tips. One of the tips specifically stated that the touchscreen has a piece of plastic protective sheet on BOTH sides of the touchscreen and to make sure to remove this before final installation or else there may be a shimmery appearance. I saw the review that stated that there was a shimmery appearance so this person obviously didn't pay attention and remove the protective plastic sheets and/or didn't read the included info sheet. Long story short, my new touchscreen looks and works identical to OEM.

 

Awesome, This is exactly why I posted my question. To see if there was some sort of user error in installation that might have been the cause of the shimmer effect.

Unless someone weighs in otherwise I will go with just replacing the digitizer from the eBay seller listed above.

Thanks
Paul

 

Arrrrrrgggggg

I was almost finished and broke the top of the hasp off that holds ribbon cable from mfd to the main unit off.

Now there is no way to keep the ribbon cable down.

 

It is a 2010 Prius Trim level 5.

I guess I'm going to have to find an aftermarket unit.

Anyone have suggestions on a stereo that will

Work with steering wheel controls

Has XM/Sirius

Has GPS

Basically want to find something with all my stock functionality.

 

There is no aftermarket unit that is an acceptable replacement IMO. If you do in fact need to replace the original system, I would replace with another OEM system.

But first: it may be possible to repair the broken ribbon cable connector. Can you post a photo of the damage?

 

I'm in a similar situation to Paul's, but probably even worse I'm afraid.

When taking out the MFD, I lifted the entire ribbon cable connector off of the board along with the ribbon cable itself. Now, after following the steps to replace the digitizer, I cannot reconnect the ribbon cable back to the head unit. There are two small pins that the connector fits on top of, but they don't secure the connector in place. Additionally, the tiny "wires" (I don't know what else to call them) connecting the connector to the board were broken. I've attached some pictures for reference.

So in my attempt to fix the touchscreen, I have lost the entire LCD and backup camera. No idea where to go from here, besides taking it to the dealer or picking up an aftermarket head unit. Any recommendations?

 

I got a unit from a junkyard. It has a 6 month warranty. When it arrived in the mail the MFD screen was partially out (about 1/4 of an inch separated instead of flush against the head unit).

I changed it out and everything powers up, but none of the buttons work and I can't get any function other than tapping on the GPS map to change location.

The junkyard (bought it off ebay) said in their listing that a dealer may be required to program the unit to the car.

Is this why nothing except tapping on the map to change location is working? and what about that check hybrid system light that wasn't there before. is this normal for having changed the GPS/Stereo out?

Lastly if it is just an issue of it needing programmed to the car by a dealer, is this something I can do with TechStream on my own?

I've uploaded a video to youtube showing what things look like and are doing.

I am 100 percent positive all connections were made back to the correct sockets on the back of the stereo, parking/shifter assembly, etc....

Any help would be appreciated. I commute over an hour a day and this dead silence driving is getting old.

Thanks a lot in advance for suggestions/help.

Paul

 

I had same issue as Paul and Zamm above; frustrating because you finish the repair and fiddle with the final ribbon cable and try to unlock the mechanism to get this last large ribbon cable to slide in place only to eventually break off the plug. After it broke I slide the cable in and it took a great deal of pressure/ force to get this ribbon cable to slide in place. There really was no mechanism to get this cable back into place with out some kind of lubricant or spray.
I RECOMMEND NOT TO ATTEMPT THIS REPAIR. I AM MECHANICALLY INCLINED AND EVERYTHING WENT WELL BUT WHEN THIS PLUG IS TOO TIGHT AND RIBBON CANNOT BE PLUGGED BACK IN THE UNIT IS NOW RUINED.