My 2008 Prius recently stopped showing fuel info on the display: the display was working but there was no data. Also, the climate control button wouldn't show the climate control screen. Also, the reversing camera didn't show when reversing. It seemed like the MFD wasn't connecting to the rest of the system. I didn't have a chance to investigate for a couple of days -- and then it magically started working again and has continued working OK for a week now! I'm slightly concerned that the symptoms might randomly re-appear again. Can anyone throw any light on this? The car has done about 110,00km. Thanks.
If it is what I think it might be it will no doubt occur again. It sounds like the beginning of CM (combination meter) failure. There is a thread about this failure and how to fix it pinned to the top of the Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting forum called Combination Meter Repair - DIY that you may find interesting. You could read the first couple of pages and then skip to the last 4 or 5 pages as there is a lot of irrelevant or waffle in the intervening pages. If you can remove the CM from your car but are not confident to do the repair, you could find a competent electronics repair shop to do the repair for you if you give them the relevant information from that thread. I hope that helps.
From what you described, it sounds like your multifunction display is starting to fail. Mine did the same thing before the failures became more frequent and then it started to fade to white and then it stopped working entirely. Unfortunately, new multifunction displays are ludicrously expensive. You would have to spend thousands of dollars on a new one. In the US, there are a couple shops that can replace the screen and failed components on the mainboard, thereby fixing it for around $300. However, I don’t know if either will ship to New Zealand. Another economical option is buying a used display with the same part number printed on the back.
