I didn't panic. But I wasn't too thrilled by what I saw. Nothing! The distance in the average section of the Consumption Screen was missing. Then it finally appeared. Why? I had no idea. But since the Prius was running just fine, I started my drive home. It really bothered me though. So I tried to switch the Multi-Display over to the Energy Monitor. Nothing. Then a second after I had removed my finger, the button turned green. Then another second later, it switched to that screen. No arrows. No charge-level. Just spinning wheels on the empty template. What the heck? I'm a programmer. So debugging a computer problem is no big deal. I tried a few logical things. Turning on the radio via the dashboard button worked fine, and so did adjusting the volume. Nothing appeared on the Multi-Display though. So I started testing the steering-wheel button. Nothing, not even a beep... until I got to the temperature button. One of the last I tried, naturally. The Multi-Display suddenly flashed a "check the status of the air conditioner" message. That's it! I suddenly remembered the "Climate" button near the Multi-Display was the last button I had pushed before shutting off the Prius this morning. The screen was acting really, really sluggish... as if it was getting overloaded with input. Yup! That was it. The moment I touched the button it became obvious that it was stuck in the pressed position. Sure enough. The moment I released, the Multi-Display snapped back to the fully operational state. Phew!
Actually sounds alot like the intermittant MFD failure that has generated the TSB EL... Have been living with the intermitancy for 2 months now while I was out of town living in a hotel room (another story). Had the Prius with me and all systems worked or had a work around for the full 2 months despite the lack of consistant function of the MFD. Due for replacement (finally) this week.
Glad to hear that it wasn't anything more serious. Hmmm.... frozen buttons, I guess it really does get cold up there in Minnesota.
Isn't that jumping to a conclusion rather quickly? The stuck button observations fit the situation quite well.
Admittedly, yes...but the plethora of similar reports with transient behavior like yours then the next day or next week when it recurred or worsened (like dead MFD) makes me think that's what's up. Maybe it really was the stuck button somehow making repeated contact, but that doesn't really make sense to the behavior you described to me. I hope you don't need that...but I also won't be the least bit suprised if you come back in a day or a week with a completely non-functional display.
John have you been driving around with sticky stuff on your hands, honey, ice cream, candy or the like? Any one spill soda on the buttons. Got kids?
I am curious about the MFD problem. How long is the MFD covered by warranty? 36K, 60K, or 100K? What model years is it a common problem? Is it a "wear" problem that they might then claim is not covered by warranty? How much would a replacement cost if it was beyond the warranty? I have a new 05 with 1000 miles on it and did not purchase the extended warranty (a wise move as they wanted $1650). But I am considering buying it here, but plan on waiting a year or so to pull the trigger. The MFD problem might fully convince me to get it.
The MFD is under the 36K warranty. Swapped out with a refurb would set u back about $400 (if out of warranty). This is per my dealer. I had the same symptoms and had it replaced last week. Cold weather would cause it to be intermittent, then as the heater warmed the car the functions would start working. Took 5 days to get the part, about 30 min to replace. All warranty, no hassles. Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!
Actually, I was able to run the heater from the steering wheel while in Seattle for 2 montths while mine was out . Just couldn't control which vents or tell what temp I had it set at. As it turns out, after dealing with it for 2 months, a misbehaving MFD is annoying but not incapacitating.
Unless the defective MFDs were really defective buttons getting stuck, with the buttons progressively getting worse. But then, the symptoms correlated to cold temps. John, what was the production month of your car? Does the info button on steering wheel toggle between energy and consumption screens?
I have similar problems since November last year. All the same but what's most annoying is on/off radio (JBL). I have to push FM button to turn it on every 2-3 minutes or drive in silence, which sometimes is just FINE with me Toyota diagnosed MFD malfunction, ordered new unit, five weeks and still counting. Stuck button? Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. Welcome to the "TSB EL002-05" Club, Padre!
What does MFD actually mean? In other words, what physical parts? Since there were many misdiagnoses with the Classic model, where the solution was to just blindly replace all related components, I don't believe any claims without detail. Grouping them all together isn't helping anyone. For example, what actually failed? In my case, the Multi-Display itself has worked flawlessly, as well as all the steering-wheels button to interface with it. So that would isolate the problem to either the other buttons or the interface with them. And of course, it cannot even be counted as a problem until it occurs a second time. Please provide details & links.
That TSB confirms what I already said... they do "blanket" fixes at first. And how many times must y'all read the words MULTI-DISPLAY before you finally stop calling it MFD? After all, that is a terrible abbreviation for "Multi-Informational Display", as it is referred to in the owner's manual. I'll keep an eye out now for reoccurences. Since I debug software professionally, the solution to "just replace it" is not one I choose to accept easily. I need to know why.
