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2004 Multi-information Display is possessed

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mikemcmo, Feb 21, 2010.

  1. mikemcmo

    mikemcmo Junior Member

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    2004 Prius
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    Two months ago I took over my mom's 2004 Prius. It had had a soft life in warm California, and we brought it back to cold Illinois. After a month, the Multi-information Display started behaving badly. The radio is cutting out intermittently, and you can usually turn it back on, but not always. Sometimes you can't access the climate screen, or you can get to it but it doesn't respond. Often there are messages displayed ("Audio off") that are nonsense or contradict reality. Sometimes is says something about the air conditioner not being hooked up. There are no discernible patterns to these malfunctions. Something goes wrong every time I drive. Any ideas? Thanks in advance...
     
    #1 mikemcmo, Feb 21, 2010
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The MFD is a known problem area in older 2G Prius. The root cause is a loose solder connection.

    Hobbit did the pioneering work here: Prius MFD

    If you don't wish to solder the existing MFD, you may be able to purchase a reman MFD from your Toyota dealer's parts dept. Call for a price quote. Should be ~$500 or so. Good luck.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Feb 22, 2010
  3. mikemcmo

    mikemcmo Junior Member

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    Thanks. I spent some time reading through the links you sent. Impressively thorough. Way over my head- it was like a visit to an alien planet for me. No hope of doing that myself, but at least I feel educated. Will have time to find a dealer in Chicago area tomorrow.
     
    #3 mikemcmo, Feb 22, 2010
  4. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    I'm told that Crystal Lake and I think Elmhurt Toyota are decent dealerships to get work done. A nearby dealership in your area failed to do an oil change properly for me. If they can't do that properly, I shudder at the possibilities when doing a big job.
     
    #4 a_gray_prius, Feb 22, 2010
  5. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    You're not too far away from Steve at Autobeyours, who can very
    likely fix it for you. Worth a little roadtrip, his shop is a
    great place to see Prius innards up close and personal.
    .
    _H*
     
    #5 hobbit, Feb 23, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  6. Billdig

    Billdig Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hobbit!! You are a god!! I had the same problem, just cropped up a month ago and got steadily worse. Followed your directions (and the dash disassmbly directions, too) and everything was straightforward. But, when I got to Pin 60 it did not appear to have a crack (at 14x mag)! I was bummed thinking that maybe that was not the problem, until I wiggled the solder joint with a pin and amazingly it was a broken connection. Soldered it and it works like a champ!! Thank you all SOOOO much! Would have hated to spend $1500 to have the dealer replace it.

    Now, about that clunk in the back when I slow down to a stop.......
     
    #6 Billdig, Feb 12, 2011
  7. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    If you are in or near the California Bay Area, I can repair the MFD and also Combination Meter boards.
     
    #7 pEEf, Feb 12, 2011
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