Dreaded MFD Failure Out of Warranty

Since it's a known issue with the MFD (and not only in the Prius), I'd first argue that they should give you the old 'secret warrantee'.

If they don't, then ask them to quote you a refurbished MFD which should be about $400 instead of the list price of around $2K.

Some people have had luck getting Toyota to comp the refurbished MFD, and paying the labor to install it, which seems to be about $200.

Worst case, it should cost you around $600.

But, see if you can enlist your Dealer to go to bat to get you the MFD exchange free. They'll still get paid either way

Let us know what they say.

 

I'm not attacking you, but I would like to know where to get a refurbished MFD. I see in other forums that it's only $400, but nobody mentions a place. <_< Would the dealer have them?

As for installing I've heard that it can be done at home very easily.

 

they do have an out-of-warranty exchange program for such situations. you do not have to buy new. lemme ask DH when he gets home about it, he knows more than i do.

installation is not hard if you can pull out the dash panels.

 

This is the reason I got Troy's extended warranty!

 

This makes me think about getting one... I am going to wait , but will make my decision before 36k miles (gee, I guess I would HAVE TO)

 

Stilview, could you buy the extended warranty now ?

 

Email Troy and see what he says. Maybe you can buy a used car waranty for it???

 

workin' on it... sorry i've been missing... he has a lot going on right now, major engine rebuild (his own) and other things in the shop lately that's taking lots of his free time.

 

I'm getting worried about getting my Prius with the plethora of threads describing astronomic costs for failed items. Retail $4100 for a MFD? $4000 for a PSD, and others. Has anyone been tracking the actual incidence of part failures per Prius units? Sure, gas and $$$ has been saved over 70-80K miles, but one part failure at these prices would have run your V8 during the time period involved. Maybe this information and statistics should have its own sticky thread.

 

I've been on this board for over two years and the PSD incident was the second that I can remember. Do not know how many mfd's have been a problem but only remember a hand full in that time. They all relate to 2k4's and Toyota has updated the mfd in response. Could more fail well yes but who knows. Any modern vehicle with a mfd style dash will cost a lot to replace out of warranty, be it a BMW GM Nissan any of them, this is just one of the things that you have to weigh when you buy a vehicle with a glass dash. Toyota makes refurbished mfd's I'd respond with a part number and a price if I had it. But I don't. All the TSB EL002-05 say's is mfd's have to be ordered thru the exchange program.

 

out of warranty exchange should be available through any dealership, walk in and ask for an out-of-warranty refurbished MFD because yours is defective. that should be the end of it right there. cost is 450ish according to his memory. if they're trying to sell you the new part... that's a shady business.

a tip for using your local service dept, you're probably best talking to the service manager about this and letting him know that you're aware of the program and want to use that. they're not ordered through Toyota's parts system, they're ordered directly from the manufacturer (who also does the refurbishing.) the parts manager will be the one to do the ordering.

if all else fails, the offer is open... if you can make it down this way he'll be able to take care of it. one trip down here should get everything taken care of. PM me if you want to go this route if things go sour up there.

FWIW, we're both really sorry this happened

good luck!

 

I agree that the overall maintenance cost for my 04 Prius has been well below what I paid for previous vehicle 30K, 60K, 90K maintenance. I'm a little concerned about the "known" MFD problem with the 04's overheating. I'm at 45K miles now and have noticed recently that mine starts pretty dim until the car has been running for a minute or so. It's been really cold and I can't recall how the car acted last year. I keep hoping that if mine is going to blow, that it will just get it over with before my extended warantee runs out! AT the current 20K miles I put on it every year, that won't be much more than a few years....

 

Most LCD displays are backlit with flourescent lights. These lights take awhile to reach full brightness after starting -- just like the lights in your kitchen. I would not worry about it.

 

I'll echo jbarnart. I've noticed that in the cold weather my '05 which I bought in August has a dim MFD for awhile in the cold. I also have shut it off from time to time because I was sitting waiting for someone with the radio on. When I punch it back to life it takes a minue to come to full brightness.