serious electrical issue, please help

i am bummed...
i got into my car tonight and the mfd was super slow to responding to anything after the initial splash screen.

- no mileage data, no engine on the consumption screen, super slow response to audio or anything else

- it would also sometimes display "audio off" or "air conditioning off"

- then finally i would click something and it displayed at the top "external system not connected"

i stopped and started many times with no luck.

while i continued to drive home it blipped and then was fine again.

however, i started up again and it just plainly said "check the system" on the screen and that was all it would do.

now it's badk at original slow and unresponsive weirdnes

2 things to note:
- the mainenance light on the dash started about 100 miles ago (600 miles early for a 10000k oil change)

- i could hear the engine trip up a couple times while starting. a couple of times i could swear it died oddly

i'm going to go to the dealer tomorrow, but is there anyway to "reset" the network or something?
anybody ever hear of this?

thanks for any help.
-r


'04 #9, leather, no hacks

 

wow.
i couldn't find a thread, but i'll keep looking.
does that typically take a long time?

thanks.
-r

 

thanks rick.

i ended up finding a ton of posts after i spent some more time searching. oddly comforting yet disconcerting. oh well.

i am making the assumption that i can drive it still w/out hurting the engine, so i'm taking in on monday morning. the service guy wasn't going to order an mfd without seeing it first...

"hey vern, another one of those internet guys thinks he knows what parts we need"

oh well, that's ok.

priuschat.com has proven yet again to be the best place to find and share information.

hoping they have a spider for a loaner.
-r