MFD issues on '04/'05 Prius

[bruceha_2000]

Originally Posted by bigbearballs

How many 04 owners have not had a problem with this?

SO FAR, my 2004 has NOT had this problem. (Is there a 'fingers crossed' smilie?)

Dr. Fusco said you have a potentially 'bad' MFD (080 from Hobbit's diagnostics) if your display NEVER bounced between energy and consumption using the Info button on the steering wheel. If this is a valid statement, I have the 081 version because mine has always bounced between the two screens with that button.

My car is one of the last 2004's made, I received it at the end of Sept, 2004. Since it has always worked as Dr. Fusco described, perhaps there was a mixed batch of 'old' and 'new' MFDs at the 2004/2005 model change over such that some 2005's got an '080' MFD and some 2004s got an '081' MFD. The only way for me to know about mine for sure would be to pull it out of the dash.

Given that several self described 'not all that mechanically inclined' people were able to get the MFD out of the dash and disassembled such that they or someone else could re-flow the solder per Hobbit's instructions ($25 AUS if the board is already out!!), it would seem to me that Toyota could be replacing every one that fails for a lot less than they are charging now. I understand Toyota doesn't want to replace all the 080 units since some may never fail.

Maybe Toyota could hire Hobbit as an independent contractor to fix them, the skill is already proven . Given a stock of a couple dozen repaired units in Hobbit's garage, one should be able to go to their local dealer once the ordered part is received and have their bad one pulled, replaced with a Hobbit repaired unit and drive home in an hour or less. The dealer would then send the bad unit to Hobbit for repair. A short term contract to be sure, but hey, who doesn't need a little extra money?

Even better, those so inclined could take out their bad MFD and swap it with a repaired one from the dealer saving the labor cost and saving Hobbit from having to deal with a lot of people.

[DPoole]

Hobbit, you're my hero! You did as good or better a job of troubleshooting and documenting a clear design and manufacturing defect as any I saw in a 35-year career in electronic product engineering and management.

My '04 Prius' MFD (an early VIN) became intermittent at 62,500 miles. I called my dealer and set a service appointment for the following week, but decided to check PriusChat "just in case," only to find this thread, Toyota's TSB, and your elegant instructions.

Figuring I had at least $700+ to save, I pulled the dash with instructions I also found on this board and removed and disassembled the MFD. Sure enough, under a loupe, there was the pin 60 crack, clear as day. I repaired it with an exaggerated solder fillet, (thanks also for the copper wire soldering tip trick,) cleaned off the flux, and added a small drop of polyurethane to keep moisture out.

It's back in the dash and working again, but the other 58 connections are indeed worrisome. If it's still good the day before the service appointment, I'll cancel the appointment.

This is my first disappointment with the Prius. By fixing it, I lost my standing to give Toyota you-know-what about its failure to warrant a design defect, but if the other solder connections take it down again, I now have the TSB and postings to show at the dealer. Owning both '03 and '04 Pria, serviced regularly and never serviced anywhere else, it would be a good test of "customer loyalty" at least at the dealer level.

Again, thanks for your great work on isolating the root cause.