MFD issues on '04/'05 Prius

[larrydb]

Success story: The MFD on my '04 Prius failed in the typical way. I took it in and was quoted $730 to replace it with a refurbished one. ($650 part, $48 labor, tax)

A little googling brought me here. Once I understood what was going on, I found a local husband-and-wife team with the perfect qualifications: He does Toyota repairs and she does PC repairs. I explained it all to him and sent him Hobbit's instructions for evaluation.

But that's as far as it went, because I had also contacted Toyota and asked if they would cover it. They called back in less than a week and said yes, every penny! Don't know how I qualified for their "good will" program, but it sure evoked lots of good will in me.

In fact, I may have been a winner because my car has only about 23K miles on it. If you don't have my luck and you're in the Boston area, send me a message and I'll put you in touch with the aforementioned husband and wife so you can take it farther with them.

[MacPriusFan]

Can you drive Prius with no Display fitted?
Hi All, First time posting, just bought my 2004 prius last week. It too has the famed MFD intermittant problem. Luck for me I bought it from a used car dealer with 3 months warranty. My prob is mfd has to be sent away for 6 days to get repaired/modded. Can the prius be driven while the mfd is out?
I'm hopeful that with the excellent work of Hobbit etc someone will have tried it!
Thanks
Judd

[MacPriusFan]

never mind guys, I just found the answer on PatSparks post in March. Now I can go ahead & get unit removed for the repair & still have a car for the week. Good Prius, Naughty Toyota!
Judd

[patsparks]

Well Judd they did sort themselves out in the post 2006 models.

Welcome to Prius Chat, our mission here is to keep these seppos in their place.

Good luck with your MFD, and I hope you enjoy your Prius like I do mine. You will need to put the MFD surround back in place while you drive it.

[jdenenberg]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Well Judd they did sort themselves out in the post 2006 models.

Pat,

My understanding is that the manufacturing problem was fixed in late 2004 production Prii so 2005+ models should be OK as well.

JeffD

[patsparks]

Was my understanding that 2004 and 2005 were affected but I just go on what I read and I am relying on an alcohol depleted memory.

[MacPriusFan]

Thanks Pat,
Yes I put the surround back and have been driving around for a week now with a hole in the dash where the MFD should be. Hope it comes back soon. Lucky for me it's under used car warranty!
Next mission is to replace the 12v battery - that's NOT under the warranty so I don't feel like paying $457 to Toyota!!
Judd

[patsparks]

Judd, head to any battery retailer, they aren't hard to get and you pay about $100. When I was in Townsville and could hear the relays in the back as 3 distinct clicks. I hadn't noticed this before and thought it sounded different because the battery was getting tired. I had the battery tested at a local Autopro store and the battery was fine. reason for hearing the relays was I had the seat down which I don't do normally so I could hear what always happens just louder. Anyway, Autopro had a listing for the Prius and, they had a battery there on the shelf!!

[gription]

Toyota replaced my MFD on my 2004 prius out of warranty. 41,000 miles. I paid for the part and installation (installation $90) and Toyota sent me a check for the refurbished MFD. It wasn't as easy as it should have been but they did do it.

[patsparks]

That is excellent. I was going down the out of warranty path but just thought for me it would be easier just to fix it.
Glad you had a good outcome.
Good on ya Toyota.