MFD damaged by clay....

[tony g]

Clay things fry Prius’ touchscreen
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi / Car Talk | Sunday, April 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Automotive
Dear Tom & Ray:
I’m a proud grandma - and a disappointed and angry owner of a 2006 Toyota Prius.
The proud grandma part is this: My precious grandchildren made me some small clay decorations that I proudly displayed on my Prius’ dashboard.
There was a 2-inch clay flower and a 1-inch clay ball, which I sat against the Prius’ multifunction screen.
Well, the screen stopped working after a few weeks, so I brought the car to the dealer.
The mechanic said the small clay objects had “burned an image into the screen,” causing it to stop working.
He said he’d have to remove the whole multifunction device and send out for repairs - at a cost of $850 to $4,300!
No where does my Prius owner’s manual warn that such a thing could happen.
What do you guys think?
- Barbara
TOM: There are several possible explanations for what happened, Barbara. First, clay is made up of a bunch of minerals suspended in either water or oil. So, it’s possible some liquid seeped out of the clay and affected the electronic circuits that surround your Prius’ screen.
RAY: Another possibility is that the clay leaning against the touchscreen activated some control for weeks on end. Think of flipping a light switch on and off continuously until it broke. The reason your dealer estimates the repair price at anywhere from $850 to $4,300 is that he doesn’t really know what’s wrong. He plans to send the unit back to Toyota for diagnosis and probable replacement.
TOM: The possibilities of what needs to be replaced are pretty far-reaching. A Prius touchscreen contains controls for heating, ventilation, audio and navigational systems. Separate on-board computers run each of those systems. So you might need a new screen, or a new screen plus one or more computers.
RAY: We’d suggest that you call Toyota directly at 800-331-4331. This is an unusual problem, so they might show you some mercy and cover the repair.
TOM: If no mercy is forthcoming, ask your dealer or a non-dealer garage to check junkyards for a used Prius touchscreen. I’m sure there are Priuses in the junkyard that met their demise from one end or the other, leaving the touchscreen intact. Good luck!
Article URL: Clay things fry Prius’ touchscreen - BostonHerald.com

[Paradox]

I never understood all these things people put up on their dashes... Leave these things in your house people, not on your dashboard. <rant off>

[JimN]

This sounds like the precious darlings made something out of modelling clay and grandma thought it was a bright idea to stick it on the display. Since some believe it is Toyota's fault because they didn't say, "don't put crap on the display", on Toyota's behalf I say to all the dim bulbs out there:

DON'T PUT CRAP ON ANY DISPLAYS

Grandma should be reported to DYFS for Prius abuse.

[qbee42]

I imagine the oil in the clay attacked the touch screen coating on the MFD. It doesn't take much thinking to realize you don't want to stick things on a touch screen.

Tom

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by qbee42

I imagine the oil in the clay attacked the touch screen coating on the MFD. It doesn't take much thinking to realize you don't want to stick things on a touch screen.

Tom

Its also a bad idea to store floppy discs by using a magnet to stick them to the side of a file cabinet or to the refrigerator.

[TonyPSchaefer]

It's for reasons such as this that there's a disclaimer on sun shields something to the extent of "do not operate vehicle with sun shield in place."

[anthofang]

lol. i would never put anything rock hard on my dashboard. I have a super mario mushroom plushie and thats stuck on the corner where the little window is. and i have no problems.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by dogfriend

Its also a bad idea to store floppy discs by using a magnet to stick them to the side of a file cabinet or to the refrigerator.

I have seen that done. Back in the days of 8" floppies, I remember someone leaving one for us, stuck to their filing cabinet by a big magnet.

Tom

[Tenebre]

Originally Posted by qbee42

I have seen that done. Back in the days of 8" floppies, I remember someone leaving one for us, stuck to their filing cabinet by a big magnet.

Tom

On more than one occation, I got 5¼ floppies sent to me stapled to letters explaining the content of the disk. Usually they were stapled through the magnetic storage medium, not the paper shielding.

[patsparks]

I have a little green dog which emits air deodoriser, he lives in the little window in front of the left side mirror. I have a growler bear in the other side, god I'm a girl!