Ahh! What's Wrong?

finman · 03-01-2005, 09:48 AM

The MFD is under the 36K warranty. Swapped out with a refurb would set u back about $400 (if out of warranty). This is per my dealer. I had the same symptoms and had it replaced last week. Cold weather would cause it to be intermittent, then as the heater warmed the car the functions would start working. Took 5 days to get the part, about 30 min to replace. All warranty, no hassles. Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!

**TonyPSchaefer** · 03-01-2005, 10:11 AM

Quote:

but... he doesnt need one?

Not as long as he doesn't use the A/C. :-)

jchu · 03-01-2005, 10:48 AM

Quote:

but... he doesnt need one?

Not as long as he doesn't use the A/C. :-)

Actually, I was able to run the heater from the steering wheel while in Seattle for 2 montths while mine was out . Just couldn't control which vents or tell what temp I had it set at. As it turns out, after dealing with it for 2 months, a misbehaving MFD is annoying but not incapacitating.

DanMan32 · 03-01-2005, 11:14 AM

Unless the defective MFDs were really defective buttons getting stuck, with the buttons progressively getting worse.

But then, the symptoms correlated to cold temps.

John, what was the production month of your car? Does the info button on steering wheel toggle between energy and consumption screens?

**efusco** · 03-01-2005, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Unless the defective MFDs were really defective buttons getting stuck, with the buttons progressively getting worse.

But then, the symptoms correlated to cold temps.

John, what was the production month of your car? Does the info button on steering wheel toggle between energy and consumption screens?

Dan, he's got a very early model...I believe he picked it up Oct. 17 or 19, 2003.

PNeu · 03-01-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Unless the defective MFDs were really defective buttons getting stuck, with the buttons progressively getting worse.

But then, the symptoms correlated to cold temps.

John, what was the production month of your car? Does the info button on steering wheel toggle between energy and consumption screens?

I have similar problems since November last year. All the same but what's most annoying is on/off radio (JBL). I have to push FM button to turn it on every 2-3 minutes or drive in silence, which sometimes is just FINE with me :-)

Toyota diagnosed MFD malfunction, ordered new unit, five weeks and still counting.

Stuck button? Wishful thinking, I'm afraid.

Welcome to the "TSB EL002-05" Club, Padre!

john1701a · 03-01-2005, 04:51 PM

What does MFD actually mean?

In other words, what physical parts?

Since there were many misdiagnoses with the Classic model, where the solution was to just blindly replace all related components, I don't believe any claims without detail. Grouping them all together isn't helping anyone.

For example, what actually failed?

In my case, the Multi-Display itself has worked flawlessly, as well as all the steering-wheels button to interface with it. So that would isolate the problem to either the other buttons or the interface with them. And of course, it cannot even be counted as a problem until it occurs a second time.

Please provide details & links.

PNeu · 03-01-2005, 04:56 PM

More of that sad story is here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/tsb-on-multifu...html?highlight=

john1701a · 03-01-2005, 05:24 PM

That TSB confirms what I already said... they do "blanket" fixes at first.

And how many times must y'all read the words [b]MULTI-DISPLAY before you finally stop calling it MFD? After all, that is a terrible abbreviation for "Multi-Informational Display", as it is referred to in the owner's manual.

I'll keep an eye out now for reoccurences. Since I debug software professionally, the solution to "just replace it" is not one I choose to accept easily. I need to know why.

bigbaldcuban · 03-01-2005, 05:45 PM

Quote:

I need to know why.

Gremlins. Filthy little gremlins.

03-01-2005, 04:51 PM	#17
john1701a Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,718 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: Pioneer #3 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 3	What does MFD actually mean? In other words, what physical parts? Since there were many misdiagnoses with the Classic model, where the solution was to just blindly replace all related components, I don't believe any claims without detail. Grouping them all together isn't helping anyone. For example, what actually failed? In my case, the Multi-Display itself has worked flawlessly, as well as all the steering-wheels button to interface with it. So that would isolate the problem to either the other buttons or the interface with them. And of course, it cannot even be counted as a problem until it occurs a second time. Please provide details & links. __________________ JOHN http://john1701a.com 47.9 MPG average @ 108,544 miles

03-01-2005, 04:56 PM	#18
PNeu Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 11 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Re: Ahh! What's Wrong? More of that sad story is here: http://priuschat.com/forums/tsb-on-multifu...html?highlight=

03-01-2005, 05:24 PM	#19
john1701a Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,718 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: Pioneer #3 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 3	Re: Ahh! What's Wrong? That TSB confirms what I already said... they do "blanket" fixes at first. And how many times must y'all read the words [b]MULTI-DISPLAY before you finally stop calling it MFD? After all, that is a terrible abbreviation for "Multi-Informational Display", as it is referred to in the owner's manual. I'll keep an eye out now for reoccurences. Since I debug software professionally, the solution to "just replace it" is not one I choose to accept easily. I need to know why.

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03-01-2005, 09:48 AM	#11
finman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Harrisburg, PA Posts: 932 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #7 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	The MFD is under the 36K warranty. Swapped out with a refurb would set u back about $400 (if out of warranty). This is per my dealer. I had the same symptoms and had it replaced last week. Cold weather would cause it to be intermittent, then as the heater warmed the car the functions would start working. Took 5 days to get the part, about 30 min to replace. All warranty, no hassles. Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!

03-01-2005, 11:14 AM	#14
DanMan32 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tampa Bay, FL Posts: 3,775 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Unless the defective MFDs were really defective buttons getting stuck, with the buttons progressively getting worse. But then, the symptoms correlated to cold temps. John, what was the production month of your car? Does the info button on steering wheel toggle between energy and consumption screens?