1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Audio Radio Unit Stopped Working

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by GreenTerrorPrius, Oct 13, 2021.

  1. GreenTerrorPrius

    GreenTerrorPrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2020
    55
    20
    0
    Location:
    33410
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I have a 2012 with appx 145k miles on it, I did replace the stock speakers in the dash about a year ago.
    For some reason my radio just cut out giving sound to anything, It was sporadic but now all gone. The radio unit all works, lights, visuals etc etc just no audio. it was completely silent.

    Now i get a crackle of static every once in awhile, it is actually loud it startles me, every once in a while.

    So any thoughts on what this could be? Im thinking some type of loose wire somewhere.

    Dealer, or an audio store? Like I said I dont want to get an entire new unit as all seems to work, just no audio
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,302
    15,094
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Do you know if yours is the JBL system with the separate amp?

    Do you have the touch-screen head unit, or the LCD text display one?
     
  3. GreenTerrorPrius

    GreenTerrorPrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2020
    55
    20
    0
    Location:
    33410
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    thanks for the response. It is NOT the JBL unit.
    Im pretty sure it is the touchscreen, as i touch the screen and it goes to differnt stages. It has color if that helps when showing the different parts of the motor system.
     
  4. prius2010II

    prius2010II Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2010
    269
    23
    0
    Location:
    us
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    A radio doesn't really work if you don't have any audio. A dealer, or an audio repair shop is likely to have a minimum labor charge which exceeds the value of your unit. If the problem is the board containing the audio chip the unit isn't repairable.

    Pull the radio. Look for loose wires. You replaced some speakers. Plug N Play or did you need to splice wires. Check your connections. Bad ground. I don't know if your radio has a fuse but check. If you can't fix it yourself you should buy a replacement unit.
    You can buy a Prius specific China HU. Plug N Play.
     
  5. Brad from Ohio

    Brad from Ohio Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2021
    17
    2
    0
    Location:
    Cleveland
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    My radio unit, which had Navigation on it, died a slow death. I put a CD borrowed from the library. The anti-theft tape on the CD was too thick for the eject mechanism to force it out, so the CD got stuck permanently.
    Not only that, the radio kept trying to eject it continuously for several months until the unit just burned out.
    The stealership service department wanted over $2k to replace it. So I bought a double din after market. Was about $800 with installation.
     
  6. Saucey

    Saucey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2016
    13
    7
    0
    Location:
    San Diego
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Reviving this thread because I don't want to make another one, the issues are similar.
    2013 non-JBL, upgraded speakers & added a powered subwoofer. In the future I want to add amplifiers for the speakers, but for now, the radio doesn't work unless it's left alone for awhile.

    Awhile meaning a month, the radio will just work for about a week and then just stop. I didn't drive it over my days off and when driving to work, it did have sound come out for about 10 minutes, then started to "stutter", sound coming on and stopped working again. I do hear the static as the OP states when its not working, and sometimes it will come back to life. The screen and buttons are responsive, but even the button sounds don't work, i tried CD, radio & bluetooth, all the same. On some days it will just work, but the moment I turn off the car, & turn it back on it's a 20% chance it'll still work.

    I pulled a fuse, & replaced it, still the same, radio had reset itself like when I disconnected the battery before. Also I checked the voltage on the trunk battery and it's strong as ever, no battery acid on the terminals or anything.

    I guess I would have to pull the radio & inspect the boards inside it, but are there anything else I should look out for? I've had the speaker upgrade for about a year without any issues, other than maybe having it too loud and the sounds are distorted. I'm assuming its a drained capacitor or something in the radio that doesn't make it work while daily driving.
     
  7. Saucey

    Saucey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2016
    13
    7
    0
    Location:
    San Diego
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Turned out it was the head unit, replaced and it worked just fine. $80 used on ebay.
     
    ASRDogman likes this.