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Radio turns off when changing channels

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by thehabs, Aug 12, 2011.

  1. thehabs

    thehabs New Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2007
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    Location:
    Western Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    I've been experiencing some weirdness with my radio... any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated: Base model 2010, 43000 miles. Driving down the road listening to radio. Press the button to change from FM1 to FM2 and the unit sometimes turns off instead or changing channels, and ejects the CD. Turn it back on and it works fine again for days or weeks...Only does this once in a great while and has been doing this for probably a year. I figured it was a fluke I could live with. I recently hard-wired a radar detector into under-dash fuse #3, using an add-a-circuit, the 10 amp fuse labeled "power outlet". Everything worked great. Today, however... drove to work for a half hour and radio worked fine. At lunchtime, radio worked fine. On the way home this evening, the radio would not come on at all; dead as a doornail. Radar detector still worked - thought they may be on same circuit but don't know for sure. I stopped, turned car off and back on, and the radio was still dead. Tonight, I was telling my wife about it and said "look... the radio won't even come on now", but when I pushed the button, of course it came on and worked fine again.

    Seems like I have a loose wire somewhere in the head unit. Has anyone experienced this one before, or have any suggestions? I'm taking it in for tire rotation in a week, so will discuss it with the dealer at that time also.
     
    #1 thehabs, Aug 12, 2011
  2. warpedhifi

    warpedhifi Junior Member

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    Location:
    Denton, Tx
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I actually been having the same issue, was thinking it was the heat. When I would change station presets the unit would shutoff and eject the cd. I just pull the cd out and have not had any problems since. I am not too worried about it, since I will be upgrading soon.
     
    #2 warpedhifi, Aug 16, 2011
  3. thehabs

    thehabs New Member

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    Location:
    Western Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Interesting comment! I was also thinking it may be heat-related but have not been able to confirm it. Seems to happen more often in the afternoon when the car has been sitting in the sun on a hot day. Yesterday, the radio came on just fine; after about 3 minutes as I drove home from work it went off, and then came back on by itself about 5 minutes later. I theorized maybe the A/C had cooled it down after a few minutes of driving. This afternoon, it would not come on at all until I was almost home, and then it would come on. Seems to work fine in the morning. I will eject the CD and see if it makes any difference. Appointment with dealer on Saturday.
     
    #3 thehabs, Aug 16, 2011
  4. thehabs

    thehabs New Member

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    Western Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Wisdom from my Toyota service manager: "Looks like a radio problem. A new radio will be a high dollar item.". Quoted me $450 for new radio.

    Geez.
     
    #4 thehabs, Aug 20, 2011
  5. RonSC

    RonSC Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2010
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    Location:
    Columbia SC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I was having similar problems: volume knob not working, radio turned off when I tried to change channels, LCD screen went blank. It only did it if I used the controls on the radio, everything worked fine from the controls on the steering wheel. After it happened three times in one week I took it to the dealer and they replaced the radio under warranty. The service manager told me he had encountered the same problem with other JBL units (6-disc player, no nav).
     
    #5 RonSC, Aug 30, 2011
  6. Sandman1962

    Sandman1962 Junior Member

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    Jun 19, 2010
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    Location:
    South Lake Tahoe
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I have the same problem with the radio unit. After taking it to the dealer (and fortunately reproducing the problem) they ordered a replacement unit under warranty.
     
    #6 Sandman1962, Sep 5, 2011
  7. DanaRepouille

    DanaRepouille New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I just purchased a 2010 Prius III that just came off a lease. It has a 6-CD JBL, and it is constantly ejecting my CDs and powering off. At first I thought it didn't like my home-made MP3 CDs, so I ejected all of them and inserted six audio CDs. Same problem. The LCD display goes nuts, displaying garbage characters, going half-blank, and then totally blank.

    I hope I can reproduce the problem while the service manager is watching. Maybe I will take pictures with my cell phone to demonstrate it.

    This car is 2.5 years old with 23,500 miles. What is this going to cost me?
    Dana
     
    #7 DanaRepouille, Sep 20, 2012
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #8 cwerdna, Sep 20, 2012
  9. DanaRepouille

    DanaRepouille New Member

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    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I took my car in to the Toyota dealership today and asked them to order a replacement radio. I showed the service advisor the garbage on the LCD screen, and he agreed it would be fully covered under warranty. They will call me when the replacement comes in.
     
    #9 DanaRepouille, Sep 21, 2012
  10. DanaRepouille

    DanaRepouille New Member

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    I got my radio replaced under factory warranty this afternoon. It seems to work, even after I load six CDs into it. They must know what was wrong with all these radios, and have become well-versed in rebuilding them. Let's hope for the best.
     
    #10 DanaRepouille, Sep 26, 2012
  11. jeffhood

    jeffhood New Member

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    Jan 29, 2013
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    Location:
    Mary Esther, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    same issue with my wife's 2010 prius. touch the search button or any button on the radio and lcd / radio goes off. Out of warranty for the car..hopefully the stereo is in warranty...guess I'll find out or replace with Alpine or Pioneer
     
    #11 jeffhood, Jan 29, 2013
    steveinsaugus likes this.
  12. 3TE

    3TE Junior Member

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    Mar 25, 2013
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    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I had the same issue... mine is under warranty so no issue replacing it.

    The adviser told me if you insist this is a known issue and is a defect in manufacturing the stealership may go to bat for you with Toyota. (if you are out of warranty)
     
    #12 3TE, Apr 23, 2013
    steveinsaugus likes this.
  13. steveinsaugus

    steveinsaugus Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2013
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    Location:
    Port Saint Lucie, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I have had this problem, 2011 base model, when changing channels the radio goes off, on and on. I have had the radio replaced TWICE from dealership and still occasionally does it, any one find a fix. Thanks!
     
    #13 steveinsaugus, Dec 16, 2015
  14. steveinsaugus

    steveinsaugus Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2013
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    Location:
    Port Saint Lucie, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    In regards to the radio going off when changing channels or changing tracks, was the wireharness connection. The head unit was fine, just a loose connection.
     
    #14 steveinsaugus, Jan 4, 2016
  15. steveinsaugus

    steveinsaugus Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2013
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    Location:
    Port Saint Lucie, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    In regards to the radio going off when changing channels or changing tracks, was the wireharness connection. The head unit was fine, just a loose connection.The dealership took out the radio and put it back in and it solved the problem.
     
    #15 steveinsaugus, Jan 4, 2016
  16. steveinsaugus

    steveinsaugus Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2013
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    Location:
    Port Saint Lucie, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    In regards to the radio going off when changing channels or changing tracks, was the wireharness connection. The head unit was fine, just a loose connection.
     
    #16 steveinsaugus, Jan 4, 2016
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