Need serious troubleshooting help.... display / shut off issue

Good deal. Good luck with install.

 

I have the same issue with my 2005. The display was intermittent last week and then this week is out completely. Dealership wants $735 to replace but says I will have to leave the car with them for a week while the old one is shipped off and a new one with the same mileage numbers is sent back. F. that. I asked them if I bought one off ebay would they put it in and the guy didn't know but said he would find out. Haven't heard back from him yet. Was wondering if anyone on here had done that or replaced the part themselves.

 

I have not done this. However, there are several threads about this and the price that you were quoted seems to be a reasonable one. However, make sure you're getting a new combo meter and not a rebuild. The rebuilds have tended to fail.

I think when mine fails, I'll buy new from the dealer and DIY.

 

The way you phrased it, made it sound like Luscious Garage quit fixing it only because the fix is unreliable. But, that is inaccurate. Their both notice were written between 2011~2015, they quit fixing it mainly only because:

1. "Content below is no longer relevant, as Toyota has extended the warranty coverage to 9 years, unlimited mileage", quoted from their old notice.
2. "All of these campaigns (headlight bulbs, inverter water pumps, now combination meters) are a detriment to independent service providers (i.e. Luscious Garage) as a lost opportunity for sales." - quoted from their new notice.

So, it is all about money (and rightfully so, for Luscious).

This problem could still be fixed. There are videos out there, many of them involving soldering a new capacitor. And then I stumbled upon this video, whose workaround is so simple and actually works! TL;DR: Just turn on headlight before attempting to turn on the car.

Hopefully this workaround can last for a while.

Cheers.

 

It you want to sacrifice your 12 V battery and damaging it by running your headlights, go ahead. It makes total sense to prematurely obsolete your $250 battery for a 10c capacitor.

 

It'll "work", until it don't.

For me, having most/all warning lights not working was unacceptable. Playing games with lights for XX minutes before going anywhere was also a no-go.

If time or budget are critical- I get it. Plan for and do it when possible.

If it's "willful optimism" (ignorance)- well good luck with that.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

"willful optimism" - I like that

 

Perhaps my summary was not as obvious as that youtube video, but the procedure is literally (1) turn on headlight; (2) turn on the car (as usual, by stepping on brake and pressing the power button). The time gap between step 1 & 2 is just several seconds. After step 2, you can turn off your headlight. But even if you choose to keep your headlight on (such as driving at night, or some folks just prefer to keep headlight on during daytime for safety consideration), the headlight operating in a running Prius will draw electricity ultimately from the alternator, rather than draining the 12v battery.

Can you elaborate why turning headlight on for several seconds would damage the 12 battery? Sorry I cannot grok your reasoning from the sarcastic "go ahead" and "it makes total sense".

Agreed. Having most/all warning lights not working DURING DRIVING is unacceptable.

But in this case, when the problem occurs, it takes merely seconds to perform that workaround to "awake" the Cluster Combination Meter, and then all the speedometer, shift position lights etc. will perform normally.

Now, admittedly, I do not know the longevity (or the lack thereof) of this workaround. I only ran into the "display / shut off" issue yesterday, and applied that headlight trick last night. Since then, my Prius performs normally for my 6 trips today. But then the symptom came back before my 7th trip, and then the workaround saved me again.

Indeed. The long term fix would require some planning. It is certainly not just a "10c capacitor". The capacitor is cheap, but not everybody is confident with his/her soldering skills. In the unfortunate scenario, if the modified combination meter does not work, the Prius will possibly strand for an extended time, until/unless plan B is figured out.