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Dashboard display screen dead

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Thomas Boyd, Sep 25, 2020.

  1. Thomas Boyd

    Thomas Boyd Junior Member

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    I’m the original owner of a 2009 Prius. It has been an absolutely amazing vehicle—after 235,xxx miles it still runs well and feels as tight as ever on the road. I replaced the 12v battery about 2 or 3 yrs ago, and it has had one minor mechanical issue needing repair in all that time. Mileage is down to about 42 mpg, but since it still has the original traction battery, I can’t complain.

    The problem: last week the display screen in the center of the dashboard suddenly went blank. Dead, dark, not even a flicker. While the vehicle still runs and drives like nothing ever happened, this means there is no climate control ability. The radio likewise no longer functions; the backup camera, too. Meanwhile, the speedometer and everything that displays directly in front of the driver stills functions normally.

    The questions: 1) is driving the vehicle likely to be affected in a way I’m not yet experiencing? 2) Is it likely or possible that a cable that connects the screen to the rest of the vehicle has become disconnected? I won’t even ask the likely cost of getting it repaired—I see no way to get to the back side of the dashboard. I think its end-of-life time is pretty close, but wanted to run this by the forum first.
     
  2. AltraStache

    AltraStache Junior Member

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    The screen on my 2009 recently has been on the fritz as well although i can still use some of the touch screen some of the time. It was suggested I check out autobeyours dot com out of Indiana. Their site has info on a possible repair option where you remove the MFD touch screen unit and mail it to them for repair. I called them a few weeks back just to get a gauge if they seem legit and they certainly seem legit. I'm thinking about pulling the screen this weekend and shipping it off for repair. Let us know you what you do and if it worked. Thanks.
     
  3. Thomas Boyd

    Thomas Boyd Junior Member

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    Thanks, Altra. I just might have to contact them. $299 is a lot cheaper than a new old car :)
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no problem driving it. google youtube, there should be a diy replacement tutorial, and you can usually get a good salvage from ebay and etc.
     
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  5. oldtechaa

    oldtechaa Active Member

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    Interestingly, this happened to me too on Wednesday. You can have it repaired for cheaper than AutoBeYours if you look up the part number on car-part.com. It's $125 plus shipping both ways.

    In my case, we've attempted repair already, so I don't think either place will accept it for repair, but I've found salvaged ones for about the same price. I'd still rather get mine working again though.

    Steve at AutoBeYours says he replaces capacitors, yet all the capacitors on the main logic board are still acting healthy. We replaced two that were not testing as well as the others, but it didn't seem to change anything. Does anyone actually have any experience with what needs to be repaired who would be willing to share please?
     
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  6. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    ebay has plenty of options, including new screens(including digitizer) for about $140. If this is just a screen issue, that's a great solution. If it's a "supporting electronics" issue, good luck, because that is a beast.
     
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  7. oldtechaa

    oldtechaa Active Member

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    Especially if you have the most basic model, the non-JBL, non-6-speaker backup camera version. I'm perfectly willing to pay that, I just want to know what the problem really is and if it really is just replacement of a couple or few capacitors. It would help others a lot, like finding the fix for the combo meter.
     
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  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I had 7 or 8 MFDs in the shop. Some 47081, 47210 and 47230 models. I made two harnesses to power them up, as the low resolution model (47081) has a different pinout than the high res models.

    I accidently plugged the low res harness into a 210 model. Holy whoops. Sounded like a .22 was shot in the shop. Needless to say, the MFD no longer worked, lol. Total disassembly that night and there was no clear evidence, anywhere, of damage that I could see. I put it to the side to look at again when I have more time.

    Is yours a 47081 model? I'm pretty sure it was used from 04-09 for the base models. Although, if you have a backup camera, it may be a 47210 model.
     
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  9. oldtechaa

    oldtechaa Active Member

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    Nope, it's a 47230, the 6-speaker version. After the cap replacement reinstalling the MFD blew the ECU-B fuse, so it might already be hopeless, but I think we'll keep looking a little bit more. We tried just powering it up by soldering leads to the rails, but it still didn't power up.
     
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  10. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The 230s go for a decent price. I sold both of mine on ebay about 2 weeks ago @325 each.I hope you get it sorted out. You're right, that it would be good info.

    Whoops, the ones I sold were the 7 button 86110-47220 models, not the 4 button 230 model. Those are a bit less expensive. At least if it is deemed unrepairable, they're plentiful on ebay.
     
    #10 TMR-JWAP, Sep 25, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
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  11. jcrply

    jcrply Junior Member

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    I had the same problem with my 2009 last year. I purchased a replacement module on ebay and followed instructions in an online video (there are several). Not difficult and saved a LOT of money. Works fine
     
  12. 2Fats

    2Fats Member

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    Lucky me. My screen decided to not work the other day, and the lights on either side are flashing off and on. :/ I called Autobeyours initially, but the lady that answered said they don't fix whatever screen she called it. I thought about it on my commute home (12 hours), and came to the conclusion that she misheard me explaining the problem. So I've sent them an email, and I hope I can get it fixed. It looks like a replacement is 400+ dollars on Ebay right now so everybody must be needing replacements.
     
  13. gen2prius

    gen2prius Junior Member

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    Not work as in totally blank/blackout? I have an 08 with 86110-47220, probably same part number as yours. As I understand these are revised units and should not suffer from weak pin-60 like the older ones.

    Mine also went blank (totally dark) about 2 years ago, and the 2 rows of button on the sides also do not light up, not like yours flashing.

    The unit did mysteriously came back to life once, momentarily for maybe about 20 minutes. I suspect it is a different problem.

    I have pulled out and tested all fuses with multi meter, no issue detected. But someone from another thread mentioned fuse #14 (15amp), but it is a blank in my case, no fuse in that position. Everything else works, unless there is a dedicated fuse just for the MFD, probably not fuse related.

    Such frustration, an otherwise great car with great mileage.