Volume Gone Wild (and then stops working)

Today my 2007 Prius with the JBL stereo system had the radio buttons fail. The round volume and tuning knobs worked, as well as the steering wheel radio controls. The lights on the radio panel for the CD's were on but I could not eject a CD. It was very hot outside today, not sure if that was partly to blame, I had the A/C on. But the buttons were working fine one second and then the next second they failed.

I have not had any mechanical/electrical issues with my Prius since buying it new in late 2006. Figures that my car barely gets outside the warranty and things start failing. Got to love Toyota quality!


UPDATE: I tapped on the right side of the radio unit, on the vent panel, and now the buttons all work. I know this is not a real solution and probably won't keep them working forever.

 

I have a 2007. All of a sudden I have started to have a problem with the radio power switch. When I push it nothing happens. I kept on pushing it and then holding it in. Eventually it finally worked. Once it worked then it seemed ok as I tried turning it on and off multiple times. Later on, after I had been parked and off I came back and had to repeat the same procedure. Is this basically the same prob as the volume control? Since I am beyond the warranty does this mean the radio is defective?

 

It seems to be similar. Most are having problems with the volume knob and some with the faceplate push buttons working erractically but many are finding the controls on the steering wheel continue to work. After pushing on the faceplate of the radio something usually happens (an electrical reconnect?) and all is well until the unpredictable next event.

 

This happened to us for the first time the other day with our 2007 package 3. The day before had been hot and humid, and the day the volume went wonky was our first cool day in a month. Car is well out of warranty. So we'll just try the various button push/faceplate taps if it happens again. Ergh.

 

Dear Forum-

Just to put in our experience with this issue...

My Wife has been reporting a problem for the past two weeks with her '09 Package 6 with 35,925 miles. I finally decided to check on the forums for similar reports.

She seems to lose all faceplate functionality (JBL Unit) when she gets in her car in the late afternoon to come home. It seems to happen when it's extremely hot and has been sitting in the parking lot all day. She hasn't tried pushing in the trim or knob yet, but I'm sure that "fix" won't keep working forever.

I have made an appointment with the local dealer and I hoping our Toyota Platinum Extended Warranty will cover this issue. Anyone know?

Thanks and just wanted to add history to the problem. Yall have a great week.

Sincerely,
Jim Kennedy

 

You may need to prove your problem. Hope for a hot day and that the issue pops up again on your return to the shop. DO NOT FIX IT !
Drive straight to the dealership. If they can see it, it will probably be replaced. If not you'll probably get a "we need to see the problem" statement.
That was what happened when I took my 2009 in for repair/documentation. I was referred to Toyota Complaints who "looked into it" and told me that they spoke to my service manager and she reported that they could not duplicate the problem thus not fix it. They did acknowledge my problem was reported before warranty expiration and encouraged me to return if it reoccurred. Since you're under the 36,000 original mileage warranty that may be your recourse. I doubt the extended warranty will be different (or more responsive) than the original. However, you have hope down the road beyond your 36000 if a repeat later on when you can duplicate it for the dealer. Please let us know what happens.:welcome:

 

Someone suggested taking a video recording of the problem when it occurs to show to the dealer as proof. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the great input.

I took it into the dealer this morning, of course... it's 60 degrees this morning so the radio was working fine!

I did tell them everything that happens and the conditions that create the problem... but of course they gave me a, "Sure... we'll look into it..." response.

I also mentioned that I had seen quite a few reports online of this problem.

I'm glad that you reminded me that because I've reported an issue during the factory warranty period, then if it does happen again, we can just drive straight to the dealership. Great idea.

Thanks for the information and I hope no one has any trouble with their Prius in the future. Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,
Jim Kennedy

 

First time posting / asking question here in Chat. I bought an '07 this past spring. It's a basic model, so no upgraded JBL stereo. I've been getting issues with my stereo buttons periodically not working. Someone on the thread described pushing on the power switch (on the dash) and other buttons with no response. Same thing happening for me. Has anyone installed an aftermarket stereo manufactured to fit Prius? Any other ideas besides the pushing on the faceplate, and/or compressed air fixes previously written about?

 

Some people knock on the panel to make it work and recently one found pushing the volume knob in and out helped.

 

Our 2007 Prius started doing this a year ago ( It's June 2015). I initially thought it was some radio interference as it happened at the same intersection on my way to work. But my wife drives the car normally, and it never happened to her until last week. After reading this chat stream, it appears that it's very wide-spread. I"m surprised that Toyota has not issued a recall. Thank you for keeping prius chat going. It's nice to know one is not a lone.

 

Same issue with our 07 with standard radio, dash controls refuse to work, steering wheel works fine, sometimes both are fine after restarting. Ours was just purchased used, and way out of warranty, so I will add this to the list of things to diagnose after the HV battery has been cycled and brought back to life.

Tj

 

I know this is an old post, but I encountered this issue with my newly purchased used 2006, JBL sound system. The knob volume control on the front of the radio intermittently works, but mostly doesn't work, or works for a few minutes and it's gone. The steering control buttons works well, so that told me the radio is fine. The tuning knob also works fine.

The issues are the cold solder joints on the Volume control pots. I will post pictures if anyone is interested.

 

Pictures are always welcome for future reference

 

Hang in there, I'll upload the photos soon...

 

See attached pics. Sorry it took a while, so busy. Apologies for the double texts, I messed up the first 'save' as paint.net changed the color on me when I selected the pallette by mistake.

Hopefully this give other some idea on the issue I had, similar to the other posts here regarding the: Volume Control and the Mode buttons intermittent or not working at all.

See attached pics. Let me know if you have questions.



Unfortunately, I'd have to re-open it again, as the CD player doesn't work, i.e. it does not load, or unload the CD's. But that is a different issues. Been driving it for a couple of weeks now and can confirm the the Volume Control knob works beautifully, as are the mode selections buttons.

 

Thank you so much for posting an actual fix to this problem. After reading the 45th person restating the problem without any action, I was starting to get pretty bummed. So I do appreciate your working it out and putting that out there. I did have a question if the cold solder pots you mentioned were those labeled C922 etc.? Just wanna be sure that’s where the arrows were pointing. I know that was a couple years ago now but on the off chance you see this. Thanks again!