Front USB-C Charging Port Dead

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dyjital, Apr 23, 2026 at 10:41 AM.

  1. Dyjital

    Dyjital Member

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    since the search is not working...

    My front USB-C port for charging has died. Yup, it's not working.

    What have I done? -
    Checked both USB fuses in front driver kick panel. Both 7.5A and 10A fuses are good..

    USB-C for radio data is good and works - use this vs Bt/WiFi for phone as my cars shit wifi connection fails randomly and Toyota won't admit it.

    USB-C's in the center console are working properly. Can charge/connect to airpods/phone.

    12V power outlet (Cig) is working properly - powers dash cam

    (Considering AllData 1 month sub but figured this would be the first step)

    Thoughts on where to go from here? Without wiring diagram I'm doing a shot in the dark here.
    FWIW: I'd consider myself a 9/10 on car knowledge but simple and stupid stuff like this just stymies me.

    Is this component a common fail? Next step is to check power at the back of the USB-C adapter and verify its getting power but that's something I need more time for than my drive into work.

    Thoughts?


    Edit:
    Additional information... maybe related?
    Had vehicle into shop for sideswiping a deer, made me wonder if it's not tied to the OBDII port fuse (haven't checked), maybe they tried to use a memory keep alive device and plugged it in there and during their process it overloaded the circuit.

    In process of getting repair manual to do some wiring trace and see what surfaces (since I'm behind a keyboard at work).
     
    #1 Dyjital, Apr 23, 2026 at 10:41 AM
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2026 at 11:21 AM
  2. Dyjital

    Dyjital Member

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    I'm keying into this one:
    upload_2026-4-23_8-40-4.png

    Due to the grounding location being "Right side of Dash" vs the other that says "Left side of center console".

    States there is a 15A fuse somewhere that's protecting it... but that's the socket, not the USB-C... so this fails the sniff test. No 15A coming out of USB-C.

    Back to drawing board and isolating....
     
  3. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Senior Member

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    Following...
    Also, good luck.
     
  4. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Senior Member

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  5. Dyjital

    Dyjital Member

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    Both of the listed fuses were/are good.

    You'll notice the 15A fuse in blue above that shows the 'cig', that's my power port on the far right of this panel. That port is working properly. I can eliminate that circuit as an issue.

    upload_2026-4-23_9-16-26.png


    I started there which lead me to the 10A and 7.5A USB fused circuits. At that point I needed more information to see if there was a shared connection because of the power ports:

    Under radio: (left to right)
    Data - works
    Power - no workie
    Power Port (Cig) - works

    Under armrest:
    All work as intended.

    So I either have:
    A: a bad USB-C port at the dash location
    or
    B: another shared fuse with that port and something else that I'm not noticing.

    Using the Mitchell1 wiring diagram I purchased access to is vague as to what fuse powers exactly what usb-c outlet. There is not a direct connection between the 7.5A and 10A outlets.


    upload_2026-4-23_9-11-24.png

    Center port will need to be removed, wiring color examined because..

    upload_2026-4-23_9-8-51.png


    I'll need to see if this is the color of the wiring at this plug. If it is not, then I have to find what this particular port is called within the wiring diagram.

    I am suspecting the 7.5A is the line I'm wanting to target as it's a single USB-C outlet vs the dual at the arm rest being 10A. I'll diagnose power this evening and finish reporting the findings.
     

    Attached Files:

    #5 Dyjital, Apr 23, 2026 at 12:10 PM
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2026 at 12:19 PM
  6. Dyjital

    Dyjital Member

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    Ok @VelvetFoot

    Took the unit out, inspected the color of the wire and it showed that I have a..

    Purple with blue stripe. Absolutely NOT the blue wire I was looking for.
    IMG_1598.jpeg IMG_1599.jpeg


    Hmmm. So I popped the cover off the plug and did a voltage test on it.
    IMG_1600.jpeg
    IMG_1601.jpeg
    I’m getting 11.6V. So there is power to the plug.
    Hmm I says.

    plug the USB-C port back into the harness. Light comes on.
    Now wait a hairy second.
    IMG_1602.jpeg

    Plug my phone into said USB cable. Now it’s charging.

    I blew out the usb plug and inspected everything. I can’t find anything wrong with the 12-5v adapter on the circuit board, plugs etc.

    Maybe dust in the connector?
    image.jpg

    Either way, here we are with a fixed outlet.

    For reference: the PN on the back of the plug:

    image.jpg
     
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  7. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Senior Member

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    Excellent. I’m reminded of the old usb plugs. The c s are more rugged but still…..

    Perhaps some internal circuit protection that needed a power cycle to reset? You’d think it gets that at every startup.

    something to store away in the memory bank.

    I like the dust/oxidation theory.
     
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  8. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Just an FYI...

    The thing that changes the most over the gen5 Prius run are the wiring harnesses. Rarely major changes, but there have been a lot of minor ones. So be careful using diagrams that don't come directly from Toyota and include production numbers. I wouldn't bet my life on the correct wire colors from a non-Toyota source.

    Mitchell1 obviously used the official Toyota wiring diagrams to make the one you showed(I recognize the font/layout/etc.), but there are sometimes notes in the margins about production runs that they may not have included. Like there might be an asterisk by something and the note says something like:

    34600-35800: this thing
    32000-34600: this other thing

    So you'd need to know the production number of your car(last digits of the VIN) to see which one applies to you. The other possibility is if the production run is denoted by date. Then you need to know exactly when your car was built. You can get that from either a dealer, or entering your VIN into one of the tabs on tech-info(tis.com). You might need the prof diag subscription for that.
     
    #8 Hammersmith, Apr 24, 2026 at 6:29 PM
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2026 at 6:37 PM
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  9. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Did you check for cold solder joints @ UBS-C solder joints to the board??? That takes the bulk of the punishment from people stabbing and pulling charge cables in and out. I would've reflowed all those points before reassembling - just because my eyeballs aren't as sharp as they used to be.......:(o_O
     
  10. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    He said the car had been in the shop for side swiping a deer. I'm betting the center console had to come out for some reason during the repair and that particular plug wasn't pushed in quite far enough during reassembly. If they had to pull the dash to access the sheet metal around the door hinges/A-pillar, they would've had to pull the center console first to get at some of the bolts.
     
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