2008 Prius MFD & Radio display Blank-Help!

This am started car and noticed blank screens on MFD and radio. Digital clock ok. This condition has persisted through several trips today. This is non-NAV MFD. Have 20+k mi. Planning on visit to dealer tomorrow. What do I need to know?

 

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately(?) the condition appears to be completely and totally and in all other ways constant, ie all blank, all the time. Driving the Prius without most of the usual feedback to which I am accustomed is a little unsettling.

 

Went to the dealer Friday noonish for 20K service and MFD malfunction. Unfortunately was not a fuse. Approx 1:15 I was told that, and that the car would be passed up the line to a higher order diagnostician, who would need 1-2 hours to evaluate the problem. By 3:30 the verdict was in: MFD failure. Solution: order refurb MFD from specialty shop in California as replacement. Will arrive in 2-3 weeks, presumably by slow boat via Panama Canal. Orig. MFD will be removed and sent to Calif to be refurbished and...(you guessed it!) recycled into another Prius. No charge for any of this, all under warranty. Cost is mainly the time and aggravation involved. Oh, will need a half-day appt to perform the transplant operation as there is " a lot of dash work involved." There you are.

 

Update: The Saga is Getting Started it Appears

The replacement MFD arrived much sooner than I was told. On Friday, June 12 the transplant surgery was performed, seemingly without a hitch. Blood loss was minimal. All seemed well going home. Saturday am was a different story. The Audio and Climate switches do nothing. At least I have the rear video cam and the mpg modes functional. Will be back at the dealer on Friday for a looksee. Perhaps I will book a standing appointment for every Friday.

 

OK. Car back to dealer for evaluation. Left side (audio/climate) controls not working since MFD replaced on last visit.
Diagnosis: MFD not passing diagnostic testing and appears to be bad. Opened case with techline.
Svc rep said no one at the dealer service dept tested the refurb MFD prior to installation in my car, an oversight he deeply regrets. Also said he has never before seen one of these refurb MFDs not be flawless. He assures me that the next unit will be thoroughly tested before install and expects that it will be perfect. Apologized profusely for the added inconvenience. Sighhh.

 

All now appears to be well once again. After >24 hrs, refurb#2 seems 100% functional so far. Thanks to all for suggestions. These forums are terrific!

 

Assuming you are under 36k, I would expect this to be under warranty. And since we are way past your appointment time, please favor us with a blow-by blow of your experience!

As an update on my own situation, the #2 refurb continues to do well, except when parked in the sun for several hours. On three separate occasions, the MFD remained blank after starting and driving the car until things cooled off in the cabin. I can't decide whether to just accept this or go back to the dealer yet again. Thoughts?

 

Update for any interested owners. Refurb #2 continued to deteriorate over several weeks. As of last week it was functioal approximately 50% of the time. No aggravating or alleviating factors were apparent. It might not work for 2-3 days, then randomly kick on as I'm driving down the road. Then it would function normally for a day or two, etc...
So back to the shop for a full diagnostic workup. After consultation with Toyota Tech Support, conclusion that MFD is culprit. Nothing wrong with Prius electrical, fuses, etc. In other words, there have been three MFDs in this car: the original plus two refurbs. All were declared to be intrinsically defective. Yet judging by these forums it does not seem to be a widespread problem in '08 models.
Now I have #3 refurb installed and so far it is performing flawlessly. I was told that this refurb is better than the previous ones(?!?).
I asked if Toyota will continue to cover this situation after 36k/warranty expiration and was told absolutely, due to the track record of pre-existing condition.
Has anyone else had a similar experience??