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  1. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Congratulations on your successful transaxle transplant, looking forward to seeing your photos.

    I believe that there is a spiral cable within the steering wheel hub that provides connections to the various buttons. Maybe that cable has a broken wire or two.
     
  2. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2008
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    Location:
    Ballamer, Merlin
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    The spiral cable in the steering wheel is often referred to as a
    "clockspring" or "clock spring."

    A quick Google search turns up lots of info on failures and DIY repairs...
    apparently a bit of a pain as it must be carefully aligned to prevent
    pulling it apart with the steering wheel turned full over to either side.

    Not to mention possible steering wheel air-bag deployment!

    Off-roaders seem to experience frequent failures/breakages.
     
  3. mahen

    mahen Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2007
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I open the steering wheel Assy and made a visual check for the spiral cable. All look fine. No Scratch, cracks, dents or chips in the spiral cable sub-assy. For the time being, the following buttons only are not working MAP, INFO, Glass Heaters, A/C and Horn.
    The rest of the button are working normally. I also checked for fuses. Is there any reason for its failure. I got this problem after changing the transaxle. pls help
     
  4. mahen

    mahen Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2007
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I checked the spiral cable again today and opened it. I found 4 lines severed in one connector. As this part is not readily available i decided to solder the cable. I soldered each line with precautions and reinstall the spiral cable. Now all the buttons on the steering keypad + the horn is working. Thanks for your support.
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Very nice work - glad to hear your car is fully repaired now. A few questions:

    1. Odometer reading and model year (maybe you can fill in the profile that appears to the left of your posts?)

    2. Was the car in an accident or did the damage to the spiral cable occur due to normal use and wear?

    3. In post 16 you indicated that you had purchased the equivalent of the Toyota diagnostic tester from China - what was the price and the source for this? Are you satisfied with that purchase?

    4. I assume you are somewhere in Europe - which country?
     
  6. mahen

    mahen Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2007
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi there. Thanks for your usual support.

    I am living in mauritius. A small and beautiful island in the indian ocean. Mauritius Welcomes You - The Official Site for Mauritius. I imported the car from Japan Year 2006 60K, as it was not sold here at that time. Only recently the toyota dealer started selling it here. We have to rely a lot on this forum for support. The spareparts are not readily also so we have to rely on our own to import them. Yes we are very satisfied with the purchase of the tester and there are quite a lot of sellers for such items there. I can give the source of it in private. The spiral cable was damaged while the mechanic replaced the transaxle. I saw him turning the steering wheel while he was connecting the steering sliding yoke. That may have damaged the spiral cable.

    The only thing that i would really want to do is to change the display language which is inJapanese. I was told that it cannot be done. Do u think if i get a europeran navigation dvd, that may do something?

    Thanks
     
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Thanks. If your source ships to USA, pls send me a private msg with details & price.

    I'm not sure about the MFD. There might be different part numbers for each geo region.
     
  8. udor

    udor New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2009
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    Location:
    Melbourne
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    II

    Do you think this problems occurrence is a mileage & time thing as well? Say if your car was 5 years old and only done 40,000 miles. My guess is that the oil would deteriorate over time as well....