Toyota Prius - Malfunctioning Nav or Calling Inspector Gadget?

Toyota Prius nav screen

During my commute home last night, the Prius's nav started going haywire. Unfortunately, a lot of the car's systems are operated out of this computer, like the audio and climate controls. I couldn't access the map and sometimes I would get overlapping display screens.

Toyota Prius nav screen "audio off" I was listening to the radio but the car's computer kept telling me the audio system was off...

While I could control the volume and change the stations from outside the computer, I couldn't tell what radio station was set. Then the audio started blanking out and back on every few seconds. I ended up stopped at a red light under an overpass and lost power to the radio completely. It was a particularly bad song so I didn't care much. But I hit the power button anyway and the radio came back on and the nav system started working properly. I had been stuck in traffic and was suddenly surprised by how much I had depleted the battery. I had been getting an improper reading while the system was freaking out.

I was in and out of the Prius several times that night, and each time the computer would go crazy again.

my fancy phone Because the Prius is normally so reliable and no other editors have complained about this, I suspect the problem may have been caused by my fancy new cell phone. When I first got the phone, my wireless internet connection at home crapped out. When I called the wireless company, they asked if I had a new gadgety phone. Sure enough, the phone was the culprit. My wireless internet company changed my service to a different channel and now my mobile phone and wireless service are cohabitating nicely. At the time, my phone wasn't even turned on. Its mere presence in the house was enough to cause interference.

So, I am passing the Toyota Prius along to another editor. We'll see if our trusty little hybrid goes back to its normal reliable self.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: 2004 Toyota Prius

6 Comments

Add a comment »

sodaguy says:

09:07 PM, 11/23/06

Try this:

http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Toyota/1105344000000_1106640000000_EL002-05/index.html

It appears that your symptoms are inline with those outlined in the TSB. The cost of a new MFD runs about $4000, but refurbished units available through a Toyota program cost about 90% less. Toyota has been known to cover a few of these malfunctioning MFDs on a goodwill basis despite the vehicles being slightly out-of-warranty.

Good luck.

Report ItReport It

alpha01 says:

03:03 PM, 11/24/06

If it's only happened the once in some 40K plus miles, I am wondering if its due to the gagety phone.

Which leads me to another point.... "At the time, my phone wasn't even turned on. Its mere presence in the house was enough to cause interference."

That's the kind of thing that makes me nervous about putting cells so dang close to my brain! Crazy, right?

Donna, please keep us posted.

~alpha

dderosa says:

01:04 PM, 11/27/06

Turns out it was not my phone. The Prius's nav computer was acting funky all weekend for another editor. Warren will be posting the details of his Prius experience shortly. -- Donna

b777samc says:

09:39 PM, 05/13/07

Donna
I want to thank you for the valuable information on the Prius display problem.
I had the same problem you had and was short of tearing out my dashboard when I came across your article. My warranty had expired and I was reluctant to bring my Prius into the dealer. My display problem was intermittent, it would return to normal operation whenever it felt like it.
When I came across your blog, I had checked my cellphone and noticed an internet ready icon which I do not normally have. I turned out, Cingular had activated the internet capability to my cellphone without my knowledge thus causing the same problem you had mentioned. Once Cingular deactivated the internet service, the display problem never returned. My Cellphone model is Samsung SGH-D807. I guess Toyota should look into shielding the display or wire on their future models.

sec2gen says:

12:03 AM, 01/31/08

Thank you Donna. I started experiencing the exact same problems described with the radio and display panel last week in my 2004 Prius. Since then normal operation has been intermittent. Sometimes if I pull over, turn off all power and start over, the display and radio will work. I have had the same cell phone for a few months and never had this issue. It had been raining alot lately. Did you ever discover what was the cause and/or what is the fix for this issue. It is extremely frustrating, and only the first issue I have had in 4 years/55k miles. Someone please help.

04priususer says:

12:10 PM, 02/23/09

same exact intermittent problem with display just started on my 04 just a few days after converting to a new 3G iphone... I have seen my display show exactly the "photo" issue of "external system is not connected", "frozen" input/output to motor display section, audio not connected, etc etc.

I will stop using my iphone for a few days to see if I can turn off-on this problem.

any other info available?