I'm looking at a 2006 and all is good except the touch screen has a very noticeable discoloring in the middle. I'd say the area is about 4" x 5" and is uneven. It looks like somehow the screen was burned with a heat gun- who knows? I can't think of what would do this. Maybe one winter, the PO tried to defrost it with a hair dryer. Any idea what might cause something like this? And- How much trouble is it to tear the dash apart and replace it?
How much trouble to replace: you have to pull out the far left vent, then remove the plastic panels above and below the steering column. Then pull the vents on both sides of the MFD. Then you will see the bolts holding the MFD in place. You may break a vent when pulling them out, especially the one to the left of the MFD. So don’t be surprised if that happens and plan to spend $150 for each one that breaks.
Super easy... I've never had problems with vent breaking when pulling them off. Key is applying force to the clips as close to the clips as possible, which is where they're strongest to that kind of force. And I've seen used replacement touch screens on craigslist in the $70 range on a regular basis, so if that's only problem with the car, get $100 knocked off its price and buy it! Swapping the touch screen will take less than an hour.
Agree with Patrick on AC vents. I've looked at about 5 different junkyard Priuses in the last year and the vast majority have broken central AC vents. IIRC Boulder Hybrids guide to replacing dashboard parts that say 90% of central ac vents they see will break during reinstall. I was able to pull a central AC vent off of one junker without a problem - then I layed it down on a flat surface, went to do something else, came back, jostled it, and it broke apart. I glued a cracked one back together - and then it broke into pieces again in all new places because the glue I used was stronger than the remaining plastic. I would have had to coat the entire inside of the part with glue for it to stay together. Perhaps it is local climate, but this is the most brittle plastic I have ever encountered on a car, it reminds me very much of old outdoor toys from the 80s which had no UV protection.
The outer left vent can be purchased for $35 on eBay...I just broke one cause I'm not handy at all and attempted to replace dash cluster. My attempt lasted about 30 seconds as I broke the vent in about 5 seconds (the other 25 seconds was gathering a couple tools and placing them on passenger seat). I found a vent listed as excellent condition no scratches/scuffs for $34.88 free shipping. I seen the 10 minute youtube video on removing the instrument cluster and I'd estimate it at 20 min off / 20 min on for the instrument cluster....which is why I made attempt to do myself. I've watched my mechanic change the screen and it is really easy...quite a few steps easier than the cluster. But if you're not handy like me you'll break the vent.
This is how you replace the screen (same concept for cluster just few extra steps): EDIT: I think this guy is doing too many steps...at least if you are only changing screen. I definitely don't recall my mechanic removing upper glove (actually I am 100% positive he did not) so there are many extra steps on this video as it is for changing cluster...
Go on car-part.com and look up 2006 Toyota Prius info screen. Oh, you'll need to call dealership with vin to get your ID number. Most on eBay are 86110-47080 or 86110-47081. The 6 speaker and 9 speaker are interchangeable but they are different from the other IDs. With some luck you'll get one for $75 on car-part but some people try to ask $300.
well, I've never had an issue or a concern with removing vents, even after several times... Maybe it's my old car stereo install, as well as camper van conversion jobs that taught me to only apply enough force to pop stuff out, but not enough force to bust it? Also if you want your Gen2 vents to look way nicer, pick up a can of black peelable spray paint and cover up that ridiculous silver-grey that almost doesn't match anything else in the car. Don't you agree that it looks way better?
My mechanic has been having a tough time fixing AC on one of the priuses. Found it to be the evaporator core (I think what it is called)...here is it's current condition pic he sent me today, little worse than changing info screen
Oh man... That's so, so, so many hours of labor the customer is paying for... I bet some dashboard labor hours for repair are higher than engine swaps.
