So for a few years now every once in a while the dash lights on my 2008 Prius won't come on when I turn the car on. It seems to be happening more frequently now. Yesterday I had to unplug the 12 V battery and plug it back in which did the trick. Have been doing the climate button/light switch combo but that doesn't seem to work as well anymore. The 12V battery charge in the diagnostic screen reads 11.9v - 12v. Also read somewhere that it could be a capacitor in the dash light board. Haven't had to replace the 12V battery in a few years. Could it be that? Hoping it's not the capacitor. That sounds like quite a job. Anyone have any experience with that? What's the typical cost?
that's a little low, but not necessarily the problem. take it to auto zone for a free load test. you can send the unit to texas hybrid batteries for a $200. swap, if you are doing it yourself.
It's an underpowered capacitor that's failing on your combination meter / speedometer-mileage-shift indicator. It's relatively easy to pull out and solder a new more powerful capacitor in place. Lots of info online about how to do it.
