Mystery Diagnosis for you Experts

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Barry Smythe, Nov 12, 2018.

  1. Barry Smythe

    Barry Smythe Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2017
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    Location:
    Port Perry, Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Technology
    I have had a 2007 Gen 2 Prius since 2007 and have always found it reliable.


    Today something strange happened which has since gone away, but the reliability record is in doubt. I know some of you Prius Chatters are really knowledgeable on the Gen 2 Prius so I hope someone can shed some light on the cause of what happened today.


    When I turned the car on to back out of the garage, the first thing I noticed was that the backup camera was not working but the normal startup screen was on. At the same time I noticed that the instrument panel was completely black. I decided to proceed because of a meeting I needed to attend. The car drove normally and the turn signals worked but the panel remained black. When I came to a stoplight, since there was no traffic behind me I decided to stop and restart the car. To my horror after i turned it off it was now completely dead and would not restart,, and here I was blocking the intersection with a dead car.


    I pressed the start button several times and pushed the brake pedal and thank goodness after several tries the car did come to life and the, even better, the instrument panel was now normal. I checked the battery and it was about 2/3 and blue, so the traction battery was good. The 12V battery was on an external battery maintainer so it must have been at full voltage. The battery maintainer was used because the car sits in the garage and is not used very much since we now have a new Prius Prime (which we love). To further confirm the 12V battery was OK when I first came to the car I noticed it unlocked when I touched the door handle.


    When I arrived back home I plugged in my OBD reader and used my iPhone app “EngineLink” to see if there were any errors. All it gave me was a message that there were 0 pollution errors.(cannot remember the exact wording)


    Now I am afraid that the Prius will go dead again at some location where getting help would be difficult.


    Can any of you experts suggest what could be the problem? I am afraid my local dealer is not too skilled at Prius diagnosis.
     
    #1 Barry Smythe, Nov 12, 2018
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    #2 SFO, Nov 13, 2018
    m.wynn and bisco like this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    how old is the 12v? it may be that a full charge now is not what it used to be, even though it was enough to lock the doors. worth testing, before replacing the combo meter.
     
    #3 bisco, Nov 13, 2018
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Bad combo meter which is what the speedometer module is called. Really common on ebay or there's a few members here who rebuild them. You want to find a re builder who will program your existing mileage into the module or has one with less mileage. I just replaced mine the other day took me about 4 hours first time. Bought mine on ebay for $99.

    If dealer its probably $2000 for new combo and installation.

    You have to pull the whole dash apart. Good times. Its easier than it sounds as everything is clipped together.

    There's a great youtube on it go on youtube and search

    Prius combo meter.
     
    #4 edthefox5, Nov 13, 2018
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