Just Vlad I just did it today finished it within 2hrs. I also found a way to remove the aluminum capacitor and use the plastic from the old capacitor as a base to solder the new one...I wish I would have film it to help other like you helped me.
STILL WORKS! Just an update for anyone who may be wondering about longevity of this repair, I repaired my cluster using this method around 5 months ago and it is still working like a champ! Thank you for sharing this fix! The cheapest alternative I had found before was sending my cluster to someone to repair for $150, and that was with about a 10 day turnaround to receive it back. This took me a little over an hour to pull it out, fix, and reinstall. Update: This fix is still working over 2 years later. 11/19/2020 update 10/02/2021 stills work after 3 years Update 12/02/2023 makes 6 years since I completed the repair and it still works.
Rusty Kennedy sweet man, I got 07 Prius and its giving me that problem over a year, time to fix it myself, tired of resetting 12V battery n hybrid. Wish me a luck! Vlad, you the MAN!
Hi Rusty, my dashboard lights completely turned off. Went to the dealership, they said it is my combination meter, over $1000 fix in their eyes. After watching this video, is it really as simple as this? Is the capacitor the same as the combination meter?
@@carolineroberts6684 The Combination meter is the speedometer display. My display would not light up and I would have to disconnect the battery to get it to work again for a short period of time. I followed the directions in this video and my speedometer is still working over 2 years later. It is a lot of work to remove the dash to get to the display and you must know how to soldier electronics to add the new capacitor.
@@kennethrkennedy Thanks for responding! Okay, so my 2007 Prius kept "dying" the past month. It happened twice this past week, I noticed it was turning on, but the dashboard was completely black. I assumed it was the battery and that it just didn't have enough for the dashboard. Someone looked at my battery externally and said it looked good. I jumpstarted my car 3 times, worked for a few days each time (even the dashboard). Today, I took it to a toyota dealership and he convinced me I needed a new $300 12v battery. So I had them install it, afterwards, the dashboard lights are completely off. That was new, nothing would get them back on. I think he scammed me, after watching this video especially
Bro you are awesome! Never doubt for a second whether or not you made a positive difference in this world during this life time. Got it fixed, after a year and a half of just dealing with it. You are greatly appreciated.
Just wanted your to know that you saved my wife and I $1,200, which is what the dealership wanted to charge to repair a faulty combination meter. Total cost was about 60 cents plus a couple hours of our time taking apart and putting the dash back together. Thank you SO MUCH!!!
I’m just going to replace mine. I totally get if you don’t have the money but for 120 bucks it just seems to be worth it to replace the whole thing. (IMO) I’m also terrible a soldering lol.
You're the best. First person who showed how to fix it. Everyone else is so secretive so that they can profit from fixing it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you Vlad. it's been 3 weeks since I replaced that 100 microfarad capacitor with a 200 ($7 for an assortment) and the fix seems to working all the time. My meter used to go dark maybe every other day. The project took maybe 4 hours. I bought a very fine point temp adjustable soldering iron from amazon for the job ($12). Gently heated the existing surface mount 100microfarad cap contact points and removed it carefully with tweezers. Clipped and bent the leads on a replacement 200 microfarad electrolytic capacitor to the perfect width. Added tiny raised bumps of solder to the two joints and carefully heated each solder bump and attached the leads, paying attention to the polarity. Easy.
Hi, I have a similar problem too, my meter goes blank every few weeks. Sometimes I replug the auxiliary battery and it comes back on. And sometimes it comes back on on its own after a few drives. You mean it could be that some parts aren't working and that I don't need to change the entire combination meter?
Thanks for the post! What year is yours? My 2012 is doing this which is of course a gen 3. I'm not sure if the above gen 2 video applies to a gen 3 also. Does anyone know if it does?
Just did this fix on my sister's prius and it worked a charm! Only broke one plastic clip and one extra screw left over :) Thanks 100x for the walkthrough; was able to get everything apart, replace cap, and put back together in under 4 hours with zero prior dash experience.
Thanks! I replaced the old capacitor with a 220 UhF type. A local guy wanted $100 to remove the old capacitor and add a new one. I did it using a new soldering kit for $20 from Amazon and got five capacitors for $5. It was my first time soldering.
I'm a bodyman 45 years in the business. Done a little soldering & Electronics ..but as a rule I try to avoid it but I just fixed this Prius that I bought at the auction following your advice I put in a hundred farad microfarad Ultra farad megafarad Mighty farad whatever .. So THANK YOU!
Thanks for this tip! It's been a month since I tried this out and the cluster has been working fine. Soldering was tricky because of the tight space to work with. This was worth the labor. I got tired of constantly unplugging the 12v battery to have the cluster work momentarily.
I confirm this works. I replaced the same capacitor and back in action. Works perfect and costs less than $5.00. THANK YOU JUST VLAD - YOU ARE AWESOME FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO!! Please do not stop sharing great information like this.
I went to Radio Shack. I got a standard through hole electrolytic capacitor 220mfd 16vdc then cut and bent the leads so they would fit on the solder pads. I soldered it down, tested, then came back with some electronic grade silicone to make sure the cap would not vibrate loose. If you do the same, don't leave the capacitor held only by the bond of solder and make sure you use electronic grade silicone to hold it as some regular silicone can cause corrosion.
Excellent. This worked well. I did have to find a local solder expert to replace the 100 with the 220, and it cost me $50. However, it’s much cheaper than sending it off to someone to do it or buying a new digital display. And the guy was able to fix it in about 30 mins..
Thanks man. I did this exact same thing. Toyota would've charged a thousands bucks to do this. I also didn't wanna ship my combo meter out to somebody on ebay. Hopefully it stays working fine for the duration of the vehicle. I have 220K miles on this prius. Love this little car.
I became a subscriber in appreciation for this fine video ! But, I used the "reset" option that you revealed . It worked perfectly! Don't know how long . Will post again if there is a problem . If you don't hear from me within the next month , please assume I am FINE!
This is a great video. Not a fan of piggy-backing two capacitors, but hey, it works. FYI, this is why older stereo equipment like Sony DAT and cassette tape decks, video cameras, etc stop working too. Many of the earlier versions of these smaller capacitors meant for surface mount construction would only last 10-15 years. I've replaced capacitors on plenty of stuff- and now I have a Prius with a dark dashboard. Here we go again!
Thanks Vlad helped out a lot. Let me share my experience hopefully help some one else. Dash lights going out with weather change etc finally decided to do the job after it was happening too often. Ordered capacitor online and a small soldering kit that worked out well. The capacitors I ordered where 100/ut-16 v and 200/ut-16v did not know if I was going to take out existing capacitor or piggy back it with the 100 also when I removed existing one I realized It was top mount capacitor but not a big deal just cut wires shorter on new one and bent 90 degree angle on wire. I un soldered capacitor because on some videos people just twisted them off but they say you can damage wire trace on board. Cleaned with acetone fluxed soldered new capacitor on It is very tight and did not want to mess up so It is a little tough but I say go for it. put unit back in and it did not work removed unit soldered another capacitor in then I realized I had missed plugging speedometer plug back in!!!! Put everything back together working great. Taking the dash out is very easy takes like ten minutes soldering Is little difficult but don't over think it. I would recommend doing it yourself good luck!
Really great video. Just bought a Prius and all the other fixes, including the batter cable, no longer bring the dash back up. I'm going to give this a shot. Thank you again!
If you’re trying to buy more time, this procedure has worked for me every time. Ensure the engine is off by holding down the power button for around 10 seconds before hand. 1 open the door and keep in open the entire time 2 turn the headlights on 3 hold down the odometer button and the brake pedal. With them both held down, press the power button and attempt to start the car normally. Holding the odometer before turning the car on is the procedure for resetting the “maintenance required” light. If your odometer comes back on don’t the procedure complete by releasing the odometer button if you don’t want to lose your oil change info.
Thanks for the great video! This is exactly what my car needed. My dash would work on a cold morning, then not work the second time I started the car. I ordered the capacitor on ebay and replaced it myself. Thanks so much!
Thank you Just Vald!!!! You Rock!! I am a Lyft driver and can't afford the $1500. plus all the time the car would be in the Dealer garage. With no income coming in!!!! Huge like!!! Also Subscribed!!!
Wow, this actually worked! That capacitor tested ok, and I thought it was another one. But I decided to add the cap to the one you mentioned. So far, so good!
Just did this repair. A few notes. 1. Did this with a very automotively handy friend and it took about 3 hours. 2. Soldering the new capacitor was by far the hardest part. If you know someone who can do it for 50-100 I’d probably recommend it because it was a real pain even with four hands. 3. Your vents will probably break! If you care you might want to buy new ones ahead of time but with that said if you don’t…that leads be to number four. 4. Putting it back and taking it off the second time was much easier. We probably put it all back in 5-10 mins compared to a good 30-45 getting it off. Overall I’d recommend having a second head and second pair of hands and it’s not too bad.
Thank you so much I took a cap off an old wireless router 200 micro farad. The old cap on the prices board just twisted off. I soldered new cap on and it works!!!! Thank you so much. Toyota wanted 700.00 to fix it. The who!e project took an hour and a half
On my 2006 Prius,my left turn signal, high beam light, and parking/emergency brake lights don't display. However, they are all functional. What do you think is the issue?
I just replaced one. The original capacitor reads 91uf and 5.25 ohms ESR on a professional capacitor analyzer. This would not be considered a bad capacitor in most circuits. A new quality 100uf cap will read about 100uf and under 1 ohm ESR. I ended up using a 220uf because I believe the original capacitor is too closely spec'd to allow for typical degradation of capacitance and ESR over time. The 220uf will allow for typical wear and have more headroom for both value and ESR.
Is it the exact same one in the exact same place as shown in the vid? Would you happen to have any pictures or videos of the job, mate? Be real helpful! About to do something similar on my 2012. Thanks!
@@jafinch78 Yes, still working. Since that post, I've done about 200 of those clusters for a rental agency that buys Prius' with bad batteries for used car rentals. They repair the packs and rent the cars. There are a couple of other issues on those clusters such as having to resolder the two ribbon connectors and the entire fluorescent display module. I've had a couple of three pin regulator ICs fail on occasion, but the 100uf cap is the cause of grief in most of them.
@@ohger1 Awesome! Glad to read you're rescuing the Priuses from being parted out. Sucks seeing that, though is better than not even going to the salvage yard and straight to scrap. I've literally plastic welded a halogen headlight assembly and made some videos detailing me doing that on the channel here. Someone tried to convert to HID and gave up on. Never thought I'd take a shattered headlight and use for part material and plastic weld. However, I wanted to convert from HID to Halogen and did so successfully on my 2006. Lately I've been wondering about bumper guard cracks and using the 3D printer world ABS Paste made with acetone and ABS scraps for a chemical weld method to coat after ironing in stainless steel mesh along the breaks. Looking forward to the MFD repair potentially as well. Wondering, have you ever seen on a gen 3, and appears only the 2013 I've seen thus far, where the display changes color and is hard to read at times with those orange yellow tones dominating? Wondering if is a similar capacitor or connection like cold solder joint issue?
Great video on diagnosis and prognosis but still need video showing how to do actual delicate soldering. I appreciate the written instructions from commenter Cliff Leong, but as always, a video just shows everything that needs to be done and how to do it. I'll try additional searches, but this video is definitely a great start!
Great video. Replaced as shown and back in business. Unfortunately broke one of my vents but a replacement is on the way. Still way cheaper then taking it to the stealer. Thank you very much.
Worked very well. If your soldering skills are up for it replace the capacitor with a 220 microfarad capacitor model about 40 cents. Thanks for posting.
FYI - If there is anyone left like me (Dec 2024).... By far the easiest way to get it working temporarily. The driver door open light shows in the dash when working correctly. When the dash goes out that driver door open light also is out. Power the car off (might have to hold the power off button in for a bit). Open the driver door. The door open light will not be showing. Leave the car powered off and start using as much electrical as possible (turn headlights off/on, turn emergency flashers on, turn interior lights on, push brake pedal) (that's all I have ever had to do). Eventually the door open light will come on and it is working again. It is a capacitor problem and I think this discharges the capacitor(s) and resets the problem (temporarily). I learned this from someone on YT but I don't know who so I can't give credit but I thank him every time it occurs. I bought new capacitors but would rather not have to go through this repair. I'll see how it goes. My 2007 Prius is awesome!
I was having the same problem. Research led me to believe it's the capacitor. My workaround had been to disconnect the 12V battery in trunk; then reconnect it. This works but began to be more of a nuisance. I decided to wire a light -switch (common AC light switch 120V/15A found cheaply in hardware stores) with a short length of wire (common lamp-wire 14-gauge). Wired between grounding screw and ground wire to battery. This method allows easy access to disconnect/reconnect battery (i.e. reset electrical system). Capacitors acts to reduce ripple effect on the voltage. The main problem seems to be as the original capacitor(s) degrade over time, they may no longer reliably reduce the initial ripple (upon startup) to allow the computer to fully initialize; hence the multifunction display isn't brought online. While the light-switch was a fairly easy, quick, and cheap workaround, it seems to also have resolved the issue! Perhaps the addition of the switch and wiring induces a small measure of capacitance? In any case, I haven't had that issue again in months, if it recurs I can reset via the switch. Note: I folded the excess metal of switch and used electrical tape wrapped around it to form protective 'wings' so switch doesn't accidentally get switched OFF. Works great!
My girlfriend and I did this on her car. Literally pulled a 220uf 16v capacitor from an old computer and soldered it on. It works now! No issues and the only thing we did differently was remove the old capacitor which was tedious but not too bad..
@@cavio11 I did it exactly like in the video, because I was worried about damaging the solder pads if I try to remove it completely. So far it's still working fine.
Great video! I love the information! I would have simply unsoldered the existing capacitor and soldered a 220 µF capacitor in its place paying attention to polarity. I also like the idea of unsoldering the existing capacitor and attaching the wires like you did to make it a safer and easier fix. I can't imagine leaving the old capacitor in place. But if it worked for you that's great.
Did this repair on my Prius. Tacked a 100uf on top of the existing like Vlad and it worked for about 6 months. However, the dash started doing the same again recently. I should've removed the old and gone with the 220uf. I think the old capacitor wore down the first replacement. I'm gonna take another stab at it this weekend. Ordered my capacitor from Digikey and not Amazon. May not matter much, but it looks like the same exact part.
Thank you but I replaced the 100uF 16v cap with a 35v 100uF I think that would be the correct method. Thanks again for the tip where did you get your info??
I read a bunch of forums taking about it. But it was a guess mostly lol, cause no one wanted to share exactly what was failing, it was their business to fix them. I think You'll be fine with 100uf but if it gives trouble i would highly recommend doing a 220uf. In any case let me know how the 100uf works out for you. Thanks
JD Bond is correct, you should never go higher with the UF of a cap because you will be spiking the other circuits with to much power but it is ok to go higher with the voltage of a cap.
Mine still comes on when I play with the headlights and close/open doors. I still don't have the audible ding ding sound when the door is open but the light does come on and so does my dash when I mess with it. Sometimes it comes on how it's supposed to the first time. Sometimes it takes a few tries. Could it be the same capacitor you replaced or possibly another one? Thanks for your time if you can answer!
Hello thank you for your video.I have prius 2 nd generation.The Problem is when i go to the gass station when put the fuel to the tank of car it's reject.(by the sorry my english)and also the fuel gauge shows in correct what should be reasons?thank you
Can you PLEASE tell me the steps how to remove the old capacitor and solder a new one down? Do i have to buy the soldering iron and solder and/ or buy electronic grade silicone? Thank you.
johnny07191 it's simple just twist off the capacitor the connectors are weak on that type of capacitor. Remember the polarity before you twist it off. Then reuse the plastic base on the old capacitor. Slip the new capacitor in it's place and and bend the leads the plastic base from the old capacitor will make it look better and hold the capacitor flat when soldering. Make sure you use flux core solder... I learned from here pc-restorer.com/repairing-a-macintosh-se30-with-no-sound/ and perfected it. If you need help I'll post a video on how I did it.
th-cam.com/video/8lKXeBydY1Y/w-d-xo.html check my video out. hope this helps you its very brief but its the best i can do without removing the dashboard all over again.
Lmao. Posted 6 months ago? The newest gen2 Prius is 10 YEARS OLD. Most of these are 15 Years old! Guess what? Cars don’t last forever! You want to know why new cars (and everything thing else) is so expensive? Because of people like you who think everything should be free.
Law suit because Toyota loses money and you know the Toyota dealers are money suckers, who wants to pay 1000 USD for the dashboard repair when I asked for quote and was told 1000 usd
I watch these videos to get confidence in what I’m doing if you tell your listeners that you’re not sure that does not give off the perception of confidence
Thanks for sharing. I did it on my 2007 Prius by adding a 220uF 16v capacitor in parallel, and it works! Mine started to act up and work irregularly on and off in late Dec'17 due to cold weather. Just hope the fix will last.
Unfortunately this fix did not last! One week after the fix, the meter was dark again for 1 day, and just yesterday morning it happened again after about 1 week of near freezing morning temperature.
To get the cluster to come on just turn the headlights on. I don't know why it works, but I assume that the power going to the little green headlight indicator light powers up whatever circuit is needed to power up the cluster.
***EASY WORKAROUND/TEMPORARY FIX*** Till you follow this great video and fix it permanently, here is a temporary fix to get the meter to work again. Turn on the lights (which will dim the display), if you have auto lights feature then turn on the lights and also block the light sensor with something to dim the display and then turn on your car, the meter will light up! 😊
Does anyone have a picture of the upgraded capacitor installed? I don’t imagine he left the wires that long on final install. Great video with everything I was hoping for. Thank you.
Looks like it works great. I need someone to do this for me. Mechanics only remove and replace. What key words can I search to find someone local to do this?
Hi. Thank you for the video. I think I can. I think I can. I have a question. My code b1271 only comes on 2/3 the time, when it feels like it. My car only registers that code when the lights aren't displaying. Sometimes they dwork and display. Sometimes they don't. The same goes for various head or tail lights and my CD/tape player. My horn has permanently failed. Is there anything that could cause these things to happen randomly?
I was able to reset the cluster by holding power on button for several seconds and it worked. However, a month later I had this issue again and used the same method to reset it. Is my cluster dying? and i need to replace the condenser or it something else?
Hello. I have the same problem with the toyota Prius, but the generation 3. It is different, but there are those capacitors .... Can some help how to check which capacitor is corrupt. One of the 100 nf was inflated, I replaced it, but there is nothing left. Has the printed board been interrupted? thank you
While it might work in this case, you can NOT read a capacitor's value reliably in circuit. Reading ESR in circuit is far more accurate but there are circuits where low value - low ESR multi layer chip capacitors are used to bypass bigger electrolytics and give a falsely low ESR. The
Great video bro. I want to do the same for a client this week. Also, I noticed you mentioned at 7:39 that the capacitor you were adding to the weak one is a 50v capacitor with the same micro reading, is that correct? Isn't the voltage reading on the new capacitor you added meant to be 16v too? Just asking for clearance. Thanks
Hey guys, when I am looking at Gen 2 Toyota Priuses at the junkyards, how can I tell if the combination meters in these Priuses are replacement ones? Is there a date stamp or a label on each one that lets us know the date of refurbish or date of manufacture? I know it sounds crazy, but I am willing to pull apart and disassblebthe dashboards on these Priuses to get to the combination meters to see if they are good ones that are replacement parts. If I find one, I am going to buy it from the junkyard. The prices here make it worth my while. I have a 2008 Prius with 181k miles. Zak Flying, Native Stonemover
13:04 hola yo hice todo así como se ve en el video pero me quedan todas la luces de los comando de fallas fijas sin apagar como si estuviera solo en ignición
Vlad, Help! My Prius 2004 suddenly stopped starting. It completly dies without warning. Occasionaly, when I get into the car, press start button and all electrics completly go, no start, not a single light on any where on dash, key fob does not opperate locks etc... Then after 10 to 15 mins, electrics slowly start coming back and eventually car starts and works fine for a while. Any idea what the problem is and how I can fix it, please?
I'm not sure what that could be. I would start with checking the 12-volt battery. If it randomly dies then that's an electrical issue sounds like. Hope hope you can figure it out.
@@JustVlads Wow! You're right. I had the battery checked and it was completely gone. It has lasted 15 years! Changed it and everything is back to perfect working order. thank you for all your support - to everyone.
freedom1111bird It’s not flashing although it looks like it. When you record with a camera it looks like that but it looks normal in person. I.E. - 📷 sees flashing - - - - but in real life we see it solid ____
@@MyHrtShapedBx Thank you! Do you know if the upgrade from the 100 uf capacitor to the 220 uf is the only change in the replacement circuit boards? If so im guessing that's the only bit we need to replace? We will test all of them but wanted to know if there's any other issue that's been found with these before we put it all back together. Mine works intermittently so I won't know if it's been fixed until I drive it for a few days. Has yours been working fine ever since? Also I was considering buying a refirb board from these guys only if there's alot of uncertainty about a capacitor being the solution. www.texashybridbatteries.com/prius-combination-meter-repair Thoughts?
Awesome video of the fix. You have done a wonderful job on explaining this process. I live in Az. And have to wait till it cools off to do this, pulling a dash at 110 doesn't cut it. I'll monitor miles and use gps for speed. I was thinking of finding another bash with the nav system in it. Do you know if it's possible to make this upgrade since I'll be in there?
Get capacitors here: geni.us/dxOA2iR
Recommended stuff: geni.us/JustVlads
Just Vlad I just did it today finished it within 2hrs. I also found a way to remove the aluminum capacitor and use the plastic from the old capacitor as a base to solder the new one...I wish I would have film it to help other like you helped me.
How do i know where positive and negative on a new capacitor ?
STILL WORKS! Just an update for anyone who may be wondering about longevity of this repair, I repaired my cluster using this method around 5 months ago and it is still working like a champ! Thank you for sharing this fix! The cheapest alternative I had found before was sending my cluster to someone to repair for $150, and that was with about a 10 day turnaround to receive it back. This took me a little over an hour to pull it out, fix, and reinstall.
Update: This fix is still working over 2 years later. 11/19/2020
update 10/02/2021 stills work after 3 years
Update 12/02/2023 makes 6 years since I completed the repair and it still works.
Rusty Kennedy sweet man, I got 07 Prius and its giving me that problem over a year, time to fix it myself, tired of resetting 12V battery n hybrid. Wish me a luck! Vlad, you the MAN!
Hay i was wondering if this fix is still working for you or if it was only a temporary thing
Hi Rusty, my dashboard lights completely turned off. Went to the dealership, they said it is my combination meter, over $1000 fix in their eyes. After watching this video, is it really as simple as this? Is the capacitor the same as the combination meter?
@@carolineroberts6684
The Combination meter is the speedometer display. My display would not light up and I would have to disconnect the battery to get it to work again for a short period of time. I followed the directions in this video and my speedometer is still working over 2 years later. It is a lot of work to remove the dash to get to the display and you must know how to soldier electronics to add the new capacitor.
@@kennethrkennedy Thanks for responding! Okay, so my 2007 Prius kept "dying" the past month. It happened twice this past week, I noticed it was turning on, but the dashboard was completely black. I assumed it was the battery and that it just didn't have enough for the dashboard. Someone looked at my battery externally and said it looked good. I jumpstarted my car 3 times, worked for a few days each time (even the dashboard). Today, I took it to a toyota dealership and he convinced me I needed a new $300 12v battery. So I had them install it, afterwards, the dashboard lights are completely off. That was new, nothing would get them back on. I think he scammed me, after watching this video especially
Bro you are awesome! Never doubt for a second whether or not you made a positive difference in this world during this life time. Got it fixed, after a year and a half of just dealing with it. You are greatly appreciated.
Just wanted your to know that you saved my wife and I $1,200, which is what the dealership wanted to charge to repair a faulty combination meter. Total cost was about 60 cents plus a couple hours of our time taking apart and putting the dash back together. Thank you SO MUCH!!!
Always boom tomorrow.
Stilll good? Dont even know why im asking cuz i dont have $1200 to fix mine lol so i got to do it this way
@@Jibba Yes, the combo meter is still going strong. *knock on wood* My next project is to replace the touchscreen (which might be this afternoon). :)
My next project, get a job, on the side working on cars.
I’m just going to replace mine. I totally get if you don’t have the money but for 120 bucks it just seems to be worth it to replace the whole thing. (IMO) I’m also terrible a soldering lol.
You're the best. First person who showed how to fix it. Everyone else is so secretive so that they can profit from fixing it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you Vlad. it's been 3 weeks since I replaced that 100 microfarad capacitor with a 200 ($7 for an assortment) and the fix seems to working all the time. My meter used to go dark maybe every other day. The project took maybe 4 hours. I bought a very fine point temp adjustable soldering iron from amazon for the job ($12). Gently heated the existing surface mount 100microfarad cap contact points and removed it carefully with tweezers. Clipped and bent the leads on a replacement 200 microfarad electrolytic capacitor to the perfect width. Added tiny raised bumps of solder to the two joints and carefully heated each solder bump and attached the leads, paying attention to the polarity. Easy.
Hi, I have a similar problem too, my meter goes blank every few weeks. Sometimes I replug the auxiliary battery and it comes back on. And sometimes it comes back on on its own after a few drives. You mean it could be that some parts aren't working and that I don't need to change the entire combination meter?
Is there any video of this by any chance?
That's the correct way to do this repair. Hard wiring another capacitor to piggy back is not a great idea.
Thanks for the post! What year is yours? My 2012 is doing this which is of course a gen 3. I'm not sure if the above gen 2 video applies to a gen 3 also. Does anyone know if it does?
I tried this fix about 3 months ago. It worked for me and is still going strong.
Just did this fix on my sister's prius and it worked a charm!
Only broke one plastic clip and one extra screw left over :)
Thanks 100x for the walkthrough; was able to get everything apart, replace cap, and put back together in under 4 hours with zero prior dash experience.
Thanks! I replaced the old capacitor with a 220 UhF type. A local guy wanted $100 to remove the old capacitor and add a new one. I did it using a new soldering kit for $20 from Amazon and got five capacitors for $5. It was my first time soldering.
I think you sincerely for this information. Vlad's video is great, but I was a little troubled about the soldering and you've removed my doubts now.
@@pwynnnormandid it work for you ?
You did a great job explaining. You have a calm voice, you explain details slowly and to the point. Thanks! Keep up the great videos!
I love this guy's voice
I'm a bodyman 45 years in the business.
Done a little soldering & Electronics ..but as a rule I try to avoid it
but I just fixed this Prius that I bought at the auction following your advice I put in a hundred farad microfarad Ultra farad megafarad Mighty farad whatever .. So THANK YOU!
Thanks for sharing your results!
Spend $1.oo on a condenser, everything took me 2 hours, problem fixed, working perfectly, Thank you very much for great info and direction.
Thanks for this tip! It's been a month since I tried this out and the cluster has been working fine. Soldering was tricky because of the tight space to work with. This was worth the labor. I got tired of constantly unplugging the 12v battery to have the cluster work momentarily.
ooh nice trick, that will help me pass inspection :)
I confirm this works. I replaced the same capacitor and back in action. Works perfect and costs less than $5.00. THANK YOU JUST VLAD - YOU ARE AWESOME FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO!! Please do not stop sharing great information like this.
Gregg Festo hi Gregg where did you find or buy the new capacitor
I went to Radio Shack. I got a standard through hole electrolytic capacitor 220mfd 16vdc then cut and bent the leads so they would fit on the solder pads. I soldered it down, tested, then came back with some electronic grade silicone to make sure the cap would not vibrate loose.
If you do the same, don't leave the capacitor held only by the bond of solder and make sure you use electronic grade silicone to hold it as some regular silicone can cause corrosion.
I forgot to add that I removed completely the old capacitor. This provided plenty of room for the through hole leads to lay flat against.
can you share the link ? where did u buy?
I repair clusters and speedometers for a living.
this video is top notch.
awesome info and we'll needed.
great job sir!!
hi, where do you live. i need my car to be fixed. I am in MD
Excellent. This worked well. I did have to find a local solder expert to replace the 100 with the 220, and it cost me $50. However, it’s much cheaper than sending it off to someone to do it or buying a new digital display. And the guy was able to fix it in about 30 mins..
Got a friend thats got 410,000 miles on his prius Thanks for the tip.
I've got a little over 200K on my 2007 Prius. Will I have to keep doing this a lot, or will the one time be enough?
Damnnnnn I'm in luck I have an 08 and only 260,000 lol
I have 263,962 miles on my 2007 Prius Touring. I moved to Texas and all of a sudden this is happening. Hahaha. Thank God that this man found the fix!
I have 430,000 daughter is at 393,000
Just did this to my wife's 05 Prius. Fingers crossed that it stays working. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks man. I did this exact same thing. Toyota would've charged a thousands bucks to do this. I also didn't wanna ship my combo meter out to somebody on ebay. Hopefully it stays working fine for the duration of the vehicle. I have 220K miles on this prius. Love this little car.
I became a subscriber in appreciation for this fine video ! But, I used the "reset" option that you revealed . It worked perfectly! Don't know how long . Will post again if there is a problem . If you don't hear from me within the next month , please assume I am FINE!
This is a great video. Not a fan of piggy-backing two capacitors, but hey, it works. FYI, this is why older stereo equipment like Sony DAT and cassette tape decks, video cameras, etc stop working too. Many of the earlier versions of these smaller capacitors meant for surface mount construction would only last 10-15 years. I've replaced capacitors on plenty of stuff- and now I have a Prius with a dark dashboard. Here we go again!
Thanks Vlad helped out a lot. Let me share my experience hopefully help some one else. Dash lights going out with weather change etc finally decided to do the job after it was happening too often. Ordered capacitor online and a small soldering kit that worked out well. The capacitors I ordered where 100/ut-16 v and 200/ut-16v did not know if I was going to take out existing capacitor or piggy back it with the 100 also when I removed existing one I realized It was top mount capacitor but not a big deal just cut wires shorter on new one and bent 90 degree angle on wire. I un soldered capacitor because on some videos people just twisted them off but they say you can damage wire trace on board. Cleaned with acetone fluxed soldered new capacitor on It is very tight and did not want to mess up so It is a little tough but I say go for it. put unit back in and it did not work removed unit soldered another capacitor in then I realized I had missed plugging speedometer plug back in!!!! Put everything back together working great. Taking the dash out is very easy takes like ten minutes soldering Is little difficult but don't over think it. I would recommend doing it yourself good luck!
Really great video. Just bought a Prius and all the other fixes, including the batter cable, no longer bring the dash back up. I'm going to give this a shot. Thank you again!
If you’re trying to buy more time, this procedure has worked for me every time. Ensure the engine is off by holding down the power button for around 10 seconds before hand.
1 open the door and keep in open the entire time
2 turn the headlights on
3 hold down the odometer button and the brake pedal. With them both held down, press the power button and attempt to start the car normally.
Holding the odometer before turning the car on is the procedure for resetting the “maintenance required” light. If your odometer comes back on don’t the procedure complete by releasing the odometer button if you don’t want to lose your oil change info.
Thanks for the great video! This is exactly what my car needed. My dash would work on a cold morning, then not work the second time I started the car. I ordered the capacitor on ebay and replaced it myself. Thanks so much!
Out of all videos I watched this method was the only one that worked, thank you!
Thank you Vlad. I already ordered soldering kit ($12) and 25 x 100uf/16v to fix my cluster
2007 prius with 15k miles.
Thank you Just Vald!!!! You Rock!! I am a Lyft driver and can't afford the $1500. plus all the time the car would be in the Dealer garage. With no income coming in!!!! Huge like!!! Also Subscribed!!!
Wow, this actually worked! That capacitor tested ok, and I thought it was another one. But I decided to add the cap to the one you mentioned. So far, so good!
Just did this repair. A few notes.
1. Did this with a very automotively handy friend and it took about 3 hours.
2. Soldering the new capacitor was by far the hardest part. If you know someone who can do it for 50-100 I’d probably recommend it because it was a real pain even with four hands.
3. Your vents will probably break! If you care you might want to buy new ones ahead of time but with that said if you don’t…that leads be to number four.
4. Putting it back and taking it off the second time was much easier. We probably put it all back in 5-10 mins compared to a good 30-45 getting it off.
Overall I’d recommend having a second head and second pair of hands and it’s not too bad.
Thank you so much
I took a cap off an old wireless router 200 micro farad. The old cap on the prices board just twisted off. I soldered new cap on and it works!!!! Thank you so much. Toyota wanted 700.00 to fix it. The who!e project took an hour and a half
finally some real fix and not just "turn it on and off until you get lucky to turn it on" other tutorials were shit. thx for the detailed explanation
On my 2006 Prius,my left turn signal, high beam light, and parking/emergency brake lights don't display. However, they are all functional. What do you think is the issue?
I just replaced one. The original capacitor reads 91uf and 5.25 ohms ESR on a professional capacitor analyzer. This would not be considered a bad capacitor in most circuits. A new quality 100uf cap will read about 100uf and under 1 ohm ESR. I ended up using a 220uf because I believe the original capacitor is too closely spec'd to allow for typical degradation of capacitance and ESR over time. The 220uf will allow for typical wear and have more headroom for both value and ESR.
Is it the exact same one in the exact same place as shown in the vid? Would you happen to have any pictures or videos of the job, mate? Be real helpful! About to do something similar on my 2012. Thanks!
Just curious if you're still on here and how the replacement you did is still working?
@@jafinch78 Yes, still working. Since that post, I've done about 200 of those clusters for a rental agency that buys Prius' with bad batteries for used car rentals. They repair the packs and rent the cars. There are a couple of other issues on those clusters such as having to resolder the two ribbon connectors and the entire fluorescent display module. I've had a couple of three pin regulator ICs fail on occasion, but the 100uf cap is the cause of grief in most of them.
@@ohger1 Awesome! Glad to read you're rescuing the Priuses from being parted out. Sucks seeing that, though is better than not even going to the salvage yard and straight to scrap. I've literally plastic welded a halogen headlight assembly and made some videos detailing me doing that on the channel here. Someone tried to convert to HID and gave up on. Never thought I'd take a shattered headlight and use for part material and plastic weld. However, I wanted to convert from HID to Halogen and did so successfully on my 2006.
Lately I've been wondering about bumper guard cracks and using the 3D printer world ABS Paste made with acetone and ABS scraps for a chemical weld method to coat after ironing in stainless steel mesh along the breaks.
Looking forward to the MFD repair potentially as well.
Wondering, have you ever seen on a gen 3, and appears only the 2013 I've seen thus far, where the display changes color and is hard to read at times with those orange yellow tones dominating? Wondering if is a similar capacitor or connection like cold solder joint issue?
Great video on diagnosis and prognosis but still need video showing how to do actual delicate soldering. I appreciate the written instructions from commenter Cliff Leong, but as always, a video just shows everything that needs to be done and how to do it. I'll try additional searches, but this video is definitely a great start!
Great video. Replaced as shown and back in business. Unfortunately broke one of my vents but a replacement is on the way. Still way cheaper then taking it to the stealer. Thank you very much.
This works ~ repaired my 2004 Prius in a little over an hour.
Thanks for sharing the fix. The terminology for the symbol you referred to on the capacitor, μf, is micro farad. μ is the Greek character mu.
I just changed my cluster with the same issue being blank. It is a great fix no issues no more.
Haven't tried it yet, but thanks for sharing this knowledge, Vlad
Worked very well. If your soldering skills are up for it replace the capacitor with a 220 microfarad capacitor model about 40 cents. Thanks for posting.
FYI - If there is anyone left like me (Dec 2024).... By far the easiest way to get it working temporarily. The driver door open light shows in the dash when working correctly. When the dash goes out that driver door open light also is out. Power the car off (might have to hold the power off button in for a bit). Open the driver door. The door open light will not be showing. Leave the car powered off and start using as much electrical as possible (turn headlights off/on, turn emergency flashers on, turn interior lights on, push brake pedal) (that's all I have ever had to do). Eventually the door open light will come on and it is working again. It is a capacitor problem and I think this discharges the capacitor(s) and resets the problem (temporarily). I learned this from someone on YT but I don't know who so I can't give credit but I thank him every time it occurs. I bought new capacitors but would rather not have to go through this repair. I'll see how it goes. My 2007 Prius is awesome!
I was having the same problem. Research led me to believe it's the capacitor. My workaround had been to disconnect the 12V battery in trunk; then reconnect it. This works but began to be more of a nuisance. I decided to wire a light -switch (common AC light switch 120V/15A found cheaply in hardware stores) with a short length of wire (common lamp-wire 14-gauge). Wired between grounding screw and ground wire to battery. This method allows easy access to disconnect/reconnect battery (i.e. reset electrical system).
Capacitors acts to reduce ripple effect on the voltage. The main problem seems to be as the original capacitor(s) degrade over time, they may no longer reliably reduce the initial ripple (upon startup) to allow the computer to fully initialize; hence the multifunction display isn't brought online.
While the light-switch was a fairly easy, quick, and cheap workaround, it seems to also have resolved the issue!
Perhaps the addition of the switch and wiring induces a small measure of capacitance? In any case, I haven't had that issue again in months, if it recurs I can reset via the switch.
Note: I folded the excess metal of switch and used electrical tape wrapped around it to form protective 'wings' so switch doesn't accidentally get switched OFF. Works great!
I may try that. You only used one wire, from the switch to the battery ground screw? Is it still working?
Thank you so much for this tutorial. Just fixed my mfd after 2 years of malfunction!!!
Thanks guy, saves money and a lot of trouble shooting. Was in electronics for years, electrolytic caps are prone to failure.
My girlfriend and I did this on her car. Literally pulled a 220uf 16v capacitor from an old computer and soldered it on. It works now! No issues and the only thing we did differently was remove the old capacitor which was tedious but not too bad..
I wanted to confirm for other folks that this fix worked for my 2005 Prius. I did a similar jump as Vlad with an additional 100uf 16V cap.
David Karnowski That's great! thanks for your input and varifing that it's working.
Thanks!!! did similar jump with a 100uf 16v cap out of a trashed motherboard, meter is back online and only cost of time to pull dash.
Prius fix light
@@JustVlads Why is it flashing in your video ? It doesn't appear to be fixed.
I just did this and it works perfectly so far, thanks for posting.
Did you connect the new cap with old one like how he did or you removed and replaced it completely. Thanks
@@cavio11 I did it exactly like in the video, because I was worried about damaging the solder pads if I try to remove it completely. So far it's still working fine.
Thank you so much for the details to fix the cluster.
Thank you for this concise video man, mine just went out, going to fix it this weekend thanks to you.
Great video! I love the information! I would have simply unsoldered the existing capacitor and soldered a 220 µF capacitor in its place paying attention to polarity. I also like the idea of unsoldering the existing capacitor and attaching the wires like you did to make it a safer and easier fix. I can't imagine leaving the old capacitor in place. But if it worked for you that's great.
Would you say there is typically repercussions by leaving it?
Thank you for your idea. I replaced the capacitor and everything is working perfectly. Thanks again for your help.
Dude, thank you! I've been hunting for a clear fix on this issue.
+David Karnowski glad to help
This fix worked great for me! Saved me 900$! Thank you so much for the guide.
Wow is this what Toyota wants for this fix? I need to get this fixed.
Did this repair on my Prius. Tacked a 100uf on top of the existing like Vlad and it worked for about 6 months. However, the dash started doing the same again recently. I should've removed the old and gone with the 220uf. I think the old capacitor wore down the first replacement. I'm gonna take another stab at it this weekend. Ordered my capacitor from Digikey and not Amazon. May not matter much, but it looks like the same exact part.
Thank you but I replaced the 100uF 16v cap with a 35v 100uF I think that would be the correct method. Thanks again for the tip where did you get your info??
I read a bunch of forums taking about it. But it was a guess mostly lol, cause no one wanted to share exactly what was failing, it was their business to fix them. I think You'll be fine with 100uf but if it gives trouble i would highly recommend doing a 220uf. In any case let me know how the 100uf works out for you. Thanks
JD Bond is correct, you should never go higher with the UF of a cap because you will be spiking the other circuits with to much power but it is ok to go higher with the voltage of a cap.
Mine still comes on when I play with the headlights and close/open doors. I still don't have the audible ding ding sound when the door is open but the light does come on and so does my dash when I mess with it. Sometimes it comes on how it's supposed to the first time. Sometimes it takes a few tries. Could it be the same capacitor you replaced or possibly another one? Thanks for your time if you can answer!
Hello thank you for your video.I have prius 2 nd generation.The Problem is when i go to the gass station when put the fuel to the tank of car it's reject.(by the sorry my english)and also the fuel gauge shows in correct what should be reasons?thank you
Did it to my dad's Prius and it works now I used a 220uf 16v capacitor thanks alot Just Vlad
Can you PLEASE tell me the steps how to remove the old capacitor and solder a new one down? Do i have to buy the soldering iron and solder and/ or buy electronic grade silicone? Thank you.
johnny07191 it's simple just twist off the capacitor the connectors are weak on that type of capacitor. Remember the polarity before you twist it off. Then reuse the plastic base on the old capacitor. Slip the new capacitor in it's place and and bend the leads the plastic base from the old capacitor will make it look better and hold the capacitor flat when soldering. Make sure you use flux core solder... I learned from here pc-restorer.com/repairing-a-macintosh-se30-with-no-sound/ and perfected it. If you need help I'll post a video on how I did it.
stealthflythecoop Thank you for prompt reply. Can you please post a video on how you did it? Thank you very much. Really appreciate it.
th-cam.com/video/8lKXeBydY1Y/w-d-xo.html check my video out. hope this helps you its very brief but its the best i can do without removing the dashboard all over again.
I just did this and it’s back working!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!
This cluster problem should be a class action lawsuit against Toyota in the United States.
It was...
Lmao. Posted 6 months ago? The newest gen2 Prius is 10 YEARS OLD. Most of these are 15 Years old! Guess what? Cars don’t last forever! You want to know why new cars (and everything thing else) is so expensive? Because of people like you who think everything should be free.
Law suit because Toyota loses money and you know the Toyota dealers are money suckers, who wants to pay 1000 USD for the dashboard repair when I asked for quote and was told 1000 usd
and their secondary battery coding
I know exactly....
I watch these videos to get confidence in what I’m doing if you tell your listeners that you’re not sure that does not give off the perception of confidence
Thanks for sharing. I did it on my 2007 Prius by adding a 220uF 16v capacitor in parallel, and it works! Mine started to act up and work irregularly on and off in late Dec'17 due to cold weather. Just hope the fix will last.
Awesome! thanks for the feedback.
Unfortunately this fix did not last! One week after the fix, the meter was dark again for 1 day, and just yesterday morning it happened again after about 1 week of near freezing morning temperature.
To get the cluster to come on just turn the headlights on. I don't know why it works, but I assume that the power going to the little green headlight indicator light powers up whatever circuit is needed to power up the cluster.
***EASY WORKAROUND/TEMPORARY FIX***
Till you follow this great video and fix it permanently, here is a temporary fix to get the meter to work again.
Turn on the lights (which will dim the display), if you have auto lights feature then turn on the lights and also block the light sensor with something to dim the display and then turn on your car, the meter will light up! 😊
Thanks for this .I'm wondering why your dashlights are flickering like that though.
The video camera is syncing with the cars display refresh rate.
Thanks!
Does anyone have a picture of the upgraded capacitor installed? I don’t imagine he left the wires that long on final install. Great video with everything I was hoping for. Thank you.
Thanks Vlad! Just resetting the battery connection worked for me.
You are a mad man and I love it, I'm totally gonna try this on my car 😮
Replaced my CM with three caps today. Working great! Thanks so much for your insight!
SHOULD THE POWER CONNECTORS AT BATTERY BE UNPLUGGED FIRST
Looks like it works great. I need someone to do this for me. Mechanics only remove and replace. What key words can I search to find someone local to do this?
How did u fit it back with all those long yellow wires
Thank you, you fixed my issue at the 2min mark. Much appreciated!
Hi. Thank you for the video. I think I can. I think I can. I have a question. My code b1271 only comes on 2/3 the time, when it feels like it. My car only registers that code when the lights aren't displaying. Sometimes they dwork and display. Sometimes they don't. The same goes for various head or tail lights and my CD/tape player. My horn has permanently failed. Is there anything that could cause these things to happen randomly?
I was able to reset the cluster by holding power on button for several seconds and it worked. However, a month later I had this issue again and used the same method to reset it. Is my cluster dying? and i need to replace the condenser or it something else?
Hello. I have the same problem with the toyota Prius, but the generation 3. It is different, but there are those capacitors .... Can some help how to check which capacitor is corrupt. One of the 100 nf was inflated, I replaced it, but there is nothing left. Has the printed board been interrupted? thank you
Did you pull key out when you unplug white battery plug?
While it might work in this case, you can NOT read a capacitor's value reliably in circuit. Reading ESR in circuit is far more accurate but there are circuits where low value - low ESR multi layer chip capacitors are used to bypass bigger electrolytics and give a falsely low ESR. The
Dude your a lifesaver, I was looking for this fix too. I'm gonna try this in a couple of hours
Awesome! Let us know how it went. Thanks
it worked! 24 hours using my 2006 Prius, its cold... odo starts up everytime first time! :D
did you replace or add the capacitor?
Great video bro. I want to do the same for a client this week. Also, I noticed you mentioned at 7:39 that the capacitor you were adding to the weak one is a 50v capacitor with the same micro reading, is that correct? Isn't the voltage reading on the new capacitor you added meant to be 16v too?
Just asking for clearance. Thanks
Excellent job. Tree branch took out my cluster, going try that battery trick first.
what type of tool u use to solder and disolder??
You forgot the link tot he wire you attached to the capacitor.
What kind of wire is that?
You are the goat for sharing!! Thank you❤
This is an amazing video, thank you so much for creating it.
Hey guys, when I am looking at Gen 2 Toyota
Priuses at the junkyards, how can I tell if the combination meters in these Priuses are replacement ones? Is there a date stamp or a label on each one that lets us know the date of refurbish or date of manufacture? I know it sounds crazy, but I am willing to pull apart and disassblebthe dashboards on these Priuses to get to the combination meters to see if they are good ones that are replacement parts. If I find one, I am going to buy it from the junkyard. The prices here make it worth my while.
I have a 2008 Prius with 181k miles.
Zak Flying, Native Stonemover
Where is the video to take the dashboard off please
Thank you
13:04 hola yo hice todo así como se ve en el video pero me quedan todas la luces de los comando de fallas fijas sin apagar como si estuviera solo en ignición
My cluster goes blank when it's below 30 degrees. Will this capacitor fix fix my issue too? Thanks
in cold weather my prius do this problem, do you think is the capacitor
Will this work on a 2004 or 2005 Prius?
so when I capacitor is solder to other components you are able to test this capacitor without removing it
My new project.. thank you for sharing this with us
Vlad, Help! My Prius 2004 suddenly stopped starting. It completly dies without warning. Occasionaly, when I get into the car, press start button and all electrics completly go, no start, not a single light on any where on dash, key fob does not opperate locks etc... Then after 10 to 15 mins, electrics slowly start coming back and eventually car starts and works fine for a while. Any idea what the problem is and how I can fix it, please?
I'm not sure what that could be. I would start with checking the 12-volt battery. If it randomly dies then that's an electrical issue sounds like. Hope hope you can figure it out.
@@JustVlads Wow! You're right. I had the battery checked and it was completely gone. It has lasted 15 years! Changed it and everything is back to perfect working order. thank you for all your support - to everyone.
Having the same issue. Wondering why your clock and odometer panel light is flashing after the fix? Did you figure this out?
freedom1111bird It’s not flashing although it looks like it. When you record with a camera it looks like that but it looks normal in person.
I.E. - 📷 sees flashing - - - - but in real life we see it solid ____
@@MyHrtShapedBx Thank you! Do you know if the upgrade from the 100 uf capacitor to the 220 uf is the only change in the replacement circuit boards? If so im guessing that's the only bit we need to replace? We will test all of them but wanted to know if there's any other issue that's been found with these before we put it all back together. Mine works intermittently so I won't know if it's been fixed until I drive it for a few days. Has yours been working fine ever since? Also I was considering buying a refirb board from these guys only if there's alot of uncertainty about a capacitor being the solution. www.texashybridbatteries.com/prius-combination-meter-repair Thoughts?
I'm sure this is a stupid question... but can you not just take out the old capacitor and put in the new one?
Awesome video of the fix. You have done a wonderful job on explaining this process. I live in Az. And have to wait till it cools off to do this, pulling a dash at 110 doesn't cut it. I'll monitor miles and use gps for speed. I was thinking of finding another bash with the nav system in it. Do you know if it's possible to make this upgrade since I'll be in there?
I added 220uf on it but didn’t work.. any suggestions please??
Replaced or added? You might have too much of a good thing...