Tonight I went to the store and noticed that my instrument cluster is completely dark. I cycled the car a couple of times and found that the cluster lights up just fine, for about 2-3 seconds, then there is a slight "brraap" noise from inside the dash, and everything goes dark.

Does anyone have a clue where I should start? The odd noise almost sounds like a relay skitching out, but it could just be a coincidence.

This is just not a good time to be handing my credit card to the stealership, have to sort this one myself.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

 

This is the second time I have used a web service called "justanswer.com" In both cases a Toyota Certified Hybrid technician has answered my question for $15 the first time, now $9.

The little odometer **** in the center of the console? It also acts as an instrument cluster dimmer. I did not know that.

I also did service on this car a few days ago and I reset the nag screen using that ****. I must have twisted it inadvertently. Come to think of it, this was the first time I drove it at night since the service.

Oh, the funny noise?? Just solenoid engaging.

On that web service... they charge $9 for an answer, with the option to tip the guy at the end. I just saved an expensive and very embarrassing trip to the dealer. He got a nice tip.

 

Tom,

Do you have anything that is lit on the dash at all? Clock, radio, AC controls???

Edit: Looks like you answered while I was watching Ax Men....

 

Yeah, our posts probably crossed. See the update.

(~Hangs head in shame, shuffles to garage for a cold beer.~)

 

You're kidding, to pay $9 to find out which **** dims the dashboard, which BTW is pretty standard place for such thing, as my older Accord and Nissan have it in pretty much same location. At least glad at the end it came out to be not a "real failure" after all.

 

No, I'm not kidding. The dealer would have nicked me $115 to reach in and turn the **** for me. And no, I've never had a car with a dimmer **** integrated into the trip odometer. It's always been on the lower left quadrant of the dash. I've never tried to adjust it, just assumed it was computer controlled based on ambient light. Plus I never recalled turning anything, only resetting the maintenance reminder a week ago, via the same ****.

Yes, I know. "RTFM" right? Well the manual, along with all the maintenance records are in an old fire safe, which the dial broke off of 3 months ago. I haven't got around to opening it yet. Plus, with a lot of road travel coming up, starting next week, I kind of panicked and assumed something must have broke. and again, I never had occasion to look for the adjustment. Until now.

Okay, who's next? Let me have it.

 

Tom, I can sympathize with you! Some years ago, (1988?, or there abouts) We took a vacation to Hawaii. (our first such extravagant vacation). After a very long, problem filled flight, we arrived 8 hours late in Maui to a "mini Hurricane". Flooded roads caused many detours in getting to the hotel. We finally arrived at the hotel in the rented Nissan, temporarily parked in front of the lobby, and checked in.

Then we went back to the car to move out of the check-in parking area, and I couldn’t get the car out of Park! Try as I would, the shifter was not budging. Very frustrated, I went back in to the desk clerk, a very nice older Hawaiian woman in a muumuu, and asked if I could use the phone to call the rental car company. She asked why... I told her I couldn't get the car out of Park. She offered to take a look.

I was no stranger to cars, mind you, in fact, I have always been quite the enthusiast, and the "go to guy" about cars among family and friends. Well, to my embarrassment, she went to the car, got in, put her foot on the brake, and shifted right out of Park. I had never driven a car with the shifter interlock that required this. The only non-American car I had driven to that point had been a 1973 Celica, 4 speed manual. EDIT and added--> (I later found out that the Japanese cars were the first to incorporate this saftey feature. That experience, and the driving experience of that Nissan, got me to buy my first Japanese car, and I never looked back, having owned 16 Toyotas since then)

Imagine! Me, the enthusiast, having a (how can I say this?) "plump" Hawaiian native in a muumuu, showing me how to operate a car!

PS, I compliment you on your choice of troubleshooting help!

 

Ohh, the memories. I had a rental Volkswagen one time years ago. I got off as plane and went directly to a wedding. The car wouldn't start after the wedding. Long story short, the seat belt need to be buckled, before the car would crank.

But in this case, I had another worry too. My car, when it sits overnight and gets cold, followed by warm sun the next day, squeaks like crazy from the dash. It is downright maddening. I'm easily frustrated and I'll frequently smack or slap the dash area in a futile attempt to shut up the noise. I had been doing that last couple of days. I figured I might have broken or dislodged something.

Also, the illumination worked fine for a couple seconds after start up, then it would go dark. An analog rheostat would not do that. Clearly, this is a "virtual control ****" I suppose if I had found the lights partially dimmed, I might have spent the time to find an adjustment. But it was completely dark. Seriously, who besides a gangster committing a drive-by shooting would want to totally black out their instrument lights?

Oh well. Lesson learned.

 

A few years ago, I called my gas station guy to tell him my car was in the parking lot of the train station and that I couldn't get the key out of the ignition. Apparently, you need to put the car in park before you can take the key out! They should put a sticker on the dash telling you that! LOL!

 

I'm not trying to put you down or to be disrespectful in any way, but you got to admit it was funny, seems like you own the car for about 3 years and have good knowledge of it, so that's ironic. Actually I had exactly same experience: Once got inside the car at night, and dashboard was dark. Panic sets in and I'm thinking holy #$#@ I don't need this trouble now. So I'm going over troubleshooting in my head: fuses, wires, light bulbs etc. , looking for solutions, ready to tear the car apart and it took good amount of time before I decided to check the dimmer and I knew where it was since I adjusted it many times before, probably moved it when cleaning the dashboard few days before. Lesson to learn: never panic and first check the obvious. The surprising thing about TCH is that it can be adjusted to total darkness, making the whole thing invisible, in other cars I've seen it going darker but not totally black, also I think the dimmer does not work or works differently during day time, so it may take few days before you come across it. BTW don't hit the dashboard in anger, I cracked it in another car few years back, it really looked ugly and also expensive to fix.