Help! My 2005 Prius which has about 70K miles started having issues 2 nights ago- the dashboard display turns off when I turn the headlights on at night to drive... but I need the headlights on at night and also I need to be able to see how fast I am going/speedometer. Help? Please tell me this is an easy fix. I've googled and even read about turning the Prius into auxiliary mode and going through the computer menu but nothing is working. Help!
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Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ Jul 27 '18 at 11:10
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Is the instrument panel dimmer turned all the way down? – SteveRacer Jul 27 '18 at 23:01
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@SteveRacer - That's what I suggested in my answer. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ Jul 28 '18 at 13:46
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Hi there- the the instrument panel dimmer isn't dimmed at all. – Mary Carol Jul 28 '18 at 16:30
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@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 sorry, TLDR? Upvote. – SteveRacer Jul 31 '18 at 1:08
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Is there a rheostat adjustment for the brightness of the dash lights? It might be that it got turned down all the way or that it might have gone bad. What you are describing would be normal when the headlights are turned on and this adjustment is focused all the way down, which would basically look like the dash lights were turned off. Try to turn the adjuster up (may have gotten turned down accidentally). If that doesn't work, you'll have to test to see if the adjuster itself has gone bad.
answered Jul 27 '18 at 11:13
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Not a 2005 but it seems to have a rheostat: youtube.com/watch?v=bvuGVhmfM9A – juhist Jul 27 '18 at 13:24
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No unfortunately it has nothing to do with the adjuster- but thank you for that suggestion. The speedometer and dash has lights and is just fine but the moment I turn on the headlights, the speedometer and dash goes dark. – Mary Carol Jul 28 '18 at 6:26
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@MaryCarol It still might - often newer cars have a circuit that dims the instrument lights automatically, based on the assumption if you are switching the headlights on, it's dark out. – SteveRacer Jul 31 '18 at 1:09
