NHTSA Complaint #10679735 — 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS

I HAVE BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM WITH MY PRIUS COMBINATION DISPLAY (DIGITAL DISPLAY THAT SHOWS THE SPEED, MILEAGE, FUEL LEVEL, CURRENT GEAR SELECTION, ETC.). SOMETIMES WHEN I TURN ON MY CAR, THE COMBINATION DISPLAY IS BLANK AND WILL NOT TURN ON. THE REST OF THE CAR TURNS ON, BUT THAT DISPLAY REMAINS BLANK. I CAN DRIVE THE CAR, BUT I CAN'T SEE MY SPEED, MILEAGE, OR WHAT GEAR THE CAR IS IN. THIS USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE (BELOW 50 DEGREES OR SO). WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST CAME UP IN 2012, I WOULD TURN OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON AND THE DISPLAY WOULD THEN WORK FINE. IT WAS VERY HARD TO REPEAT THE PROBLEM AND IT WAS QUITE INTERMITTENT. THIS WINTER (2014-2015) THE PROBLEM HAS COME BACK, BUT NOW THE DISPLAY WILL OFTEN NOT TURN BACK ON EVEN IF I POWER CYCLE THE CAR. THERE IS ANOTHER NEW RELATED PROBLEM. WHENEVER THE CAR SHOWS THIS DISPLAY PROBLEM, I THEN CANNOT TURN OFF THE CAR. I PRESS THE POWER BUTTON AND NOTHING HAPPENS. I EVEN TRIED TO HOLD IT DOWN FOR 3-10 SECONDS. THE CAR WILL NOT SHUT OFF. I HAVE TO USUALLY DISCONNECT THE BATTERY TO GET IT TO POWER DOWN. THIS PROBLEM HAS ME CONCERNED. NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE MY SPEED IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN. ALSO SINCE THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER ALWAYS RETURNS TO A RESET SPOT (IT DOESN'T STAY IN THE GEAR POSITION AFTER YOU SELECT YOUR GEAR) IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE WHAT GEAR THE VEHICLE IS IN. ALSO VERY CONCERNING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM/DEFECT. IT APPEARS THAT MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF THE DISPLAY/CIRCUIT BOARD. TOYOTA DID INITIALLY OFFER TO FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT BY THE TIME I COULD ACTUALLY REPEAT THE PROBLEM TO SHOW TO THE DEALER, THE OFFER HAD EXPIRED FOR ME TO GET IT REPAIRED. IT'S A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT I WANTED TO REPORT TO THE NHTSA. THANK YOU. *TR