The display screen for the Navigation GPS on Toyota Camry Hybrid 2008 is totally dark all the time. It light up for about one second when I start the car.

Did I turn it off by mistake? Is there something simple I could do myself to get it to work again? if someone out there can give me some troubleshooting advice.

Thanks

 

Do you get power to the radio? I'm assuming radio plays and everything else works, otherwise check the fuses. I would open the disc access and take out GPS dvd and put it back again to reload software. There is screen off button but if I remember correctly, it resets after car is shutdown. If the screen is totally dark I would guess either wire going to the back light, or back light itself is broken and trip to the dealer would be in order, unless you're handy enough to take it apart, but that could also void warranty if you mess something up or break a seal (I took my radio out but don't remember if there are any seals). You could also try to reset whole thing by pulling out radio fuses (there are probably 2, 1 for memory when car is off and another for main power), but again this could only work if there is sort of computer crash, I would suspect most likely wire is loose and back light is not getting power. I bought my TCH as soon as they came out, around June 2006 and never had radio related problems.

 

Two words: Warranty Issue

If you think it might be a "oops I pressed the wrong button" thing then just wait till your next service and add that to the "check this" list.

In our 2006 (no nav) a well-meaning friend turned off the display and it took us a while to figure out how to get that back on - but that was not anything electrical - just figuring out how the settings work.

We got Nav on the 2010 (wanted the backup cam - had to get the sunroof which included the nav, which includes the cam... egads) and it's easier now: there's a "DISP" button on the front for turning the screen on and off.

Now then... I'm wondering how I can upgrade the voice to the Majel Barrett (Star Trek computer voice) so I can have it say "Hull Breech Imenent" or "Life Support Systems are Offline."

 

KS:

I suppose that your 2008 would be similar to my 2009.

It is possible to turn the display off. I can turn mine off by pressing the "DISP" button and then touching the "off" selection on the screen. If I then turn the car off without turning the display back on, the screen display will still be off when the car is turned on again, except that it will flash the Toyota logo briefly at first, and the screen will then remain black - particularly if the radio is turned off.

Whenever the screen display is turned off in this way, however, it can be turned back on by pressing any of several buttons; for example the AUDIO or the INFO button.

If pressing one of those buttons or turning the radio on does not light your screen, you may have a deeper problem.

I hope this helps.

 

Smilin' Jack, thank you for your input, and I will follow you advice. In regards to going to the dealership and use the warranty, it will not work in my case. I bought the car in the US and shipped it overseas where I am currently residing, the dealership would not honor the Toyota’s warranty on cars made to the US market or not sold by them, it sucks, but I knew their policy before I shipped the car overseas, and no regrets.

P.S. any tips on how to remove the NAG/radio unit from dashboard, not sure which part comes out first.

 

Check out this thread. It details how to do this.

 

I have a 2007 camry hybrid with navigation system. It suddenly went dark and I have not been able to fix it. Radio still works (but I cannlot see the stations). Obviously navigation is useless. Bluetooth actually still works. I took it to the dealer and they said I need to get a new system $2300- no way. I am not convinced that it is not something that can be fixed . Any thoughts???

 

Be sure to check post#4, above, just to be sure it's not something simple.

 

Same problem - Did you solve yours yet?

I tried: removing nav cd, checking fuses, pushing buttons

Not fixed. I am afraid that I may need to have dealer check it out OUCH!

Anyone have any other ideas?

 

I just had the same problem with my 2007 Sienna limited. I found a company name Marcoson Inc in Queen, NY whom repaired it.

I called them and described the problem. They said they could fix it and would give a free quote once they got the unit. I removed the unit easily by following the instruction I found on youtube (Just searched 2007 sienna dash take off and found the video).

I drove to their office and gave them my navigator. After examined the unit, they asked $510 to fix it (much cheaper than a new replacement unit, which is more than $3K from Toyota) and I even saved the two way shipping cost as I live in NYC too. Only took one day, they repaired it. I installed the unit into the car and it worked very well. What a wonderful experience.

I highly recommend you call this company, (718) 285-6001, if you have a in-dash navigation unit that needs to be repaired, especially if you live in NYC.