Climate Control Unit Change - 2013 to 2015

One thing that always annoyed me about my 2013 Prius C was that screen on the climate controls is SO BRIGHT at night, and turning the dimmer down didn't do anything to change it. I like a very dark dash when driving at night.

A bit after I bought the car, Toyota sent me a very detailed engineering survey about the car where I was able to explain these issues. I suggested replacing the screen with the black/white type of vacuum fluorescent displays used in other Toyotas for the odometers. Now - I'm not taking credit for this change - but Toyota DID change the climate controls to EXACTLY what I wanted - in the refreshed, mid model change 2015 Prius C. I found a climate unit on eBay from a 2015 and went to town.

The 2013 Screen - with the lights off:

The 2013 Screen - with the lights on: (the only difference is the indicator lights being slightly dimmer)

First thing is to take off the radio trim. Grab it at the lower right corner and pull it straight out. The hazard switch has a wire going to it - so disconnect it.

The dash trim comes off too, pull the passenger side vent assy straight out, then pull the trim up from the top, out towards the right.

The lower trim rail thing also has clips, pull down.

The climate unit is only retained by more clips, so pull it straight out and disconnect the harness from the back.

Here's a comparison of the two units side-by-side

Here's the new display with the lights off, bright, easy to read in daylight

Here's the new display with the lights on, this new screen changes brightness with the dimmer knob!


One really cool touch of the new climate control is that the picture of the car on the recirculation button is now the outline of a Prius C - not a generic car!


One detail to note - the radio trim on the 2015 C is very slightly different from the 2013 on the bottom left where it touches the climate unit's front left. The 2013 controls have a ridge in that area, and the 2015 controls do not, so the radio trim does not quite fit perfectly in that area. Some slight trimming of the tiny ribs on the back of the radio trim piece help this be almost unnoticeable. The 2015 dash has a lot of glossy black accents to it, but the 2013 has a "brushed" look in those same spots. The difference between those two looks should be noted - it does not bother me at all. I'm very happy with this modification!