Block Heater Cord Routing - Gen 4

Toyota's GOT to have a pdf on the install. Here's the 3rd gen instruction (attached), fwiw. I say "fwiw", because you really just need to follow your nose, at least 'till you get to those grill shutters. With the 3rd gen pdf, I'd say I payed "lip service" to the cable routing instruction, then mostly used common sense, looking at where the cable needs to go, and keeping in mind somethings in the engine bay are hot, or move, or have sharp edges, or need to be accessed (don't block/impede something with the cord).

If you can watch the grill shutters in operation hopefully you can figure out a way to run the cord around them. I can offer a few tips:

1. Do a dry run, without the thermal grease, getting the heater element into the hole. If access is similar to 3rd gen it should be nigh impossible to get it where it needs to go, there's so damn much stuff in the way. Then pull it just out, butter it up (use all the grease), and gently back in, twisting as you go to minimize scraping off the grease.

With third gen I had to disconnect a few conduit brackets, yoink things out of the way and tie with cords. raise the front and take off the engine undercover. Final insertion was reaching up from below, one arm on either side of drive shaft, going completely by feel.

Lotsa fun...

2. When you find a safe spot to bring the cord out the front grill, double zip-tie it, tightly, with just a few inches dangling. You want to ensure it can't be pulled out further, start dragging on the ground, if you forget to unplug. Which will happen sooner or later.

3. Use an extension cord that the plug pushes in straight at the end, not on the side, and make sure the plug can pull out easily. Also loop the extension cord around something solid, directly in front of the car, again in prep for the time you forget.

4. With ours I've found 2 hours is the sweet spot, temps plateau around then. In Winnipeg in the depths of winter, maybe 3 hours...

 

When we bought our 2010 I had dealership install*, and that's what they did too: bundled the cord at the front/right corner of engine bay (as you stand facing the front of engine bay). And the 3rd gen instruction (attached above) shows that:




Which is kinda lame. When we got the car home I took the plastic cover off the radiator off, snaked it through. Didn't have active grill shutters to contend with though. There's got to be a way though; hope you figure something out.

* It fritzed out around the 10 year mark. To be fair it'd seen pretty much continuous use. I did the full install myself with replacement one.

 

If it proves difficult to avoid the grill shutters, run the cord out through the upper grill?

 

Some repair manual info on the grill shutter. Not sure if it's any more useful than just looking at it, but fwiw: