Thanks for helping me spend $1200+ on mods!

Thanks to this board, I’ve finally finished all my initial mods on my brand new 2011 Prius III/w NAV in the past month. I read this board quite a bit before buying things and tried to pick the higher value items that I thought I would use/appreciate the most. I also picked a few just for fun.

The installation tips provided on this board for modifications are great! Although it takes some searching and reading looooong threads, the tips have been really helpful.

Overall, I spent a total of about $1250 (plus some shipping charges) for all of these items. I rated each from 1-5 with 5 being the most difficult install/highest value. For eBay items, I included the listing title.

1. Fog Lights: $114.99 from the PriusChat store. These are good quality fogs for a reasonable price. No real problem installing them, but it took me about 4 hours. Running the wire underneath the car for the passenger side fog per the instructions (“use the lower radiator support”) necessitates removing several screws and the front underside panels of the radiator. I didn’t remove them – I simply tie wrapped the cable in a protected lip along the panel under the radiator so none is exposed to the elements. Mounting the relay is also tricky in the engine compartment, but it is doable. Also need to aim the lights after installation by turning a screw on the back of the lights.

Difficulty of installation: 3, Value: 4
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2. Clazzio Leather Seat Covers: $390 from TRDSparks.com - they were (are) running a deal on them. Took me a long time (>4 hours) to install, felt like I had completed a wrestling match after finishing. Did the headrests and lower back seat in the house, completed the rest of the install in the car. Really tough to tell they aren’t factory leather seats. They do have a ~ ¼” of foam under the leather, so they are kind of ‘squishy’, but comfortable. Be advised that even though these are advertised as leather, the only leather portions are the center panels of the covers – the outer edges are PVC. The tip to YANK the back seat bottom straight up where the clips hold it is key to getting that seat out.

Difficulty of installation: 3, Value: 4
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3. Seat Heaters: $79.91 for two seats (4 total pads) through eBay – “Carbon Fiber Universal Heated Seat Heater Kit - 2 Seats.” Put the heaters under the Clazzio covers. Created a new 12V source using the thick white wire (with an added 15A fuse) going into an ECU behind the mirror/dimmer adjustment panel and ran it to the cavity in front of the center sliding armrest console. Used the 12V accessory outlet to drive a relay so the heaters won’t stay on when the car is off. Put the driver’s switch in the ‘blank’ spot I had under the car’s power button, and the passenger switch on the side of the armrest console. The factory location under the flying bridge is too inconvenient. Fishing the wires under the carpet to the console, and tie wrapping them to the existing under-seat cabling to allow slack for seat movement is key.

Difficulty of installation: 3, Value: 4
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4. LED Dome/Map lights/License Plate Light: $20 from various eBay sellers. Easy to install, just need to be careful popping off the light covers. Gives off a softer and bluer light than the incandescent bulbs.

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 4
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5. Non-slip Pads for the Glove Box, Cup Holders, etc: $35 from eBay – “Non Slip Foam Pads 2010-2011 Toyota Prius Dash Console Doors.” Expensive for what they are (die cut thin rubberized ‘mouse pad’ type material), but they do help keep things from sliding around. They outgas (smell bad) when new, so I let them air out a few days before putting them in the car. Some people have used shelf liner or no-slip carpet pads, but I didn't want to cut everything ... this is a complete set for all the cup holders, door panel wells, consoles, coin tray and glove boxes.

Difficulty of installation: 1, Value: 2
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6. Continuous Reverse Beep Disable: $13.91 from eBay - "V1.4 ELM327 OBD2 OBDII CAN-BUS Diagnostic Scanner USB." Bought the cable and downloaded the free communications program PUTTY and sent the commands to disable the continuous reverse/backup beep as well as the seatbelt beeps. Took some playing around with my Laptop’s COM port numbers and speeds to get it to work.

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 4
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7. Rear Bumper Guard: $24 from eBay – “2010 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS REAR BUMPER PROTECTOR IN BLACK.” Helps protect the upper part of the rear bumper when sliding stuff in and out of the car. Adds some nice color contrast to the rear of the car, too. Dry fit (don’t remove the double sided tape cover) first and mark the outer edges, then take off the tape cover and carefully lower it straight down.

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 4
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8. Huskyliner Floor Mats: $94.99 through got-chrome.com. Price is for the front and back footwell mats, plus another $80.99 for the rear cargo area liner. Researched various mats, considered the “digital fit” mats, but several folks recommended these. I am very happy with the great protection and deep lip to catch slush/mud. A little slippery on your feet, but no big deal.

Difficulty of installation: 1, Value: 4
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9. Mud Guards: $61.95 through eBay – “TOYOTA PRIUS MUD GUARDS FLAPS OEM NEW 2010 2011.” Helps keep stones and other road gunk off the lower body panels. Hard to believe several people seem very concerned about how much they affect MPG! I don’t think I have seen a difference in mileage after putting them on.

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 4
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10. Windshield Sun Shade: $32 through the PriusChat store. Very nice quality, one piece sunshade for the front windshield and little ‘triangle’ windows up front. Bulky and takes a few more seconds than the spring loaded shades to put up. Rolls up when not in use, and can be tossed in the back seat or cargo area.

Difficulty of installation: 1, Value: 4
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11. Lighted Door Sills: $149 through eBay – “2010 2011 Genuine Toyota Prius Illuminated Door Sills.” Got them just for the ‘wow’ factor. Cool blue LED lights. Key installation tip: When removing the long lower plastic trim panel before you begin installing the sills, you need to pull the panel’s LOWER EDGE about a ¼” toward the center of the car before applying upward pressure; otherwise, you may break the little stubs on the panel if you just simply start pulling up. I broke one, and epoxied it back on before I got the hang of removing them.

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 3
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12. Body Side Molding: $119.00 through PriusChat. Perfect match for the paint color. I’m sure I will get various dings and dents in the future, but at least this is some protection. Also, I like the line the molding adds to the side appearance of the car. Breaks up the slab side look.

Difficulty of installation: 3, Value: 4
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13. Carbon Fiber License Plate Frames: $40 through eBay – “REAL 2PCS 100% CARBON FIBER LICENSE PLATE FRAME TAG COVER ORIGINAL 3K JDM FF-2.” Looks cool. Very thin, but since they are made of real carbon fiber, they should be strong! I don’t like being a non-paid advertiser for the dealership, so I removed the frames the dealer added when I bought the car.

Difficulty of installation: 1, Value: 2

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14. Volt Digital+ HID Headlights: $95 through kbcarstuff.com (used coupon code of "CL" to get $25 off)– After exhaustively reading most of the threads here on HID lighting and the pros/cons, I took a chance on getting this kit. It is a 35 Watt, H11 bulb, 4300K color temperature system. It seemed a little dim at first, but got somewhat brighter after an hour or two of use. I like it! Put it in and it didn't work. Swapped the black and white wires in the power harness, and everything fired up nicely!

Difficulty of installation: 2, Value: 4
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It uses lengths of 3M double sided adhesive tape to attach. I would think it would come off and would probably not damage the bumper too much -- some tar remover might remove any residual adhesive. I'm not planning on removing it, though!