Toyota Japan prius accessories and mods

It's the Prius Bat Signal! Although it's pointed down rather than up in the sky. Maybe it's meant as a call for help if you roll your car?

 

Some of us talked about them way, way back. (Over a year ago, which is why those threads are buried.) I'm currently installing the rear seat footwell lights, reverse-linked mirror, and projection lights. I bought the kits last summer, but I wanted to do all the wiring at once and I didn't get all the correct parts for my mirror rebuild until October. I got part of it done before winter fully set in, but had to wait for the rest until the return of comfortable weather plus the energy to fully rip the dash out(needed for the mirrors, not the lighting).

The problem with so many of the options in that booklet is that they are specific to a right-hand drive car. I'm pretty sure the reverse-linked mirror option I'm installing isn't going to work because of that, but I won't know for certain until it's finally wired up. It was meant for the left mirror, but I've installed it in the right mirror. I have a feeling it's going to either point the mirror in+up or out+down instead of in+down. When I ordered the kit, I assumed it was going to modify both mirrors instead of just the passenger.

As for the projection lights, I got them for the utility factor. I want to be able to see if there's an ice patch or water puddle near the door when it's dark out. Sure, there are aftermarket kits that can do the same thing, but I like that it's OEM. I wish they were built into the mirrors rather than the doors, but the bottoms of the mirrors are already pretty full with the cameras and IR lights(I've got the 360 camera package).

I also wanted those Modellista 17" wheels so I could have more tire options while sticking with a 6.5" width wheel, but the total cost to buy and ship them was just too high for my taste(plus having to buy a new set of tires on top of it all). I still think they're the best looking 17" option for the car(though tastes in wheels varies greatly from person to person).

I'm still kinda-sorta considering the GR performance damper kit and the door stiffener kits. The stiffener kits aren't that bad in price(something like $150/pair) and they're fairly available in the US since they can be used on a few different Toyota models. The dampers are way more expensive at around $1500 for the pair, and I don't know if shipping would be even worse than usual due to possible restrictions over the pneumatic tubes. If I eventually get them, that will be my excuse to take a short Chicago vacation and have TheCarCareNut install them and look over my other work.

If you do a forum search(or just look through the old threads in this sub-form), you should be able to find a post where I list the part numbers for as many of the option kits from that catalog as I could find.

 

What was the price with shipping to the US?

 

From Blackhawk Japan, it works out to around $1600($240x4+$630). Probably less if you were to go with Impex Japan or JP Parts, but still above $1200 or $1300.

Add around another $750 for a good set of tires, and I was looking at over two grand for the swap. Or I could wait for 3-5 years until my original tires wear out and maybe there'll be some good alternatives in stock sizes by then.



I ended up just getting a set of winter tires in the stock size to get me through for a few years. I'll revisit the issue when my tires are getting close to replacement.

SM-S901U ?

 

Ok but I really want number 712. A small box that fits behind the screen, that I can put tissues in? that's, honestly, genius. should be standard with such a small glove box.

 

I believe that's come up before and we concluded that it's unfortunately shaped for right-hand-drive cars - won't fit LHD.

 

Still doesn't change the fact that I wish something like it was available here Even if its some aftermarket thing, or 3D printer model. I'd farm it out to one of those 3D print to order places even if it only survives a few years thanks to UV damage.

 

I just happened to be looking for 5th gen brochure this morning, to see if door sill protectors are still optional (something that SHOULD be standard, along with a few other things...), and if so: are they offered as an accessory.

What I learned: neither Toyota USA or Canada even publish a printed brochure anymore. They do have a pdf offering, but it's a terse summary of spec's and features, pictures minimal, and no mention of accessories.

 

Isn't it fair for auto accessory companies to make a buck selling things Toyota shouldn't?
Example: I paid $700 for a Toyota dashcam, and then paid $200 for a much better one.

 

Toyota offers an on-board 12 volt battery charger for some vehicles (4-runner I noticed), but for a preposterous price, roughly $1500 CDN. To be fair, this is installed, and coupled with cabin warmer AND block heater.

For the nomenclature sticklers: they call it a “trickle charger”:

Toyota Genuine Accessories | Toyota Canada

With above link I had to select 2024 4Runner. Following is a text-grab:


COMFORT+ Complete - Programmable Electric Cabin Warming System
Installed Price$1,544.25
Build & Price
COMFORT+ Complete Includes: Programmable Cabin Warmer and Block Heater with Battery Trickle Charger.

For ultimate comfort, enjoy a warm cabin right from the start - no idling required. The Cabin Warmer is a sleek and compact interior heater that ispermanently mounted inside the vehicle cabin. As the Cabin Warmer heats up the interior of the vehicle, ice, and snow buildup on the exterior of the vehicle may be reduced, potentially eliminating the need to scrape away ice or brush away snow. The Battery Trickle Charger keeps your battery optimally charged even when you're parked for extended periods of time. By adding the Block Heater and Cabin Warmer with the Programmable Bluetooth Controller to the Battery Trickle Charger, you will be able to control, and schedule engine and cabin heating, monitor the outside temperature and many more features through the Toyota COMFORT+ App.

A simple but effective on-board charger, say a NOCO, is a lot cheaper:

General PDP Template | Canadian Tire

 

The people who wrote the ad copy don't know a trickle charger from a battery maintainer, obviously