pics from my Escort (X50 black) radar hardwire install

All my buddies think it's hilarious to hardwire a radar in a Prius. At the end of the day speeding is speeding, whether it's 10 mi or 40 mi over the speed limit.

I was looking for a DIY guide to hardwiring a radar in a gen 3 Prius when it seemed like something I could just do without instructions. I searched for a while and could not find anything so I decided to do this little write up to help anyone who may be thinking of doing the same.
Overall, it took about 45 mins and I think it came out pretty clean. I hope this helps. There's many variations of how you want to hard wire, run the cable, or where to mount the radar itself. This is just how I did it. If anyone has any questions don't hesitate to reach out.

Just a heads up, you will most likely have to order the add a circuit(from ebay). I live in the Chicago land area and could not find a single auto shop that had the low profile add a circuit. I stress low profile because everyone carries the mini fuse version but that is very different and will not work. Our Prius' uses a funky, short fuse.

1 direct wire smartcord(price range from ~$13-$27 on Amazon depending on color of LED and if you want mute button or not). mine was $21
1 add a circuit + 10 amp LOW PROFILE fuse- used to add additional fuse to existing fuse in interior fuse panel. The cor seems unchanged since I installed to posting this write up. ~$10 shipped
1 Philips screwdriver
1 flathead screwdriver
1 pliers
1 adj wrench


You need to prep the hardwire kit by cutting part the female end off the wire with red on it. It is the end of the wire that does NOT have the circle(ground). Then, strip about half an inch, fold it back to double the thickness and insert it in the add a circuit and crimp tight with pliers. The add a circuit will be your power source compared to the older technique of using the vampire clip and tapping into a map light. This requires more work because you have to run/hide the wire from the fuse panel which is by the pedals vs tapping into a map light and done.

First, locate the interior fuse panel. >it's the white plastic panel nearly facing the floorboard and by the parking brake. Once it's opened, locate a switchable 10-15 amp fuse. I used the wiper washer(15a) fuse. Add the 10a fuse and 15a fuse into the add a circuit. Now, plug in the add a circuit into the chosen fuse- in this case the wipers which I believe is spot #24. (pictured)


Now, use the wrench to take off the nut right by the fuse panel. If you look at the picture, it is directly to the right. Attach the ground and put the nut back. (pictured)

To the left of the fuse panel I tucked the remainder of the cable by the hood open latch. This is so it will not be accidentally be yanked out by your foot when you press the parking brake.(pictured)

Next, run the power cable and tuck it under the molding as you go. The nice thing about this install is that tucking the wire is surprisingly easy the whole way up. I used the flathead screwdriver on my Swiss Army and gave a gentle push to hide the wires.

You can mount the smart cord button anywhere but I chose to trim the velcro(supplied with direct wire kit) and put it right on the inside of the short pillar by the windshield defrosters(pictured). It's actually hard to see it from the outside unless you are looking for it.

Continue tucking the power cable up the molding. Even when you get to the top of the windshield it should require minimal effort to pull back and tuck the wire. It's easiest to just use a flathead and push it lightly. When you get to the center by the rearview mirror you can detach that panel easily. I popped it off by accident when I was looking for a place to hide the excess wire(pictured). It is almost like that panel was meant to hide the excess wire. Just tuck in the additional ~3ft of wire and pop the panel back on the and ta daa!

I chose to mount the radar detector just to the left of the rearview mirror which gives a nice clear line of sight front to back. That's it!