Horn Upgrade --- DIY

Ugh, have you ever heard about the fact that silicone spray does not conduct electricity very well ? hwell: Putting it on the contacts before you connect them is not exactly the best idea.:loco:

 

Thank you for the great write up and the information about which horn to use and where to get them. I have only had my Prius for a month, and I had no idea the horn was so pathetic (I just tried it out and my daughters won't stop laughing at me!). I will order the parts today and do the upgrade right away. Thanks!

 

That is the reason I took the extra few minutes and completely removed the front end.

 

Interesting that everyone is removing the screw. I found the screw to be too tight to remove. I took a 14 mm socket and removed the mounting bracket from the car. I used the FIAAM mounting bracket and pre-screwed in the ground wire and horn to it (which is much easier to do).

I think it's easier than the original post method, and you can really lock things tight.

 

BTW- The 14 hex nut is just above the metal mounting bracket that you can see here:




Just make sure that you remove the two 12mm bolts and plastic clips holding the top of the bumper (easy to do). When you pull back the top of the bumper, you can easily see the 14mm screws holding the mounting bracket in place. Keep this screw, as you'll be using it again to reinstall. BTW the FIAAM horn bracket has a smaller hole and a bigger hole. Use the smaller hole to hold the horn...the larger hole is to mount onto the car with the 14mm screw.

 

BTW- this should be a sticky...or a new sub-forum should be created to list all of the DIY howto's...thanks for the tutorial...it worked great. Plug and play.

 

I second that emotion!

Thanks evpv for the great tutorial - now my horn sounds normal as opposed to a lamb! Less stressful and safer that way.

 

Hey, glad to see your still around!

 

Some jackass cut right in front of me instead of yielding to me going straight.

Blew the horn and quickly realized that the horn is meek.

So will be upgrading to this one shortly.

 

Yep.... I found that the stock horn added to my frustration level.

All normal after the upgrade.

 

Yep. That was the last straw that made my wife insist on me changing the horn.

 

And that member thanks you! Nice upgrade, would definitely recommend it! :rockon:

 

Just finished installing the horn set (purchased on amazon). Had to make a run to Harbor Freight to pick up the 10mm and 14mm wrench.
I should say that loosening up the front bumper made the job really easy. It only took 5 minutes (2 screws and 5 plastic fasteners) but it really eased up the job by creating plenty of room.
excellent upgrade and turned out to be real easy once the front bumper was loosened.

 

Got my set at HF, on sale and Chrome to boot. Couple of pieces of wire and some terminals and my Prius speaks with authority.

 

It must be nice to

I pretty much have to mail order everything.


Alan

 

Thanks evpv! :cheer2:

I did your mod! Thanks for the photos, it really helped! :mod:

I got tired of the meep-meep "please don't kill me" horn.
Now it's: BUPP-BUPP - "HEY WATCH IT!"

I have skinny wrists so the install went like yours without removing the front. The fewer things I have to remove, the less likely things will start vibrating and rattling. I just went through the emblem. BTW that gives me an idea to replace the front emblem with one of those light up emblems... maybe later. I ordered the shark fin antenna, so I'll see how that goes too. I think it looks better than the wire sticking up. :focus:

Any hoo... I switched the horns out, but had not used them in traffic yet. Someone was asking about the horn ground so I scanned the package instructions FYI. Got them from Amazon and they arrived real fast! Had them installed in less than 30 min.



Based on the instructions as compared to photo # 8 on original post, it looks like the GND should be on the other tab. Maybe it does not matter.

I think the OEM horns look like buzzers more than 'horns'. There is no air flow, just loud vibrations. Topic for debate? Anyone, anyone? Who cares... :boxing:



NOTES: :whoo:
• The 14mm nut or #2 Phillips screwdriver removes the old horn.
• I did not have to splice or lengthen any wires.
• I used original horn mount bracket but had to bend one slightly to fit.
• Keep a magnet handy in case you drop a screw or bit.

Is it me or has PC been acting strange lately, connection reset errors, etc.?

eace: out!

 

Prius chat has been running bad...very slow

 

Installed a pair of the Fiamm Blasters today on my 2012 v wagon, tons of room after removing the cowling, no emblem removal necessary, also used the stock mounts, start to finish about 15 minutes.

One nice bonus feature, when you lock the car with the fob you get a really nice confirmation blast, and your alarm will definitely attract some attention.

Really nice having a big boy horn...can ya hear me now, oh yeah.