Hey everyone! I have owned my 2010 Prius III for about a year and a half now and have decided that I want to upgrade some of the features. However, I am very new to this and wading through Prius Chat is almost overwhelming. If any of you kind folks can make some great recommendations on great websites or locations (Near Tacoma, WA) for the below mods I would appreciate it so much! 1) Looking to update the lights to either HID or LED, not sure which is best for Prius. (I have night blindness issues so need something a tad better than normal bulbs) 2) Looking to add foglights (again to help with night driving issues in Washington) 3) Update the Stock JBL radio to one that has the touch screen with a Backup camera (Would like Navi however, not a must as I have a cell phone and thinking of getting Navi). 4) Change cloth seats to leatherette (Not really into real leather) While I have more ideas tossing in my head this is a start for now. Thank you all in advance for the assistance as I begin my first voyage into making my Prius personalized. Philippe
I'm up in Stanwood, WA. I upgraded my headlights to OPT-7 Bolt AC 55W 5000K HIDs and I love them: Bolt AC Series: 55w HID Kit - OPT7 There are plastic "fender protector" pieces on the sides of the engine compartment that the ballasts fit very nicely stuck to the backside of. I saw that installation tip on youtube. Mine are just wired directly into the stock headlight connectors with no extra relay or anti-flicker capacitors and I have no problems at all with flicker. Are your existing headlight lenses clear? If not, wet sanding and polishing followed by a special headlight lens coating will help lots too. Have you checked with an ophthalmologist first, though? They might have better tips about what might help you see better at night rather than just brighter headlights. The bright headlights will diminish your ability to see anything outside the direct path of the headlight beams. A fog light kit made specifically for the Prius is pretty easy to install. I have extra bright Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulbs in my fog lights and I can definitely see a difference with fog light on and off, much more so than on my wife's Mazda 5 where the fog lights don't seem to do much. When those bulbs burn out, I'm going for the OPT-7 HID fog light bulbs: Bolt AC Series: 25w Fog Light HID Kit - OPT7 On the inside, I have 5000K LEDs installed in all the interior lights: For 2010-2012 Prius Interior Exterior Complete LED Panel Light Bulb Kit 12 PCS | eBay That makes a huge difference in interior lighting! My Prius came with leather seats already, so can't help you there, and already had JBL with NAV and backup camera head unit. I don't know if the wiring would already be in place for the backup camera if yours did not have it from the factory. The OEM Toyota backup cameras apparently run on a different voltage than standard, so if you are going to connect one to a factory head unit make sure to check out voltages first. I also replaced the standard backup light bulbs with 5000K projector type LEDs and get a lot more light in reverse now. I think this is what I used on my headlight lenses: Wipe New Headlight Restore - Walmart.com It comes with a little sanding pad. After you've sanded off all the oxidation, then you carefully wipe on the lens coating following the instructions (wipe only once in one direction), and make sure to let it sit, preferably in a garage, for 24 hours without getting wet. If you wanted to come up to Stanwood, I'd be happy to help you out at least with the headlight/fog light upgrade.
Hey! We aren't that far away. Im over in FedWay myself. I know this might be a little late, but hope your modding has gone well. I am always looking for new ways to make my car unique and set apart from others. Feel free to hit me up!
