Hi guys, I'm going to broach this topic and see how it goes. I did a search through the forums, but didn't see anyone asking this particular question. My car is a 2008 Prius that used to be a Taxi. That in mind, it doesn't have a lot of additional options that I did have when I owned my 2007. Items like the backup camera, hands-free bluetooth, etc. that I wouldn't mind adding into my current car. My question is, where are these options kept? I believe the navigation system used an external unit that sat under either the driver or passenger seat that required you to update the media every few years to keep it current. That one I'm not too worried about, but I wouldn't mind getting the other options back. So, are these options like daughter cards that are added to the head unit (touch screen display), are they actually coded into the display without additional hardware? I know to have the mic for the hands-free bluetooth, I would also need the ceiling console unit, as that's where mine was at originally. I also know that I'd need the backup camera to install on the lift gate. I haven't looked to see if the wiring is already there for either of them. Has anyone ever attempted this? I'm not interested in after-market add-ons - I'm just looking to see if it is feasible to add them to the car with a bit of effort and the correct parts to do it. Thanks!
ScanGauge-II (made by Linear-Logic) - there are many threads about the SG-IIs here on PriusChat, and Linear-Logic's Customer-Support is second to none! - Good Luck! Edit: Sorry, I should have read your post more thoroughly, but I thought you were just looking for useful add-ons, well I have 2 SG-IIs and have found them to be incredibly useful!)
It can be kind of a pain to add original options that the car wasn't built with. You can find pretty much everything you need to know about them in the wiring diagram (more info), but another thing you'll often find is that Toyota did use variant wire harnesses lacking the wires for options that weren't in the factory build, and finding missing wire harnesses economically can be a challenge. They often get mercilessly hacked up in salvage cars.
installing the factory nav and Bluetooth, etc. would be a huge job that requires hardware and rewiring the car. it would be fairly easy to replace the head unit with an aftermarket unit that had many of those features you want, and would need a lot less wiring and $$. I had a kenwood in my '05 that had Bluetooth audio, touchscreen, nav and satellite radio and a bunch of other stuff. it was worth it even if you don't care about the way better sound.
I heartily second what @69shovlhed said. Look, an '08 Prius is never going to be on the lawn at Pebble Beach, no future buyer of your car will care if it is 100% OEM, Compared to even the cheapest modern unit, 2008-spec Bluetooth (no audio streaming! Phone only!) and SATNAV are pretty much crap.
That's ok, Wil, it's all good. I have a Vgate iCar Pro Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) OBD2 Fault Code Reader that I use with the registered version of Torque on my Android for health checks and monitoring things that the display doesn't usually report back, like water temperature, engine RPM, etc. so I'm good there. I'm actually looking to add factory options to the car that it didn't come with originally.
Ok, here's a question for both 69shovlhed and egg_salad: I'm not against replacing the head unit, but isn't there issues with mounting them, integration into existing options in the car, etc. that keep a lot of people away from changing them out? Do you have any recommendations on models to consider using for something like this? Thanks again, guys.
It currently being 2019, the G2 Prius has existed for 15 years. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of G2s have had aftermarket radios installed by now. It's certainly not brain surgery. As for brands, I'm a fan of the Excelon line from Kenwood. Pick the features you want and the price you can pay. Crutchfield has been selling radios since the 70s and their website is a great place to shop.
its an easy upgrade. I bought a scosche mounting kit that fits the head unit well, and some bezels to fill the gaps so it looked ok too. it worked out really good. I wish I didn't have the jbl system in my '06 because then I'd have moved the upgraded system from the '04, but it is a pita to bypass the jbl.
Backup camera needs extra wiring and MFD with backup cam function. The lowest package doesn't come with it. Bluetooth hand-free calling needs MFD with built-in bluetooth motherboard support, "Q7" ceiling console unit with built-in mic board or self-made mic connection to MFD and extra mic and signal wires in front of driver air vent tube to MFD. Coming with JBL audio package, it has amp and different wiring assembly all the way from dashboard to carpet. It is kind of big project to remove and replace the whole wiring assembly.
Caravan can you elaborate on where the extra mic and signal wires in front of driver air vent tube to MFD go?
I did a head unit upgrade but lost few options. My car was 06 japanese import RHD with few extra features like Intelligent Parking Assist. That is nomore working. Additionally, I ve lost the feedback sound and voice recognition along with bluetooth audio. It seems that speaker is disconnected from main system otherwise car is giving feedback sound and Bluetooth voice output but it can't reach driver side speaker. Head unit upgrade would have been awesome if I haven't lost IPA and Driver side speaker feedback sound. Anyone having any idea howcan I get these integrated? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
