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12 easy little mods I did to my Prius V

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by Centerpunch, May 12, 2021.

  1. Centerpunch

    Centerpunch Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2019
    148
    137
    1
    Location:
    OH / NC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
    I sold my mint 31K mile 2013 V to some friends a few days ago, so I won't be around here much. (I really liked that little car, but have a bunch of other cars already, and just like to try different things every few years.)

    Anyway, I've enjoyed hanging out with you folks virtually.

    Thought I'd do a quick post of the 12 little mods I did to my car. Other than the exhaust tip, I'm sure they've all been documented before, but thought putting them all in one thread might be convenient for newbies. I used links to my posts mostly, just because they were the easiest for me to find.

    1) Debadge. Other than the oval Toyota badges, the rest are held on with double sided tape, and can be removed- most folks use dental floss to cut through the tape, then use solvent or orange residue remover to clean off the remains of the adhesive.

    2) New background for oval Toyota emblem. I think the black and blue is just weird, so I used adhesive film that closely matched my car's paint. Other folks have used contrasting colors.

    Changed background color of Toyota emblems | PriusChat

    3) Personalized license plate. I used "650V," indicating the system voltage. There are lots of other ideas.

    4) License plate frame. I ended up just using a black rubber frame, but that's an easy way to show your interests.

    5) Had dealer turn off reverse beep. The car beeps continuously inside when you are backing up- what is that about? I already know I'm backing up. The dealer can change this to a single beep, which is not too bad. I think I paid $75 or so to have this done.

    6) Bigger shift knob. I think the dainty little V knob is just weird. I found a normal Prius knob on ebay that had been modified to screw onto the V shifter. I like it a lot better.

    Replacing silver dash panel with black one | PriusChat

    7) Black dash panel. The same ebay seller had a dash panel that was changed from silver to satin black to match the rest of the dash- looks a lot better to me. It would be easy to remove and paint this part yourself.

    8) Added underhood small oem wiring shield. This part is standard on the Lexus, but missing on our cars. Inexpensive, just snaps on. You might need a Lexus VIN to order the part, there's one in one of the posts in this thread.

    Question in engine compartment | PriusChat

    9) Added dual exhaust tip. I see the Prius as a premium vehicle, and that little oem exhaust pipe looks low rent to me. The hardest part of this was finding a tip that wasn't gigantic.

    My meaningless and juvenile mod: dual exhaust tip | PriusChat

    10) Aftermarket tail lights. I found Valenti aftermarket tail lights on ebay, and really like the way they look.

    Installing Valenti tail lights | PriusChat

    11) TRD rear anti sway bar. This Toyota accessory reduces the car's lean in corners, and is easy to install.

    TRD Rear sway bar for Prius v? | PriusChat

    12) Different wheels. I changed to oem RAV4 17" wheels with 225-50-17 Michelin Cross Climate tires. Note that our cars have a different bolt pattern than the normal prius. Other folks have used other wheels, just search and you'll find other threads.

    Installed 5-spoke 17" oem Rav4 wheels | PriusChat

    ************************************************

    There are certainly a few other popular mods that I didn't get around to:

    DRLs for cars that don't have them. (I just changed the parking light bulbs to bright LED and leave them switched on.)

    Aftermarket LED front turn signals. I bought a set on ebay but never installed them.

    Adding lighting behind the lower rear reflectors.

    Lowering springs. Tanabe and others make springs to lower the car, but I decided not to go that route.

    *************************************************

    Anyway, hope this is helpful to some folks. See you guys and gals later!

    -Paul

    rear prius.jpg


    prius side.jpg
     
    #1 Centerpunch, May 12, 2021
    Georgina Rudkus, PriusistingCondition, Mendel Leisk and 1 other person like this.
  2. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2019
    11
    6
    0
    Location:
    53704
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    III
    Methinks the reverse beep is as a reminder for, say, overshooting the crosswalk, then backing up to let pedestrians pass. Sure is easy to forget you are in reverse gear, in that situation, unless you habitually check your back-up camera when you are not moving. I don't. Hasn't happened to me [yet] - but I know two people who have backed into the car behind them when the traffic signal turns green. I'm not bothered by the beeping, and figure it might just help me out some old day ...
     
    #2 fixitman, Jun 3, 2021
    Dan Kang and Mendel Leisk like this.
  3. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2016
    812
    405
    0
    Location:
    Sausalito
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
    I am a bit late to reply to this thread, yet
    Mod-ing can be addictive... LOL

    The shifter mod is a good one.
    I even like the duel exhaust tips.

    Swaybar (improved handling is always a good thing), Lexus shield, emblem background, et al, are all good ideas.
     
    #3 Kenny94945, Jun 8, 2021
  4. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2018
    3,240
    2,252
    0
    Location:
    Taylors, SC
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I have the black shifter panel that I purchased from the maker.

    If you want your own, I'd get it from him. I tried painting my original one to save some money. It was a real failure, because I did not completely remove the original silver finish completely. It started to flake in a couple of months.

    I got the one from the seller. The original finish was completely sanded off to the grey plastic, primed with a plastic primer and finish coated with a special aircraft instrument panel quality paint applied with an airbrush.

    It;s been on there since 2016 and still kooks like it was installed yesterday. I guess you get what you pay for..
     
    #4 Georgina Rudkus, Jun 8, 2021
  5. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2017
    719
    287
    0
    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    There is a free android app that will let you set to one of three modes:
    1) Continuous Beep
    2) Single Beep
    3) No Beep​

    I wanted it to beep exactly 3 times.

    You need an ELM 327 ODBII Bluetooth adapter to use the app. Itcosts ~$25, but is very useful for mother things.
     
    #5 gromittoo, Jun 8, 2021
  6. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2017
    719
    287
    0
    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    You could have bought some 17 inch wheel from a Prius V five. The thing is I explicitly avoided the "five" trim because lower profile tires are not pothole friendly, and I use my Prius V for Ubering in Philadelphia. If I had bought a Prius V five, I would have to buy 5 16 inch wheels from a lower trim. The fifth wheel would a full size spare I leave at home.
     
    #6 gromittoo, Jun 8, 2021
  7. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    7,919
    3,142
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    The Rav4 wheels look good, but probably a bit heavy.

    Did you get to weigh them before mounting tires on them?

    How's the mpg after mounting the wheels?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #7 xliderider, Jun 8, 2021
  8. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    4,035
    1,110
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    I trod most of this path, plus or minus a few:

    - fogs as LED DRLs
    - lower rear reflector LED turn/stop lamps
    - rear diffuser strakes
    - LED signal/position light mirrors

    No exhaust tip... go big with quad titanium heat-cycle colored tips, or go home!

    It's a fun car to mod after you get the courage up to work on the often difficult-to-access 26-28 gauge wiring.
     
    #8 Air_Boss, Jun 9, 2021
  9. Colorado Boo

    Colorado Boo Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2021
    307
    202
    8
    Location:
    Monument, Colorado USA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    LE AWD-e
    Wow! When my wife got her 2017 Prius 2, I looked for mods folks do (I didn't know about this forum) and didn't see many at all....great job! Those dual exhausts must raise quite a few eyebrows for folks behind you on the road!!!
    Last month, my wife let me sell my old Scion iQ (I rebadged it Toyota, I hate the Scion badge and if you go to Europe all the iQ's are Toyota...using a heat gun or hair dryer to heat up the old emblem makes it super easy to get off with a plastic pry tool.) Anyway, to say thanks, I bought and installed some of those Toyota lighted door sill protectors and they are super cool. (Just the front protectors light up, the ones on the passenger doors are a bit smaller but say Prius and are a shiny chrome.

    I want to put a set in my 21 Prius, not a hard job at all.

     
    #9 Colorado Boo, Jul 12, 2021
    icyrius and Air_Boss like this.
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