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Adding a backup camera to 2012 base Prius C

Discussion in 'Prime Audio, Electronics, and Infotainment' started by hangingwiththekups, Jul 22, 2022.

  1. hangingwiththekups

    hangingwiththekups New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey all,

    I recently came across a 2012 Prius C. It's a base model near as I can tell - no features. No indications of trim level. The interior feels like the bare bones model.

    I'm looking to add a backup camera to the car and replace the stock head unit.

    This is also slightly complicated because the current head unit doesn't turn on. I asked the previous owner, and he told me that there was a wiring issue, where the head unit (stock) was draining the battery. Toyota couldn't figure it out, so they unplugged the head unit and the battery drain issue went away. This leads me to think either something failed in the head unit, or something went bad with the wiring to the head unit. I'm hoping it's a failed head unit only.

    From reading other forums, it seems like there's a chance the rear doors may not have any speakers in them. When looking at the car, it looks like they have speakers back there. When I shined a flashlight through them, I couldn't confirm there were speakers there, which I thought was weird. Short of ripping out the stereo and/or door panels, I wasn't sure what else I should do.

    I was hoping someone could give me guidance, such as:

    1. is it worth the extra money getting an OEM backup cam?
    2. how to best route the new backup cam wires to the desk
    3. things I should look out for when I replace the head unit.
    4. should I replace the aux port and USB port on the passenger side of the dashboard?
    5. Since the car didn't have a backup camera before, do I need to do anything to get the backup cam to switch on automatically when I put the car into reverse?
    6. Is there someone willing to check my parts list?

    Here's my parts list:
    1. Atoto F7 Double-DIN Car Stereo (comes with backup cam)
    2. Antenna Adapter (Harmony Audio HA-40LX11)
    3. Double DIN Dash Installation Kit (Meta 95-8239B)
    4. Audio Harness Adapter (Harmony HA-701761)
    Total is $214+tax.

    I went onto Crutchfield, and they recommend:
    1. Boss BN965BLC Navigation receiver with included rear-view camera
    2. iData Maestro RR Interface Module
    3. iData HRN-HNN-T02 Wiring Kit
    4. Scosche TA2114B Dash Kit
    5. Antenna Adapter (
    Total is $535. Yikes. That's a lot more. And for another $25, they'll do the "ready harness" service, which sounds very nice.

    And that's it for now. After I get all of the above working, I'll probably change out the speakers, but for now, that can be a future project.

    I found this install video for a head unit in a Prius C that looks just like mine:


    I did not find a backup cam install for a Prius C.

    Annoyingly, I used links to all of the products, but since I'm new here, I can't make posts with links :-(
     
  2. Hidyho

    Hidyho Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2010
    2,698
    529
    0
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Toyota unplugged a factory head unit and said that fixes the problem?
     
    #2 Hidyho, Jul 23, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  3. hangingwiththekups

    hangingwiththekups New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm guessing the car was out of its warranty period and the previous owner was being cheap - instead of having Toyota spend more time to diagnose the issue or pay for a replacement head unit or wiring harness (whichever it was).