inport form japan

We need the first five characters of the VIN to identify the specific model of Prius:

• NHW10 - 1997-2000 Prius, Japanese only
• NHW11 - 2001-2003 Prius, Japanese, North America, Europe
• NHW20 - 2004-2009 Prius, same and more countries
• ZVW30 - 2010-current Prius

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

Good! This means it is an NHW11.

Now there are two displays, one in the upper dash and the other a flat screen in the console. I suspect the one in the upper dash does not have a lot of Japanese and you can operate the car without a problem. Is the flat screen in the console the one that is giving you trouble?

Now to answer your question, the language is built-in to the screen. I don't think anyone knows how to change the language once the car is sold. I suspect you will need to find the part from an English language version and have it swapped.

It would be more useful if you could provide photos of the parts causing the language problem.

Bob Wilson

 

Isn't toyotas made in japan has a vin number that starts with J.

 

The beggining letter of the VIN number starts with J if the car is from japan otherwise it is from assembly lines outside of japan. US assembly lines starts with a number (usually 5).

 

Re: import form japan

US-manufactured VINs start with 1, 4, or 5.
VIN Vehicle Identification Number History How To Read A VIN

 

That's what I said. I'm just not getting on what bob Wilson is saying that we need the first five numbers of the vin number for identification

 

Yes, Bob might be referring to a chassis number stamped into the bulkhead, which is not the same as the VIN.

 

Also the Prius imported into Ireland will be a RHD Prius from Japan.

Many second hand cars are imported into Ireland and the UK from Japan. Apparantly Japan has a very strick test when the cars get to 10 years old and as such many are pretty much worthless in Japan when they get to that age. However, as they are RHD, certain models are still worth exporting to other RHD countries as personal imports. Whilst it isn't cost effective to import any old Jap car, it is worth importing certain high demand models (even old ones), such as the old generation Prius, Mitsubishi Shoguns/Pajero's, Lexus Soarers, Mazda Eunos Roadsters, Nissan Skylines etc.

The legislation to import a second hand car from another country is fairly lax here in the UK and Ireland. I believe uddinsamsu is importing his Prius from Japan - hence the Japanese text on the Prius computer.

 

Re: import from japan

The good news is that you have an NHW11 model, which is much better than NHW10.

The bad news is that it probably is not possible for you to change the multifunction display from displaying Japanese characters. You could try to purchase a replacement MFD from a salvage yard, from a car originally shipped to an English-speaking country.

Maybe it will work in your car. Maybe it won't. No guarantees as there may be conflicts with other electronics in the car.

 

My 2001's traction battery died after 61K miles and five years. However this is not representative.

In general, I would say that if the battery is subjected to high ambient temperatures (90+ degrees F), that will reduce battery life. If the car is driven frequently over hills & valleys (thus subjecting the battery to wider charge/discharge swings) that will reduce battery life.

The battery is known to suffer from electrolyte leakage from the individual modules. Thus, on average, I would expect the NHW11 battery to last for at least 8 years / 100K miles (which happens to be the battery warranty in the US.) Any service life beyond that is a bonus that you may, or may not, receive.

 

Just to add to that... the leakage issue was resolved in NHW20 and ZVW30 uses the same modules as NHW20. Internal resistance was lowered as well. Gen2 and Gen3 packs should last longer.

 

Hi Bob,
My car is Prius ZVW30, Model "L" , year 2010, Japanese Domestic Model.
I like to change the language from Japanese to English for the Flat Screen in the console. Am attaching its picture as well.
Please advise.

Thanks.

Omar