I have ordered my EV button and housing from Japan via japanparts.com. The total cost including shipping and a small international credit card surcharge is $51.70. Delivery is supposed to be 15 days. I will keep you posted. Has anyone else out there used this company for parts?
John, That looks like a great resource for some of the special Prius parts that are not available in the US. But, where/how did you order the stuff for the Prius. I don't see the Prius listed on the "Toyota" page on the web site. Did you have to call, e-mail, who did you talk to?
Hi Evan. Good question. I emailed them a request for quote with the Toyota part numbers etc.. They sent me a quote in yen with a weblink to convert yen to dollars. The quote also includes a link back to an order form on their website. After you order they email you a confirmation. Don't forget to tell them up front what country you're from.
Johno: How do you propose to install the EV switch? Will doing it yourself void parts of your warranty? I read somewhere on this chatline some directions about how to install it, and it all sounded like a disastrous Sunday afternoon with dashparts all over the front seat and the warranty gone. Let us know how you do with it.
Bob, I own a Wire Harness Assembly business so I am well equipped for the job. Also, I love tinkering with stuff to find out how it works. We are lucky to have such a great board here that shows us how to do it with photos etc.. If you ask me the worst part about the job is the soldering. Once you take the dash apart you will always know how to do it. Future behind the dash jobs will not take as long. I don't worry about warranties. Everytime I've had something go wrong with a car the warranty had just expired a month ago. That's when it's trade-in time for me.
Can you provide the part # and other info you needed to give to put in the order? Also, I've lost track of what people have actually done: have they managed to get the OEM button to light up? Thanks, Felix
I'm also looking to connect with a person who wants to have a little hobby as an EV Button Installer in the Bay Area. There's not much money to be made here but I guarantee you'll meet some interesting people! I'm starting to accumulate Bay Area Prius owners who are interested in having someone enable their EV-mode. When I tell them they can take the instructions to any car audio installer, like any prudent person going in for even minor surgery, they prefer working with someone with experience -- i.e., someone who has done it at least once before. Some of them also want instruction on how to dis-enable it or (given that, as I understand it, with most or all methods at least some connections will need to be soldered) at least make it not obvious to any service person who isn't specifically looking for it. At least one wants a replication of the official installation, so he wants a real button from Japan, meaning you could get in on one of the group buys. Others can live with another button in that space or want to use the cruise control stick. (I'm planning on using the HomeLink wireless method for my own car.) If you're interested, please let me know.
Yep - I got the OEM to light up by tapping the rheostat right next to it. My Howto (suppliment to Evan's) is in the Knowledge Base section.
Here is a great post from one of our members. http://www.priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1278 Also, I haven't seen any info on rigging the homelink to do this. Can you help?
Just got an email from japanparts.com today (5/15/04) that my EV switch and housing has shipped by mail. They included a tracking number. I will let you know when I receive it. So far so good.
My parts are in! The EV switch and the housing arrived today via US mail from Japan. They flew from Toyko to JFK airport and then by truck to Southeastern PA. Pretty cool. Now all I need is my Prius to put them in!
Well, the EV button is cool, but I am looking to buy the side molding body kit with the rear bumper and fron bumper as well, any guesses as to where I can get it?
