I know this might be a long shot, but here goes. I've gotten into hypermiling and I'm getting a little miffed that the Prius V doesn't have a heads-up-display where I can watch my power meter and speed easily. I know there are several aftermarket HUDs that can do GPS turn-by-turn directions and speed, but I would really like to be able to see the power meter. So my big question is this: Is it possible to wire a HUD unit from a Liftback Prius, or maybe the UK Prius V into a US Prius V (three)? I'm not worried about the physical mounting: I can handle attaching it to the dash. But I have no idea how it hooks up electronically.
It would be a lot easier to use a scangauge or Ultragauge connected to the OBDII port. You can then monitor instant fuel economy and Load on the scangauge. Maybe correlate the Load on the engine to when it corresponds to the Power zone on the Prius display, then avoid getting into that engine load range. I have a Scangauge mounted above my rear view mirror so it is easy to see. The Blend mount also can be used to mount a Scangauge above the mirror. Another easy to see location is on the driver's side A-pillar. SCH-I535
Okay, thank you for the alternative, I might consider that if I can't get a HUD hooked up. My only concern with that is I'm not sure it's much better than just looking down at the existing power meter. But I'd have to try it I guess.
I can only imagine a actual retrofit would be a challenge and not worth the effort. Continue to hypermile with what you have available.
Well like I said, the physical side is not really a problem, I can make a housing for it or integrate it into the dash easily enough. And I can handle running the wires and all. I just don't know how the HUD unit on the other Prii interfaces with the rest of the car. Are they just wired into the same connections as the normal display? Is there a separate computer unit that controls the HUD that the V lacks? Really just looking for information on that.
Aloha, Most likely the HUD is driven by the ECU via a control module. Pretty sure the Prius electronics are utilizing a CAN (network) system.
Thanks for the info HawaiiVGuy! Yes it seems that they're using CAN. I finally manged to track down a HUD unit on Ebay, and it seems it's much larger than I thought. So that may not be an option. But then I'm not sure how much space is under the dash on the V. I'm looking at other options though. Does anyone know if it's possible to get the power meter data through the OBD-II port? I know some electronics gurus who could probably whip something together through an arduino or something
Any luck on this? I've been looking for the same info on how the HUD works - not so I can install one but to see if replacing my head unit will disable it. I don't care about GPS directions (which come from the head unit) but I do care about speed and engine info.
