I finally got around to installing the Prius Lock in my daughter's '04 Prius. The instructions were OK and it took about 15 minutes to do the entire mod. It works great, exactly as advertised. However... I have had to pull the cover panel several times to re-insert a couple of the wires. Does anybody else have this problem? The fork connectors provided with the kit don't seem long enough and don't have enough friction to hold the really stiff heavy-gauge wire from pulling the pin out after a couple of weeks of driving around. Should I change to wire-tap-type connectors? Try a drop of silicone to hold the wires in place maybe? The tech-support e-mail address that came with the instructions is out of service.
Our Gen II doesn't have the auto-lock feature, and there's a kit that has the central computer lock all 4 doors when the car is powered up. Kinda' neat deal for my absent-minded daughter, but the kit did leave just a wee bit to be desired.
I used to have that on my old 1998 Mazda MX-3. It was a feature of the Thatcham Category 1 Alarm I had installed in the coupe when I acquired it back in November 2004. I was absolutely unaware there was a kit for the Prius Gen II. Not that it matters. I'd rather it had been part of the original package and I don't want to go installing extra stuff like that in it (though I can see how important it is to you / your daughter's safety). Nonetheless, ever aware of the dangers of being car-jacked (yes, even in a quiet leafy suburb of London - all it takes is one twisted and suicidal terrorist who needs a registered vehicle to commit a foul deed.......!), the first thing I do is activate the locks once I'm aboard. I also tend to advise any passengers of how to open the door locks in an emergency and get clear IF there's an RTA. You can never be too careful.
That feature was also on the Mazda 626 7 seater estate that I owned. The doors locked automatically when the car went above about 5 MPH. John (Britprius)
