sfprankster's (mis)adventures modding a 2014 Prius Model Three

Same VLEDS Amber Platinum LED's, front and rear.

Not the cheapest, but very bright and well made products.

 

Amber LED's where the original reflectors were amber on the side of the headlight assembly. 5k LED's on the marker light above the headlights.

On mine, the stock side marker lights were amber halogen's

 

Mine were amber halogen bulbs.

Absolutely a pain in the *** to change, especially the passenger side. I removed the low beam plugs/bulbs to gain easier access the side marker lights plug. The smaller your hands are, the easier it will be to replace them.

The upper marker lights were almost too easy. All of a minute max to change them both.

 

The flasher module is another fun one to change.

I turned the 4 way flasher on and used the Hellen Keller/Ray Charles method of blindly feeling around under the dash until I felt the click. It's between the parking brake pedal and the steering column with the plug facing down towards the floor.

Too small of a space for me to get a camera into to take a pic.

If you have back problems, this one is rough.

 

The front and rear turn signals both use a 7440/7443 bulb and the marker lights are 194's. No way to insert the smaller 194's into the turn signal sockets.

Unless a large enough hammer is brought into play.

No issues with the depth of the LED's in either turn signal housing. Just make sure you insert the LED fully into the socket until you hear a click. I dropped one into the front turn signal housing and it took a while to retrieve the LED.

 

You can add resistors to the turn signal LED's, instead of changing out the flasher module. Either method gets rid of the hyper flashing that comes with the lower resistance LED's. The lower resistance of the LED's causes the cars electronics to believe there is a burnt turn signal bulb and the hyper flashing is its way of notifying the driver a bulb is out.

All of the other LED's I installed are plug 'n play.

 

The guide doesn't list a Prius, only the '07-'12 Rav4 and Yaris.
Don't know if they will fit. 63mm length is rather long for the front. The rear has more then enough room.


Personally, I'm not a fan of LED's sold on Ebay. The LED's quality and durability is questionable. I've run VLEDS on my Civic SI for years without a single burnt LED. The first interior pair I purchased from Ebay died within a couple weeks in my Prius.

 

^^^ What he said


Only functionality loss will be in your back after planking over the door frame and under the steering wheel searching for the flasher module.

 

Same here. I had all the LED's and the flasher module on my desk for more than a month, before I went ahead and changed the module.

You know you've been thinking about it for too long already. It's going to have to be changed.

Got to keep up with the Jones(no peer pressure here)

 

The creature comfort (mis)adventures continues...


Audio Upgrade Stage I:
This first stage entails changing the rear door speakers and sound dampening the rear doors.

This (mis)adventure begins on Dec 26, when my order of a pair of JL Audio TR650-CSi 6-1/2" Evolution TR Series 2-way Component Speakers arrived. Initially, I intended to install them as front speakers and install a pair of JL Audio 6 1/2" coaxials into the rear doors. But things changed as I contemplated the system and did some additional research on several variations of my original idea.


Door Panel Removal:
To begin, you must remove the rear door panels to access the speakers and the area to be sound dampened. Locate a pair of screws, the first below a small rubber pad in the finger area behind the window switch. The second, behind a small plastic insert behind the door latch. I used a plastic panel removal tool to access the screws.



Reach to the bottom of the rear door panel and you will find a hole running along the edge, large enough to insert several fingers. Give this portion of the panel a firm tug, to release the lower three plugs holding the panel in place. Then work your way up the sides of the panel to release the remaining plugs. The top of the panel is held in place by overlapping into the window frame. There is a single plug to be removed, with a small pressure release, and the door lock/release cables before you can remove the door panel and expose the area I chose to sound dampen.


Since I intended to place sound dampening material over the entire surface, I removed the stock moisture barrier. The black sticky material used by Toyota, will adhere to your skin and anything else you touch afterwards, so be careful. It removes very easily with a simple upwards pulling motion from one end to the other. You have to make a few cuts on the moisture barrier material, to clear a few wire bundles and the door latch cables.



Now the fun begins...
Can you say POWER TOOLS?

Rear Speaker Installation:
At this point, it is best to replace the rear speakers. Unplug the speaker connection, by squeezing the release pin and place the connector out of the way. To remove the speaker, I drilled the rivets holding the rear speaker bracket onto the door with a 3/16" drill bit. If you are attempting to reuse the factory bracket, I would take my time drilling the rivets. Going to quickly, will cause the rivet to spin in the bracket, generating heat and melting the speaker bracket tabs.


I replaced the factory brackets with Metra 82-8148 6"-6.75" Speaker Adapter for 1998-up Lexus Scion Toyota using the supplied screws, washers and nuts. I tested the windows to make sure I had plenty of clearance and didn't have to cut the screws shorter. I also used a Metra 72-8104 SHGM01B Speaker Wire Harness Adapter Plug Toyota to make an easy and clean connection, as I plan to remove the speakers/audio system when I sell my Prius. There is a small indentation in the door frame, near the top of the speaker, where I ran the speaker wires into the door for the connection to the speakers. Make sure you have a solid connections for all of the speakers.


Having the option to either flush or surface mount the tweeters, gives this speaker system a latitude in mounting locations.
I chose to flush mount the tweeters near the upper front of the rear door panels. I began by drawing a template of the tweeter on the inside of the door panel with a felt marker. Then drilling several small holes around the inside of my template. I used a VERY sharp, fine tipped hobby knife to make small adjustments to the hole to create a pressed fit for the tweeters, along with a supplied bracket, to hold them in place.




....and the fun continues...

Sound Dampening the Rear Doors:
Sound dampening the rear doors...or how to make your Prius sound like a Mercedes Benz when closing the doors.


I didn't want to spend the money to use products such as Dynamat as I have in the past. For this project, I used an aluminum backed foam, available at Home Depot or Lowes called Frost King Foam/Foil Duct Insulation, along with a high quality 2" aluminum tape to seal the edges. Clean the inside of the door frame using denatured alcohol and a microfiber towel. Like doing a puzzle, work your way around the door, covering in sections, with a 1" overlap in the pieces, until the entire door is covered. Press the material firmly against the door frame by hand, or using a roller to create a good bond. Leave a little room for the door cables and plugs to be able to move freely. Also, don't forget to mark the screw holes for the mounting plate for the interior door panel. Huge pain in the *** to remove all your work to find a couple of small holes. Once you have the door surface covered, replace the panel mounting bracket, plug in the window switch plug and the door lock/release cables. Lastly, place the interior door panel over the window frame and give each plug a firm push with your hand. All that is left is to replace the two screws and the small panels blocking their view.



...and don't forget, you are now only half way finished with the rear doors.

Now rinse and repeat for the other side.



The only visible piece of the Audio Upgrade Stage I, are a pair of JL Audio tweeters in the rear doors...




This is the no expense spared speaker Toyota uses in the rear of the Prius...





TLDR: Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!