OK as my 2005 Prius nears 260,000 miles several items have been in need of replacement, to include a non-functioning cruise control unit. I order a new $10 switch on Ebay and placed that onto the car. This is a pretty straight forward process. 1. DISCONNECT BATTERY. First disconnect neg terminal to 12V battery. This will hedge off any inadvertent airbag deployments. 2. ACCESS SIDE STEERING COLUMN AREA. With pry tool pop off plastic pieces to left/right side steering column. With a star pattern hex, I loosened both left/right side screws in order to release airbag access on steering. 3. ACCESS STEERING WHEEL. The airbag can now flop up but no need to remove it nor the center steering nut. 4. ACCESS CRUISE SWITCH. Now the 2 phillip head screws reveal themselves. Unscrew those and the electronic clip to release the cruise control unit altogether. 5. SWAP OUT. Replace the old with the new. Reattach 2 phillip head screws. 6. BUTTON UP IN REVERSE. Return the airbag and the side panels. 7. Whoala! 8. *** OLD INTERNALS
Funny, but I have a 2005 Prius with about 260,000 miles and it appears that my Cruise Control Switch went bad. -Is it really that easy to replace the switch, and I saw another post that said must also replace break switch or it will not work. Did you replace both switches or did it work with just replacing cruise control switch?
I sold that brown 005 Prius a year ago. it CRUISED good since the simple procedure for the new buyer. Do as i did... - unplug the 12V battery - openup the steering wheel safely - unplug - swapout - button up - whoaala good luck
Thank you for the excellent post. With your help, I was able to swap out my broken cruise control switch in ~15 minutes. I also bought a cheap non-OEM switch, although not quite as good of a deal as you got ($17.63 out the door from Amazon). I don't remember how much a genuine OEM switch would have cost, but it was definitely much more expensive. I was willing to pay a nominal fee to get the switched replaced professionally. Luscious Garage quoted me a whopping $376.66 for the job. Needless to say, I declined their offer. I've got a little under 170,000 miles on my car. This is a bit early for a switch failure (according to the above posts), but I use my cruise control very frequently, so it makes sense. Thanks again for the helpful post.
GLAD it worked out for you such an easy procedure perhaps just as easy & fast as changing oil key is to remove power 12V or risk poss steering column airbag employment LOVE those 2nd gens they are so impervious to abuses-- what ever you throw at 'em---keeps on ticking
Great post. I use my cruise control a lot. I often wondered how complicated it will be when, not if, I have to replace the switch.
