What do I need to activate software on my 2007 Prius

dealerships do it because they've got the ~$9k to pony up for a techstream tool and they make lots of money off it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 25 2007, 09:18 PM) [snapback]517717[/snapback]</div>

Start with buying the maintenance manuals for your model Prius. All of the dealership techniques are described in those books. They'll also identify the tools that Toyota uses and you can work on getting functional equivalents. With the maintenance manuals, you'll get the part numbers for the control computers. You can then get equivalent control computers from salvage Prius and work with them on your bench:
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_ECU.html

While you are waiting for the Toyota maintenance manuals and bench parts, you might read some of the other studies. Just use Google to find copies:

SAE 2004-01-0064
NREL/CP-540-31306
ORNL/TM-2004/137
ORNL/TM-2004/185
ORNL/TM-2004/247
ORNL/TM-2006/423
Planet drive explain#27520D.pdf
PnG_resolver_1579n2e.pdf

A good overview:
"Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Control,
Design, and Applications
Prof. Chris Mi"

Also:
"Comparative Assessment of Hybrid Vehicle Power Split Transmissions
John M. Miller, P.E., PhD
J-N-J Miller, P.L.C."

A schematic of interest:
EAA-PHEV-PRIUS-HighPowerSchematicV2d_060410.jpg

You might also enjoy seeing some of the Prius programming I've been doing:
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_temp.html

"Activating the software" on the Prius is as you'll see, as simple and easy as turning it on.

Bob Wilson

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 15 2007, 04:17 PM) [snapback]513004[/snapback]</div>

It's not such a daft idea - after all, I have a USB to i-bus interface and a bit of shareware that will allow me to 1: monitor the bus and 2: modify the coding on certain modules of my BMW.

For example,you can code the navigation system for various settings, code the on-board TV module and the bluetooth module, and also activate 'factory only'options such as Voice Recognition.

All it needs is the correct interface (does the Prius use i-bus/k-bus or something else?) and someone to write the code; preferably someone who has access to the system used by the dealers who can then monitor the bus messages to reverse-engineer the coding commands.

They did it for the BMW (basically as the dealers were charging silly money to code cars) so it is theoretically possible for the Prius. Could be a nice little earner for the author....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 15 2007, 11:17 AM) [snapback]513004[/snapback]</div>

Curious. You don't say what you're not happy with. MPG? Power? If power, you wipe out mpg. So why have the Prius. If mpg is the goal, & you've got $9K to spare ... try the company in CO (use the search tool here to find various threads on the topic) that'll add enough extra KW hrs to give you extra ev ... enough so you get over 100mpg and virtually never even run the ICE. Hacking the software / hardware may have catastrophic resusts.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 15 2007, 10:17 AM) [snapback]513004[/snapback]</div>

What did you intend to tweak? Do you have a list?

Wayne

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ Sep 26 2007, 09:32 AM) [snapback]517858[/snapback]</div>

Ahem, I have a list:

1. ballistics glide - a way to disable electric drag with the foot off of the accelerator except when the velocity exceeds the accelerator off velocity by +2 mph.
2. automate "B" - as the speed exceeds the accelerator off speed +2 mph, reapply the electric drag and increase it until full "B" mode is reached at +10 mph over the accelerator off value.
3. eliminate extra warm-up gas penalty
4. allow lower cruise control speed - 0 mph would be perfect but I could live with 5 mph as the lower limit.
5. provide a high-mileage cruise control speed range - load sensitive, it would use a 10 mph range to optimize highway performance
6. lower thermistor threshold - to let vehicle operate in hybrid mode with coolant 10C cooler
7. all after-market hacks as options
8. programming by radio frequency and touch-screen controls
9. display ECU diagnostic and history codes in diagnostic screen
10. streaming performance metrics to a "black box" interface serial port

Bob Wilson
ps. I'm not waiting on Toyota for these features but we can talk about them a week from Sunday. <grins>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 26 2007, 12:45 PM) [snapback]517982[/snapback]</div>

First understand what you've got; then perform experiments to see the effect of proposed changes; and finally, implement specific modifications to implement what works.

Bob Wilson

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Sep 26 2007, 01:44 PM) [snapback]517981[/snapback]</div>

You skipped the all important body conforming, massage-o-tronic seats, with heads up display while operating 20mm Hummer-disabling gatling guns.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Sep 26 2007, 12:44 PM) [snapback]517981[/snapback]</div>

I don't understand why the cruise control has to forget your settings after you go too slow or stop. The one on my 05 Avalon remembers where it was even after a complete stop. Just start up and gain a little speed, then push it up to the resume position and the car goes back to the speed it was before you stopped.

When I first got my Prius, I thought that the cruise control was broken till I figured it out that it didn't work like the one in the Avalon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 28 2007, 08:56 AM) [snapback]518948[/snapback]</div>

What did you want to change . . . the requirements?

Access to the Prius source code and programming interfaces is at best a corporate trade secret. However, all of the 'inputs' and 'outputs' are mapped by the maintenance documentation including the wiring diagrams. So instead of trying to break-in to a closed system, think "shell" and deal directly with the inputs and outputs. For example, my temperature hack:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_temp.html

I wanted my 03 Prius to have similar, fuel efficiency to the Japanese and European Prius. My first experiments used a diode, pot and switch to test what happens when the thermistor value is 'adjusted.' If the ICE is below 40C, the engine will choke and die. But at 40C and above, I can trick it into 70C and instantly go into hybrid operation and save 3 minutes of ICE warm-up. I also had to make sure the 'bias' backed out after reaching 80C or the engine would report overheating. But I wasn't happy with the analog approach because it wasn't as precise as I wanted and didn't record any history.

Now I use an MSP430 microcontroller to handle the thermistor hack. This lets me control all aspects with software that I can change at will. After a few tweaks, it worked quite nicely. Now I'm looking at making a bunch of them for an after-market offering.

Bob Wilson

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Sep 25 2007, 07:18 PM) [snapback]517717[/snapback]</div>

Do the math. It would take like 20 years to recover the cost of the tool, with the fuel savings. You would be better off waiting for the newer Prius models to come out and upgrading.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Sep 29 2007, 08:16 AM) [snapback]518978[/snapback]</div>

That's a neat little trick. Does it change the emissions profile considerably?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Anai @ Oct 6 2007, 01:40 AM) [snapback]522108[/snapback]</div>

Touchy, touchy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patrickindallas @ Oct 6 2007, 03:08 AM) [snapback]522120[/snapback]</div>

It hasn't been measured. However, the engine continues to warm-up but over a longer period of time with the ICE off more often. It could be replicated by doing a series of short start-stop segments, say stopping the ICE at each stop sign or traffic light. The extended warm-up gives the heat time to throughly warm the block so you don't get 'hot-spots.'

Measuring the effect requires an exhaust tester and a dynometer. Doable, it would be a little pricey.

Bob Wilson