Anyone heard from CoastalETech lately?

Their support is nearly non-existent. I think your SOL.

 

yeah. They ship their product quickly, but I have had trouble getting a couple of questions answered on my Lockpick.

I don't think I can do what I inquired about anyway, but maybe someone on this board knows.

I have a 2008 Touring Prius. I have the Ultimate Lockpick 3.
Everything works as advertised with their product and I am pretty happy, but I want to be able to:

1. Supress the "DVD Hint: Press screen for buttons, OK" poput when using the Video Input.
2. Browse MP3 CD File folders while driving.

 

I tried several times to get a hold of them over the past two weeks with absolutely no success. I ended up placing an order anyway figuring the worse thing that would happen would be that I would have my credit card company cancel the charge - but they shipped the next day. They are definitely still in business, customer service just isn't a priority.

Seems like it would be fairly simple for someone to at least copy and produce the Prius mods and sell them to the community here.

 

Same story here. They do not answer email or phone calls. I was able to get thru to talk to them about a month ago before the lockpick for the 08 came out but unsuccessful since then.

I gave up and ordered mine yesterday at 5PM and lo and behold it was delivered this afternoon (next day) before noon. I was impressed by the delivery promptness but I don't know why they neglect their customer service the way they do.

Their website is so full of ambiguity I was really concerned about ordering from them.

I installed the basic lockpick which was a piece of cake and it works just fine. The second part (the lockpick 3+) requires taking the dash apart to get behind the radio.

I got the left air vent off but am having trouble getting the snap on the right side of the lower left panel to unfasten.

Unless anyone has installed this on their own and can provide some guidance, I will probably have to take it to an audio installer and let them tackle it. I am afraid to put to much force on the snap and don't want to break something in the process.

 

Pity. It used to be the reverse; it was almost impossible to get shipping information, but you got an immediate response if you had a tech question.

 

sorry for the newb question here, but I am strongly considering purchasing the Ultimate Lockpick 3. I went to the site, watched the video and have read everything on this site. I do have a question; I assume that the Lockpick is "taking" the source video (in my case it will be from an iPOD) through the AUX input in the center console, correct? That is what looks to be happening in the video on the Coastal site, but I am not sure if that is what is happening or if the iPOD hooks into something which I cannot see in the video. I have pkg3, which does not have NAV, but does have BT, so since the voice dialing has never worked correctly and I have only ever used the onscreen Fast Dial, I think this Lockpick will also be a big help there (I am guessing it will not help at all on the voice commands for Track Up and Track Down like the video displayed). On the source selection, they select DVD, which I assume gets unlocked with the Lockpick, so if that is true, does that mean that you have both a DVD source and AUX source that both come from the iPOD? Any assistance is appreciated before I hit the purchase button on their site! I just want to make sure that I am looking at this device correctly.

 

You guys have only tried for a few weeks?! I'm still waiting for a call back from two years ago. Seriously. And this is to return THEIR call. They called me out of the blue - they wanted to discuss something with me. I got the idea that it was to market one of my mods. I called back and left a message. And called back, and called back. I sent emails. I must have tried ten times in all, and two years later... well, I'm still waiting. And this is when they want to reach *me*!

 

i'm new here as of today. anyway, i just learned of the company and am very interested in their "locksmith" & "EV mode" mods. I left them a message, but it sounds like i'm not going to hear back from them any time soon

one of my questions for them was, "are these two mods reversible"? thanks for any help

i'm looking to buy a 2008 prius this week

 

I just installed both the EV mod and the Locksmith in my 2008 Prius ... feel free to ask me any questions you have, I will try to answer them.

The AUX input in the center console is an audio input. You can use this for audio only from your iPod, and both left and right channels will play through your speakers. This can be done without the LockPick.

If you're interested in video however then you will be using a separate input through composite (RCA) cables that are included with the kit. These plug into the back of the video display in your dash and then I ran them beneath the carpet into the center console. I then used a 3.5mm to RCA cable that came with a video camera to output the video from my Zune to the video screen. The 3.5mm to RCA cable will have 3 stripes around the jack itself. If you look at your standard headphones you will see 2 stripes, one for left and one for right channel. The RCA output cable will have 3, one for left, one for right, and one for video.

Depending on the LockPick version you're interested in, the removal of the mod ranges from extremely simple to slightly more complex. The simplest LockPick version is a plug under the drivers seat. The more complex requires a removal of the dash, but is still a plug.

The EV Mod requires the installation of 2 wiretaps which are removable but it should be noted that these tap the wires and therefore leave small holes in the insulation around the wire itself.

In short, both the mods are removable fairly easily without much evidence of their original placement.

PM me if you have further questions / need help.

 

excellent, thanks! I am going to order the Lockpick 3 and tackle the dash "take apart method". I also wonder if I can output the GPS info from my Blackberry onto the screen. The BB has a 3.5 jack on the side, which is really for headphones and MP3 listening, but I wonder if the GPS info can be migrated to the main screen while in GPS mode. I am betting not since their is technically no video output from a BB.

 

Taking apart the dash is not as scary as it might sound. My wife was less then pleased when she came out to find her brand new car in pieces but she was really happy when it was all done. Most everything either snaps out or has a couple screws holding it in. Just be careful to not scratch the MFD screen and the front of the radio and you won't have any problems.

I don't have a Blackberry but I know a lot of cell phones have a 2.5 mm jack, not the standard 3.5 mm. Either way I doubt it has video output on it, but I could very easily be wrong.

 

it is the rare model that has a video output... there are mini projectors for PDAs, for example, that get the output from the sync port though

 

Oh very cool ... that could in fact be the answer to attempting to use one's blackberry then, if it has said ability. I will stick with my Zune.

 

I have a more serious issue with their support. I ordered an Ultimate LockPick and an EV mode turn on mod. Because I'm in Hawaii it took about 10 days to get the box, and when I did the EV part was missing, though the packing list showed the order as complete. At first I thought maybe one of their employees stole it while boxing because there was a 1 oz package of jelly beans in the box. I thought they probably weighed about the same as the part. But the one response I have gotten from them said that they normally include those with orders. Plus, looking at their site, they're obviously a mom and pop operation, so they probably box their own stuff.

In any case, they asked me what I received, so I described what I got, told them that I took pictures of everything that was in the box and asked if they wanted me to send them. It's been a couple of days and I haven't heard anything back. I'm starting to get nervous. I already installed the Lockpick and I'm happy with that, so I don't want to have to rip it out and send it back, I JUST WANT THE EV PART THAT I PAID FOR SHIPPED.

They should have a discrepancy in their inventory (which I pointed out in my email to them), but in any case they did not ship the part.

Does anyone know if you can dispute part of a charge with a credit card company, or do I have to dispute the whole amount? I REALLY don't want to tear the dash apart again.

*sigh*

 

It may depend on the credit card company. I suggest you call them ASAP as it gets harder the more the time gets away from the actual charge. Some companies (I am NOT implying Coastal) will dangle you with excuses until it's too late.

 

What an irony, that folks with such good stuff ... a market ready willing and able to purchase, but . . . .
In a way, it's too bad there isn't some one / some company that could do a buyout / takeover in order to get things up to speed.