Converting instruments to MPH

Hello all,
I have a nice green Prius which I bought in Ireland, where I lived before moving to the UK where I'm now.
The problem is that, unlike American models that sport a nice button that allows you to switch the speedo from MPH to KMH, my car has a useless dimmer in the same spot and everything is fixed in KMH. Since UK registration procedures demand that the speedo HAS to display MPH *and* KMH (together or via a toggle switch), my car is currently not fit to be registered in the UK for this tiny detail alone.
What can I do to solve this problem? Should I buy a replacement monitor/head unit and the associated electronics (incl. the much wanted kmh/mph button) will it work? Any input greatly appreciated, I don't want to sell the prius

I was thinking about something along those lines:
eBay Motors: 2004 2005 2006 2007 Prius Non-Navigation Display Screen (item 230258449930 end time Jul-02-08 07:56:57 PDT)

Thanks
Tony

 

I don't have a camera with me but I can tell you that the last button to the right in my onboard computer is the dimmer and not KMH/MPH like in the US models. My screen is like the Australian version. In this image http://www.rits.net.au/prius/Images/PB306304.JPG you can see my same layout of buttons: 1986-era LCD clock, hazard lights, odo/trip switch and dimmer.

Tony

 

I'm pretty sure the smarts are there (in the head unit computer) as it's quite trivial an operation for such a sophisticated computer as the prius' to convert KMH to MPH at the end of the day but while I might be able to replace the whole enchilada, finding a way to locate the switch looks like a nontrivial task to me. I wonder if all the computer does is acting like a glorified scangauge and picking up signals from the CAN bus (feeding the speedo) but it looks that way to me.

Thanks
Tony

 

I had a chat with my local Toyota dealer and they said they don't know how to solve this problem. The 2004 has the switch as the metric switchover (in Ireland) happened in the first months of 2005. I wonder what part number that unit is. I wrote to their HQ in the UK to see if they can help me, otherwise I'll buy the part on ebay and try . BTW, the UK version of the Prius still has the switch to date. Confusing huh?

 

Hello all,
I've decided (after having heard nothing from Toyota) to go ahead and try and fit a US button set to my current car. I've sourced the part from a supplier found in a previous PC discussion and my firm intention is to compare the wiring of the two button sets to see where the heck does the kmh/mph switch tap its juice from (relocating the dimmer switch to somewhere else would be a nice plus but secondary to my purpose . I'll keep you posted and, just in case, I'll document everything with photos

Tony

 

Hello all,

I have to report that, unfortunately, changing the buttons doesn't change the car's behaviour. I kinda expected that actually, given the fact that the buttons themselves don't have any "smarts" but only the captions are different. I'd say the electronics might be there but without the specs (techinfo is strictly us-only and I need the schematics for my specific model) I'm forced to beg Toyota to find me a solution. Meh.

Tony

P.s.: If you need a used part for your Prius in the US I recommend Steve of AutoBeYours who has been very helpful in sourcing the needed button set in record time. I'm of course just a customer with no affiliation (I have received a free AutoBeYours pen so I might be a little biased, LOL) so YMMV.

 

Ciao Tramp (I was born in Turin! eh!),

Ireland (as in the Repulblic of Ireland) is not in the UK but Northern Ireland is, so it would have been nice of Toyota if they provided us with the KMH/MPH button for our trips up North. The Irish version is the same as the Australian version, I think it costs less for Toyota not to cater for the Irish market with a model that defaults to Km/h and can switch to MPH via a switch. I love the Prius but I'm very dissatisfied. What's more, Toyota UK didn't reply to my fax where I asked for help (at a premium, of course), I'll try with the Irish counterpart, what more can I do.

The UK model defaults to MPH and the switch can be used for BOTH kmh/mph AND dimmer, so it surely CAN be done but nobody (Yes, Toyota, I'm looking at you) seem to care about the fact that a 30 grand car is let down by a (beep)ing missing switch.

Tony

 

Tramp,

Changing the MFD won't solve the problem either. The switch bank located below the MFD doesn't feed from the MFD itself but taps directly into the cars' electronics via a wire harness. From the technical documentation I've got, the KMH/MPH switch should get its signal from the "AVC LAN". Is there a way to interface this?

I thought about selling but, apart from the depreciation issue, there are other financial worries as the car is under a finance agreement so, in brief, it can't be sold if not by a special permission by the finance company and paying a hefty premium.

I was in Turin (and continued all the way into the area my other relatives are, Puglia) with the Irish Prius last May, lived in Dublin (Blanchardstown), had a girlfriend from Belfast at one stage and came back from Puglia to the UK, the car loaded with booze like a Transit van, 5500 Kilometers round-trip without the Prius skipping a beat. Even if we don't consider the green features and the free road tax, the Prius still is an amazing piece of engineering.