2010 Prius II - Quality of Life Modifications

Last summer I bought a 2010 Prius II. I absolutely love it and have no regrets about buying it. Only issue is, is it's the base model without some of the special quirks and features the higher trims have. Which, considering the price I got it for, I have 0 issues with that! But, that doesn't mean I can't improve it 9 years after it was built! So I decided to create a thread to post my current set-up and future progressions. I'm hoping to have it all completed by the end of the year, but I don't wanna rush into anything. 1 step at a time to make sure I've dedicated enough research to a specific modification to not end up with any regrets.

All of my modifications i'll be adding will mostly add "Quality of Life" features such as leatherette seats, Bluetooth, and LED lighting for example. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them! I'm always interested on potential improvements to be made!

I created a spreadsheet for myself to keep track of the stuff I want to add/have added and i'll have it linked here as well for anyone who may be curious enough to check it out.

Link to the Spreadsheet.

Current To-Do List (As of August 25th, 2018):

1. 2012-2015 Taillights - Not really "Quality of Life", but I like the "Hockey Stick" look, so why not!
2. Cup Holder Tray - Mostly buying just to fill in the area. From pictures I've seen, it looks pretty nice!
3. Floor + Cargo Liners - Floor mats spoof up the interior greatly and make for an easier cleanup.
4. Headlight Lense Replacements - Current ones are pretty scuffed up from previous owners.
5. Illuminated Door Sill - Again, not really "Quality of Life", but they look cool!
6. Laser Engraved Stainless Steel License Plate Frame - More firm and cleaner looking than plastic.
7. LED Interior Lights - Once I went LED on my headlights, interior is a must now!
8. Premium Leatherette Seat Covers - I love the look and feel of these seats!
9. Remote Starter - I live in Arizona, so a remote starter for the leatherette seats is a must for Summer.
10. Shark Fin Antenna - Look nicer than the stick antenna currently in place.
11. Signal + Heated Side Mirrors - Don't really need heated mirrors, but they're not much extra so why not.
12. Tinted Windows (33% Polarized All 4 Windows) - Another must need in Arizona
13. Wheelskins EuroPerf Perforated Steering Wheel Cover - Current steering wheel is pealed a lot, so will help clean up the look of my steering wheel.
14. Chrome interior door handles - Looks a lot better than the plastic.

Already Installed:

1. November 18th, 2017: Backup Camera + Dashcam - Pretty much a necessity.
2. January 16th, 2018: Bluetooth - Nothing crazy, just a simple "Plug n' Play" but works beautifully!
3. June 23rd, 2018: LED Headlights - I can never go back to Halogens now..

Curiosity List:

1. Different tires/rims? Mostly looking for quieter & smoother ride without greatly impacting performance/MPG.
2. Other minor noise reduction modifications such as possible pads around tires to reduce tire noise?
3. Looked at Heads-up-displays to project navigation directions on the windshield from my phone, but haven't really found any that peaked my interest enough.
4. LED High-beams? Mostly looking for a "clean white" light as opposed to simply being LED but looking more into it first.
5. Possibly drop a few hundred bucks extra on the Prius G headlights? Only issue is it's risky buying from a Yahoo Auction but if successful, will be very rewarding!
6. Potential aftermarket Hubcaps if I don't change out the rims for bigger size for better ride quality? Curious if I can stick the Gen 4 hubcaps on since I like the way they look. But I'm not sure they'll fit on the rim. Would have to buy the Gen 4 rim to make it work i'm pretty sure if even possible.
7. Considering settings up Blue LED lighting under the seats to give a slight Blue glow from under the dash & front seats. Might do Blue LED instead of white for the entire interior as well since Blue has that nice calming look to it as opposed to White.
8. Might install one of these. If anything, it'll be the very last thing I do. Really cool, but pretty much it. Kinda goes on par with the 2012-2015 Taillights. Just something cool to do.

Starting Pics (August 25th, 2018):

 

I was thinking of adding mud flaps, not too sure though. Will have to see how I feel about it later on.

But adding Chrome to the doors might be nice!

EDIT: Just looked into the Chrome door handles, it's fairly cheap to do so why not!

 

They look pretty bad in person. And I've tried doing them myself and professionally and they're better off just being replaced at this point. Plus, I want to replace them with proper LED housings as opposed to Halogens anyways.

 

I just like adding little features here and there for the sake of it. I'm a tech geek and all my other projects are completed at the moment so figured why not improve my car.

And I just like the 2012-2015 taillights. I think they make the back more unique and funky looking. I really like the Gen 4 model design if that puts in any perspective of why I may like them. More of a design element to them as opposed to just rectangles stacked on top of each other.

 

Decided to show my current additions before I created this thread:

Backup Camera + Dashcam - $113 Parts, $120 Labor - November 18th, 2017




The backup camera works, great, got it all installed and wired through "Audio Express" for $120. I could of easily installed it myself, but I don't feel comfortable messing with electrical wiring in something that I paid several thousands of dollars for. Only issue with this product is after 8 months the main device started to go out. It turns on and off randomly and doesn't keep track of the date properly anymore. I tried emailing them about it, but they weren't really any help. I'm gonna look into replacing the main device itself soon since I obviously want a fully functional dashcam since that was a major point of getting it in the first place.

Bluetooth - $36 Parts, $0 Labor - January 16th, 2018



This item is absolutely perfect. It's a set and forget feature that i'd without a doubt recommend to my grave. I plugged it in, hid the wires in the center console, connected my phone to it for the first time, and haven't thought about it since. I get in my car, play music/podcasts off of my phone, or even make phone calls, and it connects without an issue and have never had any complaints about the mic quality from my end. Best $36 ever spent!

 

Yeah, the backup camera is really nice on it, hence why i'm not too upset of the main device crapping out after 8 months. I'm gonna try and use a new power connector today and see if that works since it may just be the cord that's going bad. Hopefully, cause I don't feel like running into this issue with another product.

 

Also forgot to add for the LED Headlights I added a few months ago:

LED Headlights - $44 Parts, $0 Labor - June 23rd, 2018



Love em, they work great, look great, and were stupid easy to install. Only issue is I still have Halogen headlight assemblies which I plan on swapping those out with LED assemblies in the next month or two. Just wanna make sure I further my research before I do something wrong and waste several hundred dollars.

Blue LED Interior Lights - $12 Parts, $0 Labor - September 5th, 2018





Was going to go for a more expensive set of lights for the same effect, but came across these and figured i'd give em a shot and I honestly have no regrets! They look great, light up the car the way I want them to, and so far so good. If they last a year, then i'd say they're a good buy. But obviously we'll have to see. For $12, I can't complain much.

You may notice the driver's seat is a bit dark and that's because I messed up when trying to extract the old bulb out and ended up snapping the assembly out of place and it's now stuck inside my sun glass holder area. Tried to open the assembly myself to try and fix the issue, but I heard a crack and freaked me out. Will just have the guys at the shop next week when I get my oil changed + tires rotated to check it out for me instead.

Cup Holder Tray - $13 Parts, $0 Labor - September 10th, 2018



Don't really use it, but I like it cause it covers up the ugly bolts and blankness that is that area down there. Makes it look 100x better for $13!

Prius 3D Emblem Black Stainless Steel License Plate Frame - $20 Parts, $0 Labor - September 16th, 2018



Had this licence plate frame for the past year and was starting to bend so naturally wanted to replace it. The frame looks fantastic! Time will tell how well this $20 frame holds up especially in the heat. So far the "P" has started to peel, but I took the plate off and superglued the "P" back on since it seemed it was missing the adhesive that was holding it together. But for $20, can't complain too much! Also, I added the bolt covers after this picture since I forgot they were there. So no ugly bolts are showing!

I did order a black Wheelskins Europerf steering wheel cover but after I installed it, I realized it was about 2 inches too big. So unfortunately I had to take it off and currently talking to customer support about sending me a new one. In the meantime, I did order another brand's cover which seems to fit the entire wheel as opposed to just the outer rim, so i'll have to see how that looks and feels before I install the new Wheelskins cover. If the other one looks good and works, i'll have the Wheelskins as a backup just in case of whatever.

Also ordered the Sharkfin Antenna last week, so that should be hopefully coming in this week as well!

 

White LED Vanity + License Plate Lights - $10 Parts, $0 Labor - September 21st, 2018



Added White LED lights to my vanity mirrors and license plate. Above photo comparing the new LED (Driver's side) with the stock halogen (Passenger's side). Clearly much more brighter and cleaner looking without being "too" bright. I can look directly into the light without it hurting in the slightest. Very nice upgrade.

 

Shark Fin Antenna - $84 Parts, $0 Labor - October 6th, 2018




Had to wait a week after receiving it since we were receiving heavy ran for a few days after the hurricane that hit Mexico and needed my roof to be hot enough for the adhesive to properly set in. But looks significantly better than the stock antenna. Radio works just fine I think. Only used the radio once or twice since I've gotten the car since all I listen to is Spotify and podcasts in my car.

Currently installing a steering wheel cover and is taking me a long time and don't have much time to work on it. Should hopefully have it done by the end of the weekend, but so far that's coming along nicely. Will post pics once i'm done.

 

MeWant Steering Wheel Cover - $28 Parts, $0 Labor - October 20th, 2018

Before:



After:



Originally tried out the WheelSkins cover a lil over a month ago, but it was a bit too big and while they did send me a replacement, I decided to shop around and find an alternative. Came across this cover which I honestly like a lot more since it covers the entire wheel as opposed to the outer rim. Doesn't feel as nice as the WheelSkins, but it feels nice enough. If I would of done it again, I would of gone for the real leather as opposed to the artificial because it had some rips when I was trying to tighten it as tight as I could and I feel real leather wouldn't of broken like this one did. But otherwise I really like it, looks significantly better than before, and feels a lot nicer as well!

Now the weather is cooling down, i'm gonna start looking for the "Plug-In-Prius 5" LED headlights and get those installed hopefully soon along with the 2012-2015 taillights.