First Navigation Speed Lock Override (from the PC shop) in a Prius v: SUCCESS!

I ordered the Speed Lock Override (variety V1) very soon after getting my Prius v3, because my wife is the designated GPS operator while I'm driving. Was pretty disappointed to find out that she couldn't do that on the v - and happy to find out there was a fix available.
When I ordered this, I was informed that I was the first v-owner to order one of these from the Priuschat shop. This is cproaudio's finely-constructed kit, described in detail in this thread - see the very last page for downloadable pdf instructions. His instructions are very detailed and well-illustrated, but only cover 2010 and 2012 standard Prii. He gave me a few suggestions via email for installation on the v, but no guarantees about the wiring or dash removal process. I decided to go for it anyway.
This thread will share some general notes about my install, and highlight differences I found in my v versus the standard prius described in the instructions. Note that they are NOT intended to be complete installation instructions, but to complement his previously published instructions for the standard Prius.

Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day - perfect for working on the car! Local v-owner Chazz (PriusChat name Chazz8) came over to work through the installation with me, which was both helpful and fun. I need to start by saying most of the photos here are his - thanks! Also Chazz, feel free to weigh in with any notes I've missed, or any more pics you want to add!

I'll start with a VERY brief overview of the differences between the instructions and my experiences with my v3, and then go back and give MUCH more detailed notes with lots of pictures.
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF DIFFERENCES:
1. Don't mess with the lower center console, which is how the instructions for the standard Prius start. To access the head unit on the v, remove the upper glove box, power button bezel, and upper/center air vent manifold.
2. There is no "radio bezel" surrounding the head unit, but there are three clips securing the head unit to the dash, in addition to the four 10mm bolts. Once head unit is removed, you can reach down behind the 12V/AUX bezel to remove that. No further dash dis-assembly is required unless you want to route the switch to the left of the steering wheel.
3. There are some wire color changes:
a. The power wire going into the cigarette lighter is pale green, rather than solid black. T-Tap the RED wire from the kit power harness into this pale green wire.
b. The VSS wire is blue, not purple, but it is still connected to pin 17 in the 28-pin harness on the head unit.
4. To test the bypass before driving, enter the service menu as described, but there is no "Function Check/Settings" command option. I just clicked "Next page"; you may need to click the "MENU" button again first.
5. The Speed Lock Override works great!

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MY INSTALLATION: (with photos and specific notes on differences from the published instruction manual)

The first step in the instructions for the standard Prius is to remove the center console trim to access the 12V power, and then work your way up to the display/head unit. So that's where we started on the v... And had nothing but hassles. Popped off a few pieces of the lower center console, but basically got stuck when we couldn't find clips/fasteners for some of the larger console trim pieces. Turns out none of that was necessary! So that's the first difference I'll highlight - DON'T MESS WITH THE LOWER CENTER CONSOLE.

Next, we tried another angle - go in from the side. The top glove box is secured with 8 clips - start by opening the bottom glove box, and prying up underneath the top glove box, to release the lower clips.


We ended up removing both glove boxes, which gave us a good view of the side of the head unit. Progress!


Note - I don't believe it is strictly necessary to remove the lower glove box, but visibility is a little better without it. You just have to remove the little shock-absorber thing on the righthand side of the lower glove box, then squeeze the sides to pull it out of the dash. I recommend emptying it first...

Next we went at the Park/Power button bezel - it was pretty clear that this had to come off in order to access the head unit. Started at the bottom, just prying out with finger pressure, and it popped right out.


Here's a back view of the Park/Power button bezel - I didn't unplug anything; just rested the whole assembly above the steering wheel and it wasn't in the way.


Now both sides of the head unit were visible, and the only thing left to remove was the air vent manifold above the head unit. I just grasped both lower corners and pulled; this also popped out quite easily.


At this point, the whole head unit was visible, including three plastic clips (two on the right, visible in the next photo, and one on the left).


To remove the head unit, I removed four 10mm bolts (as described in the instructions; same as standard Prius) and then released the three plastic clips (not found in standard Prius). This is pretty clear once you can see the whole head unit. The instructions describe a plastic "radio bezel" that's found on the standard Prius, but this is not present in the v - the clips are part of the head unit.


The instructions say to lay down a towel to protect other car pieces from getting scratched by the head unit - I didn't find this necessary. The angle at which the head unit rests when loose, and the position of the other instruments present underneath it (climate display + controls) just didn't seem like a scratch hazard to me. Sure enough, no towel used, no scratches present. Here's the whole "dis-assembly":




The only other thing to take apart was the 12V power point (cigarette lighter) - this is on a little panel/bezel with the AUX input, and a blank switch plug (in my package 3). This blank switch plug is apparently the seat heater switch in fancier models. Once the head unit is out, you can see all the way down inside the dash to the back end of the 12V/AUX assembly. Chazz called this space the "Rabbit Hole" - basically there's a bunch of empty space under the head unit, behind the climate controls. Here's a view as if you're looking straight down from the rearview mirror:


Four clips (only two are visible in the pic above) are present on the top edge of the 12V/AUX panel. You can reach down the Rabbit Hole with a long flat-head screwdriver to release those clips. There are four more clips on the bottom edge of this panel, but those will come out easily enough once the top clips are released and you start tilting the panel out. I found that the wire bundle going to the AUX jack was a little awkward and catchy - the panel didn't want to come out until I reached in from behind and wiggled this wire bundle a little bit.


Made an odd discovery at this point - there was a wiring harness plugged into the back of the BLANK switch plug to the left of the cig lighter. Here's a picture as I found it - you can see the shiny blank plug, and a bundle of wires going into the back of it.


And a shot of the plug with the harness "disconnected"


Still don't know what that is for, but since it wasn't connected to anything inside the blank plug, I just left it loose. Strange.

But moving back to relevant info: now that everything is accessible, the actual mod (wiring change) starts! Fun!

Started at the top; needed to find the Vehicle Speed Sensor wire in the car. The kit instructions have a good description of the head unit in a 2012 standard Prius (disregard the 2010-2011 section), so that was a good place to start. The wiring harnesses on the back of the head unit in my v3 look just like those pictured in the instructions for the standard 2012. (In this photo, we have already removed the relevant 28-pin harness containing the VSS wire).


HOWEVER - the instructions say to find the PURPLE wire connected to PIN 17. In my v, there was a BLUE wire connected to pin 17, and a purple wire connected to pin 21. What to do?


Felt like an action movie - Cut the blue wire! No, the purple wire! I wanted to go with the purple wire, but Chazz ended up convincing me that the wiring harness is more likely to remain consistent than a wire color, so we cut the blue wire. The spade clips that come with the kit allow you to reconnect the wire anyway, so it wasn't TOO much of a risk. (Turns out Chazz was right - the BLUE wire in pin 17 IS apparently the VSS wire.)


Next step is to get power to the bypass, and the instructions say to get that from the cigarette lighter/12V power point. I removed the harness from the back of the cigarette lighter. As soon as I started working on this, I noticed another difference from the instructions - the two wires connecting to the cig lighter are pale green, and white/black stripe. (The instructions describe a black wire, and a white/black stripe). I assumed the white/black stripe wire would stay consistent, and sure enough, that was the case. I connected the RED wire on the kit power harness to the PALE GREEN wire behind the cig. lighter, and the BLACK wire from the kit harness to the white/black stripe wire in the car. Used the T-Tap connecters provided in the kit; no problems there.


I chose to put the bypass kit switch in the blank spot to the left of the cig. lighter. I wanted my passenger to have access to this switch, so this location made the most sense. (If you want to route the switch elsewhere, you may have to remove more dash pieces.)


Then it's just a matter of connecting all the harness plugs from the kit. There is plenty of room behind the 12V/AUX panel for the wiring etc.


With everything plugged in, we could move on to the "Test before driving" step. The instructions say to put the car in ACC-ON, hold down the SETUP button on the head unit, and click your parking lights on and off four times. This worked fine, and I got a setup screen on the head unit:


However, the next instruction step says to select "Function Check/Settings" then "Vehicle Signal". These options were not available to me. I just clicked Next Page (at the bottom of the previous photo), and it took me to the speed screen, but you may have to click MENU again to access this.


Turned on the magic switch, and VOILA!


This gave me good confidence that everything was connected and functioning correctly, so we re-installed the head unit and assembled most of the dash, including the 12V/AUX panel with the new switch.


Took it for a test drive, and it worked great! Chazz has a video if you really need proof...

I think this whole process took us about 2-1/2 hours, but we probably wasted at least 45 minutes messing with the lower center console that didn't need to come off in the first place.
I hope these notes and photos will make installation easier for anyone else who wants to install the PriusChat Navigation Speed Lock Override. Let me know if you have any questions, if you want better-quality photos, or different photos.
Cheers,
Andy

 

Good question - I neglected to mention that. I used the simplest/cheapest version (V1). I'll edit my post accordingly.
I picked this one because I really don't see the need for a timer - in fact, I think a timer could be quite inconvenient if it takes a while for the passenger to enter an address, and the GPS suddenly reverts back to "normal" mode in the middle of that process. In my mind, turning the switch back on will be like hitting "GO" or something after entering an address; just part of the process. That's also why I chose to put the switch in the center - so the passenger can reach it.
Andy

 

Check cproaudio's thread linked at the beginning of the OP - I believe you need a different kit than the one I bought, possibly including a parking brake override in addition to the VSS override.
Andy

 

Ha! Thanks very much!
If anyone wants to send me free samples of neat new gadgets, I'd be happy to install them, take pictures, and write up how-to articles.
But I think I pretty much have my v set up how I want it - GPS is usable by the passenger, backup beep is disabled, rubber floor mats are in, hubcaps are gone, and all my tools and toys fit neatly in the compartments under the rear deck. (Previous vehicle was a Scion xD - great little car, but not exactly brimming with storage space...)

Actually, I do have one item that's still on my wishlist for my v: DRLs/fog lights. I've seen a few threads, but they seem to be replacements for those on the v5, rather than new installations for the v2/v3. Alternatively, scangauge codes to turn off the headlight warning beep would be nice - I'd prefer to just leave the headlights on all the time, and they do turn themselves off after you exit the vehicle, but the reminder beep is annoying. I did rig a homebrew DRL solution on my xD, but if there is something a little easier and more factory-looking available for the v, I'd be interested.

Anyway, I'm very glad my write-up has been helpful - don't forget to thank Chazz8 too - his photography, suggestions, and moral support were essential to my success. This weekend's project is an early oil change (maybe filter-only w/ partial change) and installing Rude person's's box beam stiffener. Should be fun! :nod:
Andy

 

Great writeup and pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Andy