RAV4 Prime Mods
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- A quick video on some of the mods I have done on my 2022 RAV4 Prime.
I have several more planned but this is just a summary of where I'm at now.
I really love this vehicle. Since getting it last year it has performed extremely well for daily commutes, as well as long distance travel.
I take a few road trips with my family each year so mods like the video entertainment system and the addition of a CB Radio are handy for those long trips which can be near 2000 miles round trip.
Some of the mods shown I already had in my previous vehicles and just transferred over. These include the entertainment system, the communications radios, and the Android rear mirror and cameras.
Others mods were purchased new and specifically for the RAV4.
Because of the relatively tight confines of the passenger compartment (I am coming from a Ford Escape Hybrid and a Minivan), I have had to get creative in the placement of some things. There were few low places I could place things like the radios and the control panel, so I decided to go high. At least for now. Mounting the control panel on the ceiling console. And the Radio control head suctioned to the wind shield. It actually came out better than expected.
The power controller consists of two major components. The power controller is mounted in the rear in the battery well and is connected directly to the battery. The control panel is mounted in the front just forward of the ceiling console. It has the capability of switching on & off up to 8 different circuits and will be used to power things like the entertainment screens, radios, the inverter and other present and future mods.
Admittedly I am sure the roof rack is not the most aerodynamic rack around. Probably costs me a MPG or two at highway speeds.
But it does a good job at carrying stuff. It also gives my Prime a rather unique look. I can definitely pick out my RAV4 in a parking lot full of similar looking vehicles. Whether it looks 'good' or not..... that is up to the beholder.
I wish that I took the time to document all of my work on these mods in video. But I was too laser focused on trying not to permanently break something as I felt my way around the installs. Watching or CZcamsr's who did similar mods was a big help. But I had to make variations on those procedures to get some of my mods to work or fit.
Next mods on the docket include:
- A 12 volt 1000w inverter to be mounted in the rear.
- An upgrade to the stock car horn.
- Further wiring on the power controller.
- I am considering the animated rear LED turn signals that run up the sides of the rear window. But no time soon. (I had quite an adventure running and pulling all the cables for the lighting I put in.)
Many thanks to You-tubers like JT2QUICK, Gerald Otto, GoldenK9Campers and Morozov Automotive to name a few, who's videos on mods they have made to their Primes were extremely helpful.
I blame you all for what I did to my Prime. ;)
Cargo Lamps
www.amazon.com...
Super Bright Auto TailLight Assembly For Toyota RAV4
www.amazon.com...
VGETTING Daytime Running Light For Toyota RAV4
www.amazon.com...
Universal Fit Truck LED Brake Light Hitch Step
www.amazon.com...
Toyota LED Emblem Dual Color/ Single Color
www.raymaxgear...
Heavy Duty Roof Racks Basket for 2019 2020 2021 2022 Toyota RAV4
www.amazon.com...
I literally just installed the Dynamic light's that go up the sides on the rear hatch, there freaking SICK! Wow, a pain to install without instructions for real. I did figure it out. It would have saved me so much time other wise though. The amount of aftermarket parts that are available for this thing is freaking crazy! I have a lot of carbon fiber and interior work, engine stuff done to my wife's 2021 Rav4. Right now, i still have a table full of parts/accessories to put on that just came in the mail today!
NICE! I was considering those lights. Still am.
@DocMicrowave is highly recommended!
@@DocMicrowave got them for 73.00 before shipping
What did you use to figure out the instructions? That's the main complaint I've seen for this product, no instructions
@LuisGonzalez-tr7os I just figured it out on my own. That's after connecting them to the harness at the lights at the tail gate. That didn't work. So I then pulled the panels from each side at the back/cargo area, ya know. Plugged in the harness there, and bam, they worked. It was extra work, no doubt. Had there been instructions, I would have saved about 30m of work.
That would look sweet with black rims and the upper chrome window trim blacked out.
This looks fantastic!! Will you make videos of how you install each parts? such as rear led bar and badge? Thank you.
I will try to as it gets warmer out.
@@DocMicrowave yes pls ! amazing set up man !!!!
Wow! That is one kick butt RAV4 !
Thanks!
Love the dynamic brake light! I bought one from eBay but it didn’t work properly with my 2023 hybrid😢. But it was the shorter version.
Was your brake light plug and play? And any issues with it so far? Might buy one from the link posted in the description.
great job man, didn't even know these were possible. definitely going to be doing some of these to my own rav4 prime! btw, for the tail light, which "style" did you do? Also, where did you get the toyota emblem badge light from? couldn't find it on amazon
Thanks. There appear to two versions of the animated tail light. The version I got is an inch or so longer on each in then the other version. Reaching more to each side. Also the animation for the turn signals is different.
As for the lighted emblem, I have to look up that website again where I got it. I had Google "lighted Toyots emblems" or something like that.
Sorry for the delayed response. I missed this comment. How far did you get with mods, if any, to your Rav4?
Wow looks fun to drive looks like a spaceship 🚀
You can blame my being a fan of Star Trek and Space 1999 when I was a kid. ;)
Hi, Thank for the video. Question:
1) Where can I buy the rear light for my 2023 rav4 prime.
2) Do you have a video how to install the rear light?
Please, let me know. Thank you
Hey there! I should have a link in the description to the rear light. Be sure to check with the seller that it will fit and work on a 2023. Mine is a 2022.
I never made an install video. (Shame on me.)
I was concentrating on not breaking anything. I had seen other install videos, not dealing specifically with the lights, but related in that they involved removing and replacing that back panel.
That was the hard part. The wiring I was able to figure out my self.
If I can get time when spring comes and it gets warmer outside, I'll see about getting up the courage to get back in there and make a video about how it was installed.
Thanks for watching.
Sweet, I have 2021 R4P
very cool. i’m wondering if any of these “upgrades” will void Toyota’s warranty?
Not sure. I made sure the mods were not completely intrusive. I still have the original rear trim and badge. I could put it back on if ever needed. The Andriod mirror is held on with rubber straps. Wiring tucked under molding. The back seat monitors just clip on to the headrest mounts.
The most intrusive mod was connecting the accessory control panel to the battery.
Loved this. Unfortunately I can't seem to buy that rear LED bar in Australia
Dude...... let me be the first to tell ya....nicely done!!!!! Your mods are really good. Tell me more about 2:55 android rear mirror. I got one like that front and rear...but your's alot cooler...I don't mind trying it out. Are you able to capture and record everything in front with out any obstructions from that middle windshield cover? And that Power Control Panel at 3:36 is something else. I don't have an XSE like, but just an SE and can't wait for your video on the 12V 1000W inverter MOD. Keep it up. Take care and stay safe. JT
Thanks so much! It was guys like you who went in and took some of the fear out of pulling panels off. I have a background in electronics which helps. But I had a lot of anxiety about doing all that to a brand new car. My last new car I waited a year or so before I started with going into panels. And I didn't have the benefit of CZcams channels like yours that went into this stuff in such detail back then. (Lol, my last new car was 2005!)
Concerning the Android Mirror. You can find them on Ebay which is where I got mine. Just do a search for "android rear view mirror". They have lots of different shapes and styles. Pretty much all have built in DVRs for recording from 1, 2 or even three cameras at the same time. (I just saw one with 3 cameras on ebay just now. Front, rear, and interior.) The apps I run track and log speed, direction, altitude, acceleration, miles by day/week/month. Video is recorded to a micro SD card you put in. It is loop recording and can also take photos with a click.
Mine even came with an app that monitors action in the front camera view. A voice tells you when you're slipping out of your lane, too close to another car, or if your stopped in traffic and your not paying attention to the car in front moving on. I also run an app in the background which alerts me if I am hitting the speed that triggers the speed cameras.
Oh, the camera on the mirror is offset to the far left side so it mostly gets around the windshield cover. Enough to see the entire road. The cover blocks maybe 15% of the framing. In the upper right hand corner. So I don't capture the entire sky.
Concerning the power controller. Google "Auxbeam 8 Gang Switch Panel RGB AR-800". You will find them on Amazon. All of these mods would work fine in an SE. I didn't get the "tech package" in my SE. It would have gotten me video rear view mirror and power inverter. (Didn't want the panoramic moon roof anyway so that worked out.). I think the Android Mirror is much more useful than the video rearview Toyota would have had. And I am adding an Inverter anyway. All for a fraction of the cost of the "tech package".
Again, thanks for your videos on the mods you did.
@@DocMicrowave That Toyota Badge light, I take it that you spliced it into the rear brake lights and goes it come with a blue hybrid backing? Or you just took out the old emblem and it's a direct replacement....Can you put a link somewhere you bought it from? I might try that out... looks nifty. Thanks.
@@jt2quick There is a little story to the Toyota badge.
The new LED rear trim did not come with a Toyota Badge. You were supposed to remove it from the old trim and glue it on the new.
I tried to remove the badge from the old trim but it was glued on pretty tight. It felt at times I would break it trying to remove it. Not to mention damaging the original trim which i wanted to keep intact if I ever needed to put it back on.
So I looked up replacement badges and discovered the LED backlit versions.
Here is the link to the Site:
www.raymaxgear.com/collections/radiant-emblem/products/toyota-led-emblem-dual-color
There are three wires. Ground, Positive, and color change. Put 12 volts on the positive lead and it lights blue. While lit, if you apply 12 volts to the color select lead it turns red. Remove voltage to that lead and it goes back to Blue as long as power is still being applied.
I wired the ground and power to the license plate light circuit. So when it comes on, so does the badge in blue. Tapped and wired the color select lead to the brake light lead going to the LED trim bar. This way braking triggers the color change.
You don't have to go for the change if you prefer the color to be static.
To keep it blue, don't connect the color change lead to anything. To keep it red, tie the color change lead to the same source as the power lead.
They also sell Emblems that are single color only. I went for the dual color one. If I didn't like the change I would have just nailed it to one color.
@@DocMicrowave Thanks....for the info..I'm gonna look it up and see what I can do.
@@jt2quick You're quite welcome.
Thank you for all your informative videos.
How is rear hatch led logo holding up? I bought mine from another place 5 month ago and looks just like yours, but the chrome plate is already peeling and it looks ridiculous. I'm willing to give another try from where you bought from if yours is fine simply because it looks cool.
Indeed? Sorry to hear. I little over a year now, so far mine is holding up. Still looks good. All LEDs in it are operating.
I have seen some Dodge Durango's with segments of LEDs out on their rear LED bars. And those are factory! Made me wonder if mine will end up like that. So far so good. I'll see how long it lasts. I did keep the original trim if I ever have to go back to it.
But yeah, it does look cool.
@@DocMicrowave Thank you. I will order one from your link.
Oh one more thing, I noticed from your video, color transition from red to blue doesn't look smooth. I mean the blue led appears to light up on right side first then left. Exact time stamp I'm referring to is 1:02 ~ 1:04.
@@matrix-fh9tn Yes, I had noticed that. And it has gotten a little worse. Seems some LEDs have failed. I am not sure if I damaged it during installation. When I tested it before installing, it was evenly lit on Blue.
I am willing to replace it and try again though, as I like it's look. Hoping I either damaged it, or just got a bad unit.
@@DocMicrowave Yeah definitely like the look. But then that won't be an issue for me as I'm getting the single color either in blue or red. My current messed up one is red so I might try blue this time for that costrast look to the red surrounding lights.
@@matrix-fh9tn Very cool! I'll probably go with the dual color again. Though there is the option of wiring it to use one color.
Hmm, you just gave me an idea.
I can just disconnect the "blue" actuation and leave the red for now, till i get around to fixing it.
Love it!
Seems a bit much imo. Less is more but if you like it that’s what matters. You could of changed out the front rear signals and reverse lights to led to tie it all in tho
Lol, like you said, less is more. I hadn't planned to go that far with mods, changing out the signals. And the changes i made can be easily reversed for the most part as I still have all the original parts.
My hobby is in electronics so yeah, I like it. I like to tinker. Make it mine.
Can't click on the links provided please fix it 🙏
After doing some research it seems youtube won't auto-convert the URLs into clickable links. Seems my channel has to be "validated" first which according to CZcams takes up to to months with the validation option I have chosen.
The URLs do work. You will have to copy them and paste into a browser for now.
Sorry.
@@DocMicrowave Oh yes i know exactly what you are talking about. No problem thank you. i never thought of getting an LED emblem with that LED Read light but thanks to your video i will be combining the 2 it looks amazing!
@@InternacionalBoxing Thanks! Hope it works out for you.
What prompted me to get it is because I could not pry the original one off the original trim to place on the new trim.
Trying to get it to budge I felt like I was going to break it. The glue was really strong. I also didn't want to leave marks on the original trim. So I just left it.
I opted to buy I new one. Then during my searching, came across LED backlit emblems. The rest is history.
Again I love what you've done! 👍 Wondering if there is anyway to "fix" the links in notes as they are not clickable? Thanks so much! 😇
Thanks! Just wish I had time and patience to properly document how I did the mods, wiring, installation, and so forth.
I was too laser focused on trying not to break anything important or expensive.
Sorry about the links. Not sure how to make them clickable . Try copy & paste into browser.
@@DocMicrowave Totally makes sense to me (doing your best not to break anything). 🤣😇 I've been blessed to of had 34 vehicles over my still young life of 54 years. 😉 Anyway, I always really appreciate mods that look like they came from the factory.
@@teknightrider2586 Thanks. I'm on the other end of the spectrum I guess. I tend to run my cars into the ground. As such I try to keep them in good shape.
The prime is only my 7th car in about as many years as you. And I only got the Prime last year because the City totaled my previous vehicle in an accident (their fault 100%).
It was a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid that I also tricked out with mods.
@@DocMicrowave Sorry to hear about your other rig... but glad (as I assume) you and everyone else was okay.
My whole extended family had mostly owned Honda/Acura products with a few Toyota's sprinkled in. 😉 But the main reason I've had so many vehicles started when we bought a Malibu Ski Boat back in 1994 (not a big Wake Setter... more the "sports car" boat when we did not want to make big wakes like today). So also back then neither Honda nor Toyota had anything that would pull very well.
So it threw us into the domestics where I'd ordered a brand new Chevy Suburban (but it was in the shop 3 months out of the year we had it until Chevy bought it back). It was an unfortunate lemon; however, I knew several other owners around town where 4 others had been bought back. So instead of trying another Suburban we got our money back and bought a used '92 F-150 w/87K miles that was the extreme opposite of the 454 4X4 2500 Suburban. 🤪 The Ford was a 2WD Straight 6 w/a Mazda 5-Speed Manual and it did great (except for going 45 mph over a steeper pass) until it got over 100K miles then we were fixing computers or something to the tune of $1,000 every month. But by that time the new Dodge Cummins Turbo was out... and so I ordered one of those. And we loved that... it got 22 MPG everywhere it went and got 16 MPG pulling (again HUGE difference compared to the 454 Suburban that got 9 MPG no matter what a person did. We could go to the lake and watch the Suburban's 42 gal. tank flush like a toilet down to ¼ tank (it was bad). But anyway the Cummins did fabulous until its transmission went out at 32K miles. And by that time the family had grown to 3 kids and I like consistency... so we had a Chrysler Town & Country (again we had strayed far from Honda and Toyota). But with our brand new Town & Country never shifting correctly (then it also got smacked in the front, not my wife's fault) and the Cummins now also never shifting like it had after the repair...I had had it with the domestics. So really it was mostly owning the competition ski boats that goofed us up with a long way around the horn until there were Toyota Tundras. 😇
So that is the short version of a much longer story (that I'm going to stick to). ha ha 🤪 There is way more, but I've probably already given you eyestrain. So I'll just shut my pie hole. 😉 And say again... nice detailed work on your RAV4 Prime!
@@teknightrider2586 Oh yes, thanks. I and everyone was OK. No one was in my old rig when it happened.
We were all out at an event at the time. Came back and found the damage.
It was parked in front of my house on the street. City sewer cleaning truck came to clean the sewer right behind my truck. They parked inches next to my truck and swung a crane with a huge metal scoop over my truck to get to the sewer drain. Operator pulled the wrong lever and dropped the scoop directly on the roof of my truck.
Everything caught on my CCTV video. Sanitation department tried to ignore and then deny it happened. Claiming another cause for the damage in their reports until I presented my video.
After a lengthy back and forth, the City ended up paying damages. Used the money to put down on the Prime.
Lol, I was considering posting the security video on CZcams.
Sad to see it go. Had it for quite a number of years. Had good times and long road trips with it. Put a lot of mods into it and kept in very good condition.
But I guess I wouldn't have gotten the Prime if that incident didn't happen.
Do you have a link for the back lit Toyota badge?
Thought I put it in there.
Here you go.
www.raymaxgear.com/products/toyota-led-emblem-dual-color
Hey Buddy...forgot to ask you that Android Rear View mirror at the 02:54 mark can you post a link or where I can get that? I wouldn't mind trying that out. Did you splice it into a fuse for the power or are you running it out of the cigarette lighter? Did it come with a rear view camera or you had to purchase that separate? Thanks
I can't find the exact model I purchased anymore. Seems they don't sell that exact model anymore. (I have had it for a few years.)
If you do a search on Amazon or Ebay, "android rearview mirror". You will get tons of hits. They all do pretty much the same thing. They run Android with a car-centric launcher. They have a front facing camera, and most have a second rear view camera and come with enough cable and hardware to mount on the rear. I typically put mine on the inside of the rear window.
Some versions come with a accessory plug for power. Others come with cables and a fuse tap to go into an interior fuse box. Some have both.
I hooked up through the fuse box after finding a circuit that goes on and off with the car.
They all run various versions of DVR software. And some even have driver assist software built in with the DVR. Warns you when your drifting out of a lane, driving too close behind another car based on your speed (they all come with external GPS modules.) Alerts you when the car in front starts moving if you're stopped and not paying attention. Using audio cues or voice.
All you have to do is choose the style you want. They all run similar software. For mounting, Mine just sits over the regular rearview mirror using special elastic bands to secure it.
@@DocMicrowave I understand... Will do. thanks
why not do videos on how to install?
This was my first mod video. I did not think to video the entire process as was focused on trying not to break anything expensive while I was working on the car.
I will try to make some videos on how different mods were done, after the fact.
And, feeling more confident going forward I'll try to document any future mods.
Where did you get the Toyota led emblem?
I got the Emblem from a company called RayMax Gear. www.raymaxgear.com
Look for "TOYOTA LED EMBLEM DUAL COLOR/ SINGLE COLOR ".
I used "Size B (110mmx75mm) / Dual Color (Blue & Red)"
These are mods lol ? How's about some 25" rims @ jacked ? Remote unlock reveal step sides ? Aluminum under plates ?
Lol, A bit over kill for me. I just like the gadgets. Electronics is a big hobby for me.
Where did you get the dry led bar
Amazon. I just placed the links in the description.
Roof rack brand
I just added it with a link to the description for the video.
Bwahahaha this is rediculous
Too many mods. Looks bad.
What can I say. To each his own. I like tinkering with electronics, modding.
The only bad one was the side mouldings
@@DUNGSTA Side moldings? I have not changed or molded them. They are stock.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, personally I think it looks great!