WebElectric DRL-2P installation into 2012 Prius v

I will be "building" and correcting the attached document as I install a WebElectric DRL-2P kit into a 2012 Prius v Five with the Advanced Technology Package. I will add photos and describe the colors of the Prius v wiring harness wires to which I connect the DRL-2P kit as I determine them with a test light.

I am NOT a professional but I have done many automotive projects in my almost 50 years of driving ... engine rebuilds, audio and phone systems, Euro headlights with and without washers, front and rear fog lights, horn mods and on and on.

This looks like an easy project - maybe a "3" on my "1 to 10 difficulty scale" - with the most difficult part being crawling under the car to remove panels and to make the connections with the turn signals ... not fun as I get older. This project should be substantially easier than the install of Scion IQ signal mirror covers on this same car which I documented on this forum and which was perhaps a "6" on my difficulty scale.

 

Here is a document about my installation of the WebElectric DRL-2P Daytime Running Light kit on our 2012 Prius v Five and also to a link to a demonstration of it that I uploaded to YouTube:

Please let me know if you see any errors and I will correct them. Thanks!

 

Both amber and white DRL are permitted in both the U.S. and Canada.

 

I realized that I did not provide a critique on how well the WebElectric DRL kit works.

The output of the front turn signals of our Prius v when in DRL mode is VERY good and seems better than some similar OEM amber DRL systems I have been noticing (e.g. those on Cadillac sedans) and white OEM DRL on such cars as newer Volkswagens. Some OEM LED-based DRL systems seem to put out more light - e.g. Mercedes, Audi. - but I have noticed that the LED based DRL on Prii that have them are not all that bright.

I especially like that the opposite side DRL on our Prius v shuts off when signaling a turn - reminds me of how OEM Audi LED DRL turns off when signaling a turn.

I am not comparing the functionality of the WebElectric DRL system to OEM high-beam based DRL which I think were a terrible idea from the get-go. The days of high-beam based DRL are numbered and they are no longer allowed in many countries.

Anyway ... the results of the WebElectric DRL kit on our Prius v substantially exceeds my expectations. I hope it proves reliable. If the WebElectric DRL module does ever fail, it will take only a couple of minutes to bypass it due to the how I installed it.

 

Gosh, it's not just me. High beam based DRL have been controversial from the beginning for a variety of issues such as drivers - often elderly - forgetting to turn on their regular headlights during darkness and blinding other drivers with their DRL while also not having their taillights illuminated. Another common problem is that the glass of high beam based DRL bulbs tends to blacken and makes the bulbs less effective for use at night as high beams.

Have you noticed that new cars made by both U.S. and foreign manufacturers are no longer using high beamed based DRL? Why? The 20 EC countries do not allow high beam DRL - google and you can find the EC DRL specifications ... from 2011 or 2012 if I remember correctly.

I do not know how long the turn signal bulbs on our Prius v will last when used as DRL but others have reported no problems with using the regular Prius turn signal bulbs as DRL with the WebElectric kit. Also remember that the very first DRL's ever - on Volvos in the 1970's (I had a 145 wagon and 242 sedan back then) - used 21W incandescent bulbs as DRL with no problems. Also note that the non-LED DRL on newer cars such as the ones from Cadillac and VW that I mentioned also use incandescent bulbs.

There are only seven straight foward connections to make when installing the WebElectric DRL-2P: two to each turn signal, two to a parking or side marker light and one to fuse 28 in the underhood fuse box. If for some reason the DRL-2P module ever fails, all I have to do to get the front turn signals working again is to unplug two connections on the left side of the underhood fuse box and connect two connectors leading to each front turn signal together. In the event of a front turn signal failure, the Scion IQ signal mirror covers I installed will act as a backup.

 

It's not my thread! It's "ours".

I would not go as far as saying that I despise high beam DRL - only that there have long been better solutions. Probably the only reason we have DRL in the U.S. at all is that GM petitioned the DOT back in the 1990's to allow them as a money saving move so that the vehicles they made for the U.S. would be more similar to the ones they made for Canada. And the only reason high, or in some cases low, beams were used as DRL was so that car manufacturers could provide DRL at low cost.

As both a buyer of vehicles made by Toyota and a TMC shareholder, I find it disturbing that Toyota has left DRL off its smallest, most vulnerable vehicles. But they are not the only car company doing (or not doing) it. The tiny 2012 Smart ForTwo I rented for a month last fall didn't have DRL either although DRL is an option on it.

I admit to being "rabid" about automotive safety and DRL. I've driven with DRL or headlights on during daylight hours since I was ran off the road by an oncoming driver while driving my little silver Mercedes 2-seat convertable on a two lane highway in 1969 .... the little silver car seemed to disappear into the gray highway on a hot summer day.

As I have found out first hand, it has been, and maybe still is, illegal in some U.S. states and some European countries to drive with headlights on during daylight hours except under certain conditions such as low visibility or while in a funeral procession.

If using the Prius v turn signals for DRL doesn't work out, I'll revert to "Plan B" and install the turn signal/LED DRL combo units used on the Prius v sold in most of the rest of the world.

I'm glad you bought up the potential issue about heat - I will check that out. The turn signal housings seem pretty roomy and the bulbs are of the small "spade type" (I don't remember the correct term for the bulb type.).

 

Regarding the amount of heat generated by the turn signal bulbs being lit all the time ...

After driving about 30 minutes at a maximum of 45 mph today (outside temperature 85 degrees F.), I pressed the palm of my hand firmly against the face of each turn signal lens. Each lens was quite warm. I don't know how warm but I could have pressed by hand against one of the lenses indefinitely without discomfort.

It really does bear watching to see if the heat generated by the continuously lit turn signal bulbs causes problems over the long or even short term. I rarely drive the car and will ask my wife to notice if the DRL stops working or works intermittently. As DRL, the turn signal bulbs are quite bright and it's often obvious they are working by seeing their reflection on a vehicle ahead when stopped in traffic - even on a bright sunny day like today.

 

Definitely worth a try - looks substantially easier to install than crawling under the car to connect the DRL-2P kit to the turn signals and preferable for those looking for something that looks more like the OEM high beam based DRL on the 2014 US spec Prius v and for those importing U.S. spec cars into to Canada. I wonder if there is any functional difference between the Economy and Deluxe versions.

I suspect that these products were formerly used to satisfy the DRL requirement in Poland. The seller may be looking for a new sales outlet now that a single standard non-headlight DRL protocol has been mandated for all EU countries.

I am not aware of a price reduction on the DRL-2P - still $40 with free shipping. And still working fine after almost six months.