5 Must-Have Additions To Your 2nd Gen Toyota Prius

I really enjoy my 07 Prius. It cost me $1000 bucks and after about another 500 or so I have a 42 mpg spaceship. If I were being honest though, this car is super dated. It is now 12 years old and really is holding onto that mid 2000's technology.

I searched around to see what could be done to spruce up it up and here is what I came up with.

Make Bluetooth Great Again

A must have for me is being able to stream music. To me gone are the days of tape adapters and CD's. Once Amazon music came into my life everything else was just outdated. Sure I have a 6 disc changer in my Prius but if I can stream, who cars about bulky CD's? Not me.

In a previous story where I lay out two devices that make your Toyota Prius feel more modern, this is one of them. The car bluetooth adapter is a very simple and affordable device that changes everything about the way our cars feel on the inside. It simply takes the AUX port and converts it to a working audio streaming device for bluetooth.

I personally put mine up close on the dash, but if you are not as willing to do all the work required to get it up there (trust me it is not easy) you can leave it in the center console area and it will still work. I wanted it up there just because it was annoying to me to keep opening the lid every time I got in the car.

For $30 bucks and a couple hours, this device is actually easier to install than a new stereo unit and you get to keep that cool little cubby too.

Who Needs A 120v Outlet When You Have USB

More modern Toyota cars like the Highlander, have an available 120v power outlet that you can use for all sorts of things. Plus they already have USB charge ports that come standard. My Prius has neither. I again went researching to see what I could find.https://www.torquenews.com/8113/7-best-hacks-your-toyota-prius

A specific Amazon (I love Amazon by the way if you have not gathered that) search led me to find this little gem. It is a USB charge port that does 1.2v and 2.1v charging. I was able to get crafty with mine when I put in the bluetooth button. I put this down in the center console where the AUX port used to be, and then ran the cord out the top. It is brilliant.

When buying this make sure you read the comments about what it will fit. Toyota has two different sized knockout ports and you need to make sure you get the right one. Here is the the one that I used.
The Nimbus 2000, Well Sort Of

Okay, maybe I am a closet Harry Potter fan but who cares? This addition is really cool you can get it to work on a 2nd Gen but it really is made for a 3rd.

The Nimbus Cell Phone mount (lol Nimbus 2000) simply replaces your shift knob. It has a powerful magnet that grabs your phone while tooling down the road. There are many cell phone holders out there for sure, but I really like this one due to the simplicity and design. It flows right in with the car and you honestly would probably never know it was an aftermarket accessory.

Save Your Bacon With A Dash Cam

If I could recommend anything to new or old drivers it is a dash cam. There are more and more auto accidents happening all the time and people are getting blamed for things that is not their fault. This dash cam by Anker is a great solution to that problem.

Anker makes great products and this one is not exception. Recording in 1080p and available 128GB of storage (not included) the Roav A1 makes a great addition to your Prius. I have personally seen so many people getting hit and blamed for things that were not their fault.

I really want to ensure that my fellow Prius owners are taken care of (I also care about other people to, but hey I am a Prius owner) So, get your dash cam today and make sure you are driving safely.

Shade Your Screen

There are few things as frustrating as no being able to read what you are looking at. I know my Prius screen suffers from the death stare of the sun. This nifty gadget is like a hat for our screens, it keeps the sun at bay and then lets us drool over our high fuel economy numbers.

This particular product fits 3rd gen Prius, and I am looking for a solution for 2nd gen as well. Honestly, for the price, it is worth it to try and adapt it to fit a 2nd gen. Which could make a very interesting video. I am sure there are also other options out there for sun visors, and if you know of one please tell me.

Conclusion

I really enjoy finding new products to share with the Prius community. I hope that you all drive safe and get great fuel economy. As always, feel free to reach out to me on social media if you need help.

Check out my other story Why the first generation Prius is better than either generation Nissan Leaf.

See you in the next story where I am discussing why Carista is the best $20 tool for your Toyota Prius.

Also Watch New tech means more MPG from your Toyota Prius and Click to Subscribe to Torque News Youtube Channel for Daily Toyota Prius and Automotive News.

Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He is an automotive technology instructor at Columbia Basin College. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter is also an Adjunct Instructor of automotive technology at Columbia Basin College. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter.