DIY: How to install JDM Prius power folding side mirrors

Here is a step-by-step DIY guide on how to install JDM power folding side mirrors onto your 2010+ 3rd gen USDM Toyota Prius or Plug-in Prius (PiP). As an added bonus, this guide includes instruction on how to wire up a set of 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED lights. Since I’ve wired up JDM power folding mirrors on a DC5 and an EG6 in the past, this one isn’t much different except the addition of an external controller module similar to ones used in older Hondas that also double-up as a built-in automatic retract relay (retracts on door lock state). If you’ve wired one set of power folding side mirrors, you’ve pretty much wired them all.

This guide will utilize a set of JDM power side folding mirror kit created by the fine folks at Top Sage, Co. Ltd in Tawain. In order to reduce the cost of the kit, they gathered the components of the kit from several different sources. The mirrors are JDM OEM and sourced from the JDM Toyota Wish MPV. The remote control mirror switch is a standard non-illuminated JDM Toyota switch with a push button to fold and unfold the side mirrors. The controller module is a functional aftermarket relay created by BEC, to cut down costs. The kit is sold with unpainted mirror covers. The Toyota Wish mirror covers, the motorized hinge and housing is 100% direct swappable with the Prius, all that is different is the mirror base. Why JDM Toyota Prius power folding mirrors are an average of $300 more than the JDM Toyota Wish mirrors, even though they use the exact same mirror covers and motorized hinges, is beyond me. If you wish to swap out the JDM turn signal lens in favor of 3-in-1 combo LED, then you’ll need to open up the mirror housing, swap lens and route 5 additional wires from the 3-in-1 combo LED through the motorized hinge and mirror base.

Also, because the JDM Toyota Wish mirrors do not have defrosters in them, the two BLK defroster wires found in the USDM Prius mirror connectors (5-pin) are occupied by two wires, GRN and BLU, that control the folding function instead and needs to be de-pinned, re-routed and rewired for a clean OEM-like install. More on this in the actual install guide.

As with other DIY guides, common sense and judgement should be used. This guide is written solely for educational purpose only. Neither warranty is expressed nor implied. I encourage you to read this guide thoroughly at least once to assess your capability of performing the mod on your own. If you cannot or don’t have the tools, I recommend you consult with a qualified installer to help you with the install.

The entire installation took me a collective 8 hours and spanning across two days. Nearly half the time were spent taking 175 photos to document the guide. Without photos, it should take about 4-5 hours done on a 2012+ Prius on a good weekend; about 4 hours on a 2010-2011 Prius. Here’s an approximate break down of how long each item took to install, without photo. These estimate are only for 2012+ 3rd gen Prius due to the incompatible mirror connectors. I believe 2010-2011 3rd gen owners will be delighted to know that their connectors are plug and play and that alone shaves off 1 hour of install time:

• Disassembling mirror housings, about 15 minutes each x 4 mirrors to disassemble: 1 hour
• Swapping JDM motorized hinge, wires and 3-in-1 combo LED light into USDM mirror housing, about 15 minutes each x 2: 30 minutes
• Removing the door panels, about 5 minutes each x 2: 10 minutes total
• Removing the USDM mirrors from the door frame, 3 minutes each x 2: 6 minutes total
• Prepping the wire for the JDM power folding side mirrors switch (i.e. creating patch wires, T-tapping): 30 minutes
• Routing the mirror wires from the interior through the rubber boot on the door jamb and into the door frames, 10 minutes each x 2: 20 minutes
• Installing the JDM mirrors onto the Prius door frames, 5 minutes x 2: 10 minutes
• Re-installing all removed panels, including door panels: 10 minutes
• The entire wiring process (including running wires across dash from driver side to passenger side, vice versa, door jamb boots): 1.5 hours
• Wire tucking and clean up (optional): 1.5 hours

The hardest part of the install is not the wiring, believe it or not, it is disassembling four mirrors.

Preparing and writing this DIY guide took just as long, about 8 hours; 2 hours to test and meticulously draw the wiring diagrams and about 2 hours to sift through and edit the 175 photos and 4 hours to write the actual guide.

Unboxing and Parts Included

Getting Started

There are a few things to note. The mirror auto-retract controller module has 3 plugs and 2 lead wires. One plug goes into the mirror auto-retract controller module itself, one connects to the Prius’ mirror switch plug from vehicle wire harness and the remaining plug connects to the mirror switch. A red wire taps into a constant 12v source (provides power to the auto-retracting motors) and a white wire that taps into the door lock wire (triggers close state).

Here’s a photo of the controller’s interior:

As you can see, the auto-retracting controller module is a simple circuit board with various resistors, capacitors, diodes, relays and transistors. Given the time, I can probably mod it so it auto-unfold the mirrors upon unlocking.

Here’s a photo of the controller wires in relation to the mirror switch and relay:

A diagram of the controller’s wire harness with labels on what connectors and lead wires goes where:

I wanted to see how the auto-retract controller module work, so I removed the black electrical vinyl tape and looked at how the wire harness was put together. To my surprise, it’s very simple:

My lady has a 2012 Prius C Four and I took the liberty to compare and contrast the mirror switches, i.e. USDM Prius vs. JDM Prius vs. USDM Prius C. They are all identical in terms of dimension.

The one thing that threw me off is the Prius C mirror switch does not illuminate with the parking lights on, where as my Prius illuminates. This obviously means there will be 2 extra wires for the illumination, a 12v power source and a ground. So, after spending 10 minutes ripping the mirror control switch from my Prius and my lady’s Prius C, I had a better look at the wire connectors:

Taking this into consideration, the Prius C mirror switch, being an non-illuminated type, plugs right into the JDM Prius power folding side mirror mirror auto-retract controller module with no modifications.

But my USDM Prius’ mirror switch doesn’t due to a different mirror switch connector design:

It turns out that 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius models use the same non-illuminated switch as the Prius C.

For 2012+ Prius owners, there are two ways to overcome this obstacle. You can cut the connectors off of the mirror auto-retract controller module and from your OEM mirror switch, and then hard wire them together (either via crimps, solder or quick disconnects). I would avoid this at all cost. You really only want to pursue this method if you have no other options, but I don’t believe in a one option solution, so lets explore the other options.

Ideally, I would just order the compatible connector, de-pin the wires from the incompatible connector and re-pin them into the new connector. Not only are the connectors different, the size of the terminal pins are also different making this conversion quite a challenge.

After examining the mirror switches of several late model Toyota and Scion vehicles, I came to the conclusion that Toyota uses a universal remote control mirror switch for most, not all, of their cars, similar to their fog lights. The mirror switch I’ve examined are identical to the ones in the Prius and the Prius C. I looked at 2012 Corollas, 2011-2012 Scion TC, 2009 Toyota Yaris and older model Prius.

Doing some research online via the Toyota Information System and referring to my handy Toyota Wire Harness Repair manual (RM1022E), I was able to find the connectors and corresponding terminal joint/pigtails between an illuminated mirror switch vs. a non-illuminated mirror switch:

Since the mirror switch in my 2012 Prius Four illuminates with the parking lights on and my lady’s 2012 Prius C Four does not illuminate, two things to consider.

1. If your switch does not illuminate, no further action is required. The switch connector is plug-n-play with the mirror auto-retract controller module. This means it is possible to use this controller module on any Toyota vehicles that uses the same non-illuminating mirror switch and install power side folding mirrors, if available for the specific model (be sure to verify that the connector is compatible). All you need to do now is add two wires to the switch that provides power and ground wires to the power folding side mirrors.
2. If your switch does illuminate (2012+ Prius models), you have a newer 16-pin female connector (P/N #: 90980-12423) then you will need map the functionality of the wires on the Prius mirror switch connector from the vehicle harness side with the mirror auto-retract controller module, t-tap the wires and create a “wire bridge” from the OEM wire to the mirror auto-retract controller module.

The JDM mirror switch does not illuminate at night, so that’s one trade off if you plan to pursue this project. I tried looking for a 16-pin male connector that’s compatible with the OEM female mirror switch connector so I can swap out the connector on the mirror auto-retract controller module instead (leaving the OEM connector intact), but the cost to acquire it is negligible. It’s almost impossible to find an online source that lets you order OEM male Toyota connectors.

2012+ 3rd gen Prius Remote Control Mirror Switch Trade Offs

This side note does not apply to 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius models. You can skip straight to the install guide.

For us 2012+ 3rd gen owners with illuminated remote control mirror switch, we’re kind of out of luck in terms of trade offs. Here’s a list of trade offs if you decide to do this mod using the mirror source provided at the end of this guide:

• Illuminated LED on mirror switch will be eliminated
• No direct coupling between mirror auto-retract controller module and mirror switch plug from vehicle harness due to incompatible connectors

Of course there is a solution to everything but the effort or cost outweigh the return in investment.  If time is on your side and cash is not a problem, you can purchase a genuine 2012+ illuminated JDM power folding mirror switch from a Toyota Estima (JDM Toyota Previa), part number 84870-28040:

This switch will plug right into the 16-pin female mirror switch connector on the vehicle harness, but the problem of connecting the 16-pin mirror switch connector on the vehicle harness into the mirror auto-retract controller module still exists. A method of overcoming this is to purchase a male connector for the 16-pin illuminated female mirror switch connector and swap out the male 10-pin connector on the controller module.

Even if you do this, you’ll need to rewire the + and – illumination wire since the mirror auto-retract controller module is designed for the 10-pin non-illuminated mirror switch connector. The two wires on the 16-pin female mirror switch connector that illuminates the switch is pin #6 GRN, which feeds the positive 12v source and pin (can be tapped onto the “BRN” wire that feeds power to the parking light) #16 WHT/BLK, which connects to an available ground. You can tap the GRN wire to any wire that activates when the parking lights are turned on.

Creating a 16-pin female to 10-pin female coupler

Toyota doesn’t appear to sell any male connectors online, but after extensive research, I came across a solution at hi-1000.com, an online Japanese electrical parts seller that specializes in automotive connectors and wire repair kits:

The part in subject is a male coupler, P/N #: 20P050-090K-M and is the male counterpart for the illuminated 16-pin mirror switch female connector. If you decide to pursue this, you’ll need also need eleven 0.050″ type male terminal pins ($0.10c each at Eastern Beaver Company) to create pigtails for the 20P050-090K-M male coupler:

The seller does not ship internationally, so you’ll need to source out a forwarding service or agent to import the parts, which adds to cost and time. As far as I know, only hi-1000.com carry this particular male coupler piece. Again, I think this is overkill just to get the “MIRROR” lettering on the mirror control switch illuminated at night.

Assuming folks are not willing to shell out extra cash and time to pursue the illuminated switch option and weighing the cost/time vs. payoff of the different methods explored above, I’ll simplify the guide by simply adding 7 t-taps to the wires on the existing 16-pin mirror switch connector on the vehicle harness and the wire on the mirror auto-retract controller module with the male 10-pin connector, creating an electrical “bridge”. Not as pretty to see but still avoiding the necessity to cut any OEM wires or connectors and inflict permanent damage to the Toyota vehicle harness.

If you still insist on an illuminated mirror switch, I’ll write up a follow-up DIY guide on how to MacGyver an SMD LED onto the mirror control switch circuit board, creating a make-shift illuminated switch.

No Permanent Damage to OEM Vehicle Wire Harness or Connectors

This guide go through extra length to avoid making unnecessary permanent damage to the OEM Toyota connectors and vehicle wire harness, even if it means taking a little longer to complete the mod. If you have a qualified installer perform this mod for you, I recommend that you advise the installer to do the same and avoid making any unnecessary OEM wire / connector cutting. The upside is if you want to remove the folding mirrors for any reasons, i.e. selling them as vestigial parts once you sell or trade-in your Prius, it is as easy as swapping them back out with your USDM mirrors. This guide retains all OEM wires and connectors so reversal to OEM USDM mode is plug-n-play. Keeping the JDM power folding mirrors in as original of a condition as you can when you part ways with them can fetch you a premium price.

Parts Required

Mirrors, parts and accessories

• 1x 3rd gen JDM Prius power side folding mirror kit (for source, see end of guide)
  • or a pair of used JDM Prius power side folding mirrors + JDM mirror switch

Electrical parts

• 1x roll of 22 AWG wire, recommend different colors for visual assistance
• 1x set of 18-22 AWG T-Taps (burgundy), I recommend 50 pieces or more. I bought a bag of 100 for $4.00
• 1 piece 14-16 AWG T-taps (yellow)
• 1x set of 18-22 AWG insulated male and female quick disconnects (burgundy), I recommend 50 pieces or more. I bought a bag of 100 for $4.00
• 1x roll of flex split wire conduit, preferably 1/2″ or smaller in diameter
• a few COOPER Bussmann low profile 10A fuses, in case you accidentally short a circuit and blow the ACC fuse. These are quite expensive fuses relative to mini blade fuses. You can find a spare in the fuse box in the engine bay.

Tools and Supplies

• 1x paperclip, micro flathead screwdriver or terminal joint de-pinning tool
• 1x set of zip ties
• 1x socket and ratchet set
• 1x T25 Torx bit or driver
• 1x vinyl electrical tape
• 1x set of screwdrivers; flathead and Philips

JDM Prius ZVW30/35 Power Folding Side Mirror Installation Guide

First and foremost, identify if your switch is illuminated or non-illuminated. Turn on your parking lights and see if the “MIRROR” lettering on the mirror control switch illuminates. If it doesn’t, skip section that are marked “applies to 2012+ 3rd gen Prius”

Preparing the JDM Prius power folding side mirrors for a complete swap

We are disassembling the JDM power folding side mirror to extract the power folding hinge and the GRN and BLU wire that supplies power and ground to the folding motor. The rest can be regarded as spare parts since everything fits into the USDM mirror housing.

Step 1

You’ll need to disassemble the JDM Toyota Wish mirrors completely. You should receive the JDM Toyota Wish mirrors with the outer cover already removed for you and the mirrors themselves unmounted and in a protective sleeve.

Remove the JDM OEM mirror turn signal lens and the mirror actuator from the housing. We are removing the OEM JDM turn signal lens to salvage the screws which will be transferred over to the USDM housing to secure the 3-in-1 combo welcome light winkers. Removal accomplished by removing 7 screws. There are 5 screws on the mirror side and 2 screws holding the turn signal lens on the outer rim of the housing.

The four long screws hold the actuator onto the housing while the three shorter screws secure the turn signal lens. Keep all the screws as you’ll need to re-use them to mount the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED.

Step 2 – OPTIONAL

This step is optional. You need to remove the GRN and BLU wires from the JDM mirror connector. Since we are going to attach quick disconnects to them anyways, you can simply cut the two wires from the connector with your wire crimping tool (or scissors).

The JDM mirror plug comprise of two plugs held together by one communal sleeve. Removing the two connectors is tricky and requires the use of two micro flat head screwdriver. Take your time as you do not want to damage the connectors.

To remove the 5-pin female connector (contains BRN, BLK, PRP, GRN and BLU wires), push the center dividing wall on the sleeve to dislodge the clip on the side of the 5-pin connector. Take a second micro flat head screwdriver and dislodge the 5-pin connector from the corner, away from the indentation. This indentation is actually and outer clip holding the 5-pin connector inside the sleeve. Once both clips are disengaged, pull the 5-pin female connector out.

The 2-pin female connector on the side with the WHT and PNK wire is easier to remove. Just push the center sleeve wall to away from the connector with one micro flat head screwdriver and dislodge the side clip using another micro flat head screwdriver. Once both side clips are disengaged, pull the 2-pin female connector out of the sleeve.

You can do this step either at the very beginning or after you’ve completely disassembled the mirror. This step require that you de-pin the GRN and BLU wires from the 5-pin connector. These two wires are connected to the motorized hinge and provides power and ground source for the motor. These two wires are the only ones you need. If you want, you can de-pin all the wire and use them as spare terminal pigtails, which I did. But that is completely optional. If you’ve never de-pin a wire before, I highly recommend using a special de-pinning tool to make your life easier, especially for these connectors since they are really small. You can also use the smallest micro flat head screwdriver you can find, or even a push pin. For this project, I used a push pin since it is readily accessible to anyone. For female terminal pins (which we are working with right now), there is a tab on the connector housing that presses down and locks the terminal pin in place. You need to insert the de-pinning tool to lift the tab and release the lock on the terminal pin. Once the tab is lifted, the terminal pin slides out easily. It took about 2 minutes for me to de-pin all seven wires with a push pin, but if you have no experience and are not using a terminal de-pinning tool, this can take well over 10 frustrating minutes.

Again, you only need the GRN and BLU wires. Here’s how the terminal joints look like after being de-pinned from their respective connector:

Step 3

Remove the rubber boot from the base of the mirror assembly. This is accomplished by peeling the rubber seal where the rubber boot makes contact with the base and the simply pulling it out. Guide the wires out of the boot as you remove it from the base.

Step 4

Next we need to remove the gray plastic cover from the base. To do this, slip a small screwdriver into the gap where the black plastic meets the gray plastic, then take a small flat head screwdriver and dislodge the small clip as illustrated:

Pull and separate the gray plastic cover from the rest of the base. It’s simple, just pull the gray cover off.

Step 5

This step set me back about an hour. There are three T25 size Torx screws securing the mirror hinge onto the base. I had to run to Lowe’s and pick up a Torx driver set since I did not have a set handy. Keep this in mind if you plan to do this project. Undo the Torx screws and set the base aside.

Step 6

Remove the single Philips screw at the bottom of the outer mirror housing. This screw secures the bottom of the motorized hinge onto the bottom of the housing.

Step 7

Carefully lift the JDM motorized mirror hinge and actuator from the housing assembly and set aside. There is a small tab on the back of the motorized hinge that engages a slot on the outer housing shell, lift that out to disengage it:

Step 8

Unplug the GRN and BLU wires from the motor of the JDM motorized hinge. This is a two step process. First remove the orange weather seal, then press down on the white clip on the connector to release it from its housing.

Step 9

Guide the wire bundle out of the motorized hinge. Undo the black electrical vinyl tape on the rubber wire conduit to gain access to the individual wires and then pull just the GRN and BLU wires out. We will transplant these wires along with the motorized hinge into the USDM Prius mirror housings. Only the BLU and GRN wires are needed from the bundle of wire. I removed all of them so I could use them as spare parts (just in case):

Step 10

JDM Toyota Wish mirror fully disassembled.

Repeat steps 1 ~ 11 for the remaining JDM folding mirror.

Preparing the USDM Prius side mirrors for a complete swap

Step 1

In order to access the USDM mirrors, you’ll need to remove the door panels. Please read the DIY guide on how to remove door panels off a 3rd gen Prius for instructions how to do so.

Step 2

Remove the plastic mirror door frame cover by popping it off, then undo three 10 mm bolts that secure the mirror to the door frame.

Step 2

Unplug the mirror connector from the main vehicle harness on the door.

Step 3

Remove the single 10 mm bolt with a Philips screw surface and unclip the black plastic wire organizer from the door frame:

Step 4

Hold the mirror while pinching the plastic arrow clip to release it, then gently lift the mirror away from the door frame while guiding the mirror wire and connector out of the door frame.

Step 5

Push the mirror so that it is tilted as far up as possible

Step 6

Using a flat head screwdriver, insert it between the glass mirror and the housing. There are two indentations on where to place your screwdriver. Once aligned with the indentation, pop the mirror out. There are two clips that hold the lower half of the mirror onto the actuator. The location of these clips are identified by the indentations:

Once the lower half of the glass mirror is dislodged from the actuator, lift the glass mirror forward and try to position it at a 90 degree angle. Then pull the glass mirror down. Two tabs occupy the upper half of the glass mirror and these tabs slides into corresponding slots on the actuator:

Step 7

Unplug the two BLK defroster wires from the heated glass mirror.

Step 8

This is a comparison of the non-heated JDM Toyota Wish glass mirror vs. the USDM Prius heated glass mirror; Wish mirror on top, USDM Prius on bottom:

Remove the Philips screws from the mirror actuator and housing.

Step 9

Remove the outer sleeve from the USDM Prius side mirror connector:

Remove rubber boot from base of USDM Prius side mirror.

Step 10

Remove the base cover (black plastic) from the Prius side mirror.

After removing the base cover, remove the outer mirror cover from the housing. There are 5 clips that snaps the cover in place. Using a flat head screwdriver, dislodge one (dislodging two makes separation easier), then firmly pull the cover off the housing shell. Use force when pulling.

Step 11

Remove three T25 Torx screws from base.

Step 12

Remove the base from the Prius mirror housing assembly. While removing the base, guide the wire bundle through the opening on the base.

Step 13

Remove the single Philips screw from the bottom of the Prius side mirror housing.

Step 14

Lift the entire actuator and mirror folding hinge out of the mirror housing. There is a small black tab on the back of the mirror hinge that engages a slot on the outer mirror shell, lift it up to disengage it:

USDM Prius side mirror assembly fully disassembled

Repeats steps 1 ~ 14 to complete the remaining USDM Prius side mirror.

Swapping the JDM motorized folding hinge into the USDM Prius mirror housings

This step requires you to swap in the JDM Toyota Wish motorized hinge into the USDM Prius side mirror housing and add the GRN and BLU wires, that’s it. Everything else remains the same. Before we start, here’s a comparison of what the JDM power folding hinge looks like in relation to the USDM manual folding hinge:

Step 1

Insert all the wires into the JDM Toyota Wish motorized hinge. We’ll start by insert the GRN and BLU wires that were removed earlier. If you purchased a 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit, insert the {BLU, RED and BLK} and the {BLK and WHT/BLK } wire bundles (5 wires) through opening on the JDM hinge as well:

Next, guide the OEM USDM wires through the hinge:

Plug the GRN and BLU wire into the JDM motorized hinge.

Step 2

Guide the wires through the base of the mirror housing:

Then secure the single Philips screw back where it was removed earlier.

Step 3

Take the JDM Toyota Wish motorized hinge and secure it onto the USDM mirror housing. Make sure the tab on the back of the mirror hinge engages the slot on the back of the mirror housing shell.

Step 4

Mount and install the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED lens onto the USDM mirror housing:

Step 5

Guide the wires through the USDM Prius mirror housing base:

Step 6

Use the wire catcher on the mirror housing base to organize the wire bundles:

Step 7

Screw in the three T25 Torx screws into the base to secure it onto the mirror housing.

Step 8

Snap the black plastic base cover back in place.

Step 9

Guide the wires through the rubber base boot.

Step 10

Reattach the rubber boot to the base of the mirror.

Step 11

Re-install the Philips screws back onto the actuator to secure it onto the housing.

Re-attach the two BLK defroster wires to the glass mirror, then snap the glass mirror back onto the actuator.

Step 12

Snap the color matched JDM mirror cover in place.

Repeat steps 1 ~ 12 for the remaining mirror.

Completed JDM to USDM mirror housing swap, now we’re ready to move onto wiring:

Preparing the Wiring for the JDM Prius Power Folding Side Mirrors

The JDM Prius power folding side mirror kit created by Top Sage International is actually pretty complete. All the wiring is included, even male and female connectors. If you also purchased the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit, the same applies. While preparing the wiring, I noticed that the GRN and BLU wires from the JDM motorized mirror hinge do not fit into the supplied female 2-pin connector. It was simply too long:

To solve this problem, I simply cut off the female terminal joints on the GRN and BLU wires from each mirror and attached an 18-22 AWG female quick disconnect to each wire lead:

I gave myself sufficient length to cut the terminal joints off, creating spare pigtails for future projects.

I did the same for the supplied RED and BLK wire bundle, I cut off the male terminal joints and attached 18-22 AWG male quick disconnects:

Four male terminal joints we removed in favor of male quick disconnects. These RED and BLK wires will connect with the GRN and BLU wires on the power folding side mirrors. The RED wire connects to the GRN wire and the BLK wire connects to the BLU wire. Think of these as extension wires for the BLU and GRN wires that extends from the motorized hinge and terminates at the JDM mirror control switch.

Next, attach an 18-22 AWG male quick disconnect to the RED and the WHT wires coming out of the auto-retract mirror control switch. These wires will tap onto existing power source and provide +Door Lock signal and constant 12V power source to the auto-retract mirror control module:

The following instruction only applies to 2012+ 3rd gen Prius

Since the 2012+ 3rd gen Prius mirror connector from the vehicle harness is incompatible with the 10-pin male connector on the auto-retract controller module, we need to make add a few more steps.

Using a wire stripper, make an incision on each of the 9 wires on the auto-retract mirror control module near the 10-pin male connector:

Attach an 18-22 AWG male T-Tap to each of the 9 wires you’ve just made an incision on.

Next, create 9 patch wires by cutting 9 quantity of 3 inch 22 AWG wires each. Strip both end of each wire and attach an 18-22 AWG male quick disconnect to each:

These patch wires will tap onto the wires from the Prius vehicle harness – without cutting any OEM wires or connector. Connect one end of each patch wire onto the T-Taps we’ve attached earlier on the wires from the auto-retract controller module. (I created 11 patch wires after all is said and done; the two extra patch wires will be used to wire up an LED to illuminate the switch, future DIY).

Next, cut the female terminal joints off the shorter set of BLK and RED wires with bullet connectors on one end and attach 18-22 AWG male quick disconnects in their places:

For 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius

If you have a 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius, take the female terminal joint on the RED wire from the same shorter wire bundle and insert it into pin #10 of your OEM mirror switch connector from the vehicle wire harness. Take the female terminal joint on the BLK wire and insert it into pin #9 of your OEM mirror switch connector from the vehicle wire harness:

The pins fit right into the OEM 10-pin female connector. They should “click” into position once fully inserted, if they don’t, try reinserting them at a different orientation.

If you’ve purchased a 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit:

Slide the BLK and the WHT/BLK wires each with a male terminal joint into the supplied black 2-pin male connector:

Next, take the BLK and WHT/BLK wires from the extension wire set (longer set of same colored wire terminating in lead wires instead of terminal joints) and attach the supplied corresponding black female 2-pin connector. Make sure when both connectors engage, the wires are coordinated correctly. An easy way to ensure this is to attach the female connector into the male connector, then slide in the corresponding wires with the female terminal joints:

Do the exact same thing with the BLU, RED and BLK wire bundle but ONLY after you have swapped hinges and after they are fed through the opening of the JDM motorized hinge. If you install the connector before you’ve fed them through the JDM motorized hinge, the 3-pin connector will NOT fit through the opening and it’s a pain trying to de-pin the wires (trust me, I made that mistake):

Next, attach an 18-22 AWG male quick disconnect to all of the wires from the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED lens EXCEPT for the BLK wire that is bundled with the RED and BLU wire. Attach a spade terminal connector to it instead. This wire is ground and it is easier to mount a spade terminal to a screw attached to a metallic surface. If you have a common ground that you prefer to use, use a terminal connector that fits your preference (i.e. spade, ring, t-taps, etc.)

We are attaching male quick disconnects at the end of the lead wires because they will be T-Tapping into an existing power source.

Once all the wires have been inspected for correct orientation and the connectors are firmly attached, I like to tidy it up and use a few zip ties to bound the set of wires coming out of the swapped mirrors:

In addition to the USDM OEM wire bundle with 5 wires within a wire sleeve, we have added 7 extra wires. We are now done with the wiring preparation, it’s time to wire these mirrors up!

Wiring up the Mirrors

Begin by mounting the mirror back onto the door frame. At this point, just mount the mirrors. Do not replace any of the plastic covers that were removed earlier. Route the new set of wires through the door frame and let them hang loose for now at the original OEM mirror wire location. We also need to remove the driver side kick panel and switch panel. Here are the instructions on how to remove these panels taken directly from my fog light DIY guide:

Start by removing your inner door sills. You can remove it by lifting along the edge, length-wise, that’s facing the cabin, with your fingers and popping the sill off the retainer clips. Pull the entire assembly towards you. Lift up the sill with gentle force.

You’ll need to remove the driver side kick panel next. Start by removing the cap nut by simply twisting it off with your fingers. Then at the locations indicated on the following picture, grab the edge of the kick panel near the clip location and pull outward. Again, do so with gentle force. There are two blue push clips that snaps the kick panel in place. If one or both is stuck on the chassis, you’ll need to pry them off with some needle nose pliers and reinstall them onto the kick panel you’ve just removed.

Finally, remove the entire switch panel assembly to gain access to the instrument panel junction block wire harness. Remove the single screw right below the hood release latch.

Next remove the hood release latch assembly. Do this by lifting the latch (you’ll pop your hood at the same time) and press down on the protruding tab. While pressing down on this tab, slide the entire latch assembly down towards the floor.

With the hood release latch assembly removed, you can remove the entire switch panel. Remove it by grabbing hold of the lower edge and gently pull the entire assembly away and towards the driver seat. The are six clips that hold this panel onto the dashboard.

After detaching the switch panel assembly, unplug two wires behind it – one connects to the mirror switch and the other connects to the dimmer switch. Remove an empty switch panel  and replace it with your aftermarket fog light switch and then set the entire panel aside.

Now we can proceed.

Step 1

Start by removing the two 10 mm bolts that secure the rubber boot onto the door jamb, they are right by the door hinge. This boot feeds wire from the cabin into the door frame.

Step 2

Remove the black electrical vinyl tape to free the white plastic organizer from the boot base:

Step 3

Take a small flat head screw driver and release the clips that’s securing white plastic wire organizer onto the rubber boot base:

Remove the rubber boot grommet attached to the fender on the vehicle chassis.

Step 4

Try to compress the rubber boot as much as possible. The more compressed you make it, the easier it is to route the wires from the interior of the car to the door frame.

If you purchased a 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit, route the BLU, RED and BLK extension wire, connector-end, from cabin and through the door jamb rubber boot and into the door frame. The other end of these three wires terminates in male quick disconnects we’ve attached earlier.

Next route the BLK and WHT/BLK wires from the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit, connector-end. These two wires also have a male quick disconnect which we’ve attached earlier.

Finally, route the BLK and RED wire, each with a female quick disconnect we’ve attached earlier from the extension wire bundle, supplied by Top Sage.

Step 5

Connect the wires together. The 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit have male and female connectors we’ve attached earlier that will simply plug into each other. The RED wire connects to the GRN wire from the mirror and the BLK wire connects to the BLU wire from the mirror:

Step 6

Insert the wires into flex split wire conduit to protect them from the weather:

I wrapped some black electrical vinyl tape around the plastic wire conduit for extra protection:

At this point, you can reconnect the mirror and re-attach the black plastic wire organizer onto the door frame (secured by a 10 mm bolt with Philips surface).

Repeat the exact same procedure to route the wires for the passenger side.

If you’ve purchased a 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit

Driver side

Locate a large connector on the junction point near the driver side rest pedal. This connector has a black auto-locking clip at the bottom:

Release the connector by lifting the tab in the black clip and then pulling the black clip out:

Look for two wires, a BRN and a YEL wire as noted, they are right next to each other – side by side. The BRN wire is the parking light wire and the YEL wire is the driver side turn signal wire:

Attach an 18-22 AWG T-Tap on each of these two wires:

Connect the RED wire from the BLU, RED and BLK wire bundle to the YEL wire. Connect the BLU from the BLU, RED and BLK wire bundle to the BRN wire. Attach the BLK wire to any available grounding points. At this point, when you turn on your turn signals or hazard lights, the driver side mirror should start blinking. If you turn on your parking lights, the driver side mirror should emit a whitish low power light from the LED. If they do not work, check your connection at the door panel, the T-Taps and also check your ground (non-working lights usually mean a loose ground somewhere).

Side notes: After I’ve wrapped up everything and replaced all the panels I’ve removed, we went out for dinner and I noticed that my driver side parking light wasn’t shining after looking at the reflection on the car next to me. Sure enough, the turn signal didn’t work either. The following day, I ripped the door panel out quickly during lunch at work and discovered that the BLU, RED and BLK wire bundles were disconnected. They weren’t fully connected in the first place. I reconnected the wires and the driver side parking light and turn signal work again.

Wiring up the Welcome / Puddle Lights

To wire up the welcome / puddle lights, you’ll need to connect the BLK wire from the BLK and WHT/BLK wire bundle from the 3-in-1 combo welcome light LED to a BLU wire located at the point where the driver side A-pillar meets the headliner. To remove the driver side A-pillar, first partially remove the weather stripping along the door:

Next, pull the A-pillar out. It’s attached by simple clips. You do not need to remove the entire A-pillar, just enough to sufficiently expose the area where the driver side A-pillar meets the headliner. This is where the BLU ground-active wire is found.

Take an 18-22 AWG T-Tap and tap this BLU wire, then, take the BLK wire from the BLK and WHT/BLK wire bundle from the 3-in-1 combo light and insert the male quick disconnect (which was attached in an earlier step) into the newly attached T-Tap on the BLU wire in the driver side A-pillar:

Run the BLK wire down the dash along the door edge, just right behind the weather stripping. Push the A-pillar back into its place and then re-apply the weather stripping. We are done with the BLK wire from the BLK and WHT/BLK wire bundle.

Next, take the BLK/WHT wire and attach it to a constant 12V source. You can find this source on the RED wire that’s going into the driver side footwell LED lighting. Attach an 18-22 AWG T-Tap onto the RED wire, then plug the male quick disconnect from the BLK/WHT wire onto the newly attached T-Tap. Ignore the RED wire tapped to the left for now:

Your puddle light on the driver side should now work. Test it out by closing all your doors, locking your car and walking away from your car. Wait 5 seconds, then approach your car with your Smart Key. Your driver side puddle light should light up. Walk away and it should fade out. Unlock your car and the puddle light should light up. Lock your car and it should fade away.

Passenger Side

We’ve wired up the 3-in-1 combo lights on the driver side. Now it’s time to wire up the passenger side. If you haven’t done so yet, remove the passenger side door sill and kick panel following the procedure illustrated for the driver side, then feed the BLK and WHT/BLK wire bundle and BLU, RED and BLK wire bundle from the 3-in-1 combo light through the rubber boot on the door jamb and into the passenger side door frame just like you did with the driver side. Finally, connect them to the corresponding wires from the passenger side mirror:

Next, find the large white connector with a black self-locking clip at the bottom of the connector. This connector is the same as the one where you made two taps in the driver side:

Attach an 18-22 AWG T-Tap onto the GRN and BRN wire. The GRN wire is the passenger side turn signal wire and the BRN wire is the passenger side parking light wire. You’ll know you have the right wires when you see a brown wire beneath a green wire beneath a red wire:

Attach the BLU wire from the BLU, RED and BLK wire bundle from the 3-in-1 combo light to the T-Tap on the BRN wire and then attach the RED wire to the T-Tap on the GRN wire:

For ground, I use use the bolt on the right side. If you’re going to use this bolt for ground, be sure to attach your spade terminal between the bolt and the washer:

Test your passenger side 3-in-1 combo light. The side marker light should glow with the parking lights on. The turn signal should blink when the right turn signal or hazard lights are activated. If they do not, recheck your grounding and wire connections.

Passenger Side Welcome / Puddle Light

To make the passenger side welcome light work, you need to run the BLK wire from the BLK and WHT/BLK wire bundle from the passenger side mirror across the car and tap it onto the BLK wire of the same bundle but on the driver side. The driver side BLK wire is already tapped to the BLU wire in the driver side A-pillar. You need this same ground-active source for the passenger side puddle light:

To run your wires from the passenger side to the driver side and vice versa, you need to remove the plastic covers at the end on the lower center console. To remove, simply pull it out with your fingers, gently, but with force. The same cover is on both side, so repeat the process:

While we are running wires across the car, let’s run the supplied RED and BLK extension wires from the driver side to the passenger side.

Take the longer BLK and RED wire bundle with female quick disconnects that were attached earlier and route it through the passenger side behind the lower console compartment:

Route these two wires through the rubber boot and into the passenger side door frame. Connect the RED and BLK wires to the corresponding wires from the passenger side mirror, RED wire connects to the GRN wire and BLK wire connects to BLU wire:

Next, take the remaining WHT/BLK wire from the passenger side mirror and tap it onto the RED wire on the passenger side footwell LED light. This wire provides constant 12V source for the welcome light. You may have to peel away a black protective sleeve to gain access to it.:

Test out the passenger side welcome light as you did with the driver side. If the welcome lights do not light up, ensure that all wire connection and taps are correct and secure.

Make sure you tap the RED wire. I made the accidental mistake of tapping onto the BLU wire and noticed the passenger-side welcome light fades in and out with the Smart Key but did not stay lit with the dome light as my driver side did.

Wiring up the JDM mirror switch on a 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius

Simply remove the 10-pin female connector from the OEM remote control mirror switch and plug it into the 10-pin male connector from the auto-retract controller module. Plug the 10-pin female connector from the auto-retract mirror control module into the JDM mirror switch. You should also have an extra BLK and RED wire inserted into pin #9 and pin #10. If not, refer to the “Preparing the Wirings for the JDM Power Folding Side Mirrors” section of this guide.

All that’s left to wire-up now are two lead wires, a RED and a WHT wire from the auto-retract control module, see “Wiring up the auto-retract controller module” below.

Wiring up the JDM mirror switch on a 2012+ 3rd gen Prius

By the time you’ve reached this step, all the wires should have already been routed from the interior of the Prius and into the door frame on both driver and passenger sides. We’ll start by getting the switch ready. Before we begin, be sure you have a few COOPER Bussmann 10A low-profile fuse. You may inadvertently short out the ECU ACC 10A fuse while making the wire connection. If this happens, your radio, your power mirrors, windows, turn signals etc. will cease to function. I blew my fuse once. There’s an extra 10A fuse in the fuse box inside the engine bay. Keep in mind that these low profile fuse are expensive (relative to mini blade fuses).

If you’ve blown your ACC fuse, you need to pull out the 10A fuse underneath the dash (it’s directly above the emergency parking foot pedal:

Step 1

Remove the OEM remote control mirror switch from the switch panel and disconnect the 16-pin female connector. Make a small incision with a wire stripper on pin #s 7 (YEL), #8 (GRN), #9 (RED), #10 (BLU), #11 (DRK GRN), #12 (BLK/WHT) and #13 (WHT). I recommend making these incisions as far down from the 16-pin female connector as possible for maximum space allocation and flexibility when adding the T-Taps:

Step 2

Attach an 18-22 AWG T-Tap to each of the incisions you’ve just made:

Step 3

Next, take the nine pieces of 3 inch patch wires with male quick disconnects attached at each end of each wire you’ve created in an earlier step and plug them into each of the T-Taps we’ve just created. Plug the other end of each of the nine patch wires to the corresponding wire on the 10-pin male connector from the auto-retract controller module:

Step 4

We are pretty much done with wiring up the JDM switch. Test your connection by getting your Prius into ACC mode, then test the mirror control. It should operate normally; press the control pad and make sure the movements are correct. Also check the L and R switch to make sure that it works. If the JDM switch controls the mirror movement normally, then you tapped all the wires correctly. If something is off, then you may have missed a tap or incorrectly tapped a wire onto another. Double check your taps again and make sure your taps corresponds to the illustration above.

The following instruction only applies to 2012+ 3rd gen Prius

Take the shorter RED and BLK wire bundle with male quick disconnects we’ve added in an earlier step and connect them as follows:

• The RED wire taps into the GRN wire on the 10-pin male connector from the auto-retract controller module.
• The BLK wire taps into the BLU wire from the same connector.

Step 5

Take the larger BLK and RED wire extension bundle and connect them with the shorter BLK and RED wire bundle. They connect together with bullet terminal connectors:

Step 6

Now both your driver side and passenger side mirrors should fold and unfold when your car is in ACC mode. If it doesn’t, check your connections and make sure that the T-Taps are routed correctly.

The only step left is to wire up the auto-retract controller module so that your mirrors would fold upon door lock.

Wiring Up the Auto-retract Controller Module

This part is easy. There are two remaining wires to wire up and they are the RED and WHT lead wires coming out of the auto-retract controller module. The RED wire is simple to connect, just tap it into an existing 12V power source. I used the same RED wire found on the driver side footwell LED that I used to tap the puddle lights in an earlier step:

The remaining WHT wire taps into the door lock activation wire. This wire is WHT with spots of red. It’s a thicker wire, about 14-16 AWG and is located near the driver side foot rest, at the bottom of a 24-pin connector right by the larger connector where we found the power source for the driver side turn signal and parking lights:

Test your wiring by unfolding the mirrors (you need to be in ACC mode to activate the push button). Close all your doors and then lock your car with your Smart Key or finger sensor on the door handle. The mirror should now automatically retract. If it doesn’t, check that the wire taps are secure and that you tapped the correct door lock trigger wire.

Testing Your Install

If you made it this far, it’s time to check out how your install went. Use the following video as a general guide of how the JDM Prius power folding side mirrors and 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED lights function:

If everything else works, you can now tidy up and call it a day. If you want, you can follow the optional next step on wire tucking and trimming before replacing all the panels removed and re-installing your door panels.

Wire Tucking and Trimming

If you’re like me, I cannot stand the sight of excessive wires. Even if I can’t see them, knowing that they exist bugs me. This mirror project is no exception and is left with tons of excess wires. Here’s an example of the amount of wire I trimmed off after wiring was complete:

Here’s an example of the amount of wires from the 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED kit after they’ve been properly routed and wired; both driver and passenger side (passenger side shown):

To trim off the excess wire, I cut off as much wires in-between as I can and re-attach the wire via butt connectors:

As you can see, I’ve taken out close to 4 feet of wire. I then concealed the wires with flex split wire conduit (1/2″ diameter) and wrapped them in black electrical vinyl tape:

I repeated the same process every where, where I thought had excessive wires:

Since I was 100% done with the wiring aspect of this project, I took my sweet time to clean up the wiring and make everything clean and professional. I spent another 1.5 hours trimming, taping and concealing the wires. I also took the time to clean up wires from past projects, such as the fog light project; trimming and tucking wire and also replacing incorrect wire T-Tap sizes with the correct sizes. I am thoroughly pleased with the results. As for the trimmed wires, you can discard them. But I kept them for future projects. Never know when they may come in handy!

With this project done and out of the way, I’ll move onto wrapping up the Prius DRL project next weekend and then I can finally enjoy a well deserved break from work with the lady in California’s Central Coast where she will celebrate completing her Masters degree in English at my alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona.

JDM Prius ZVW30/35 Power Folding Side Mirror Wiring Diagrams

For high resolution print-ready PDF format of the wiring diagrams, please download them here:

• 2010-2011 3rd gen Prius JDM power folding side mirror wiring diagram (using kit by Top Sage International, Co., Ltd.)
• 2012+ 3rd gen Prius JDM power folding side mirror wiring diagram (using kit by Top Sage International, Co., Ltd.)
• 2010+ 3rd gen Prius 3-in-1 combo welcome winker LED lights wiring diagram (using kit by Top Sage International, Co., Ltd.)

Where to Buy

DIY guides are not complete without a source for the parts. I ordered both the JDM Prius power folding mirror kit and 3-in-1 combo LED lights with color matched mirror covers from Top Sage International Co., LTD in Taiwan. I found them on eBay as eBay seller “mitaccessories1”, selling 3-in-1 combo LED lights with color matched mirror covers for the 3rd gen Prius. I went to their web site and discovered that they sell folding mirror kit for the Prius and inquired within. They are the same fine folks where I got my Prius sports pedal and DRL push button switch from (for the Prius high-beam DRL project).

To order or inquire, email Cathy at <cathy at topsage dot com dot tw> and she’ll create a PayPal invoice for you. Be sure to mention you saw it here. I received the mirrors in exactly one week; 4 days to have the mirror covers color matched and 3 days for EMS to deliver them to my door step (from Taiwan to Los Angeles). Since the parts were shipped via registered mail, someone needs to be home to sign for the packages or you’ll need to pick it up at your local USPS office with a photo ID like I did.

• $500.00 + $83 shipping, JDM Prius power side folding mirror kit (includes mirror, JDM mirror switch and mirror auto-retract controller module) – Top Sage International Co., LTD.
  • Order the power folding mirror kit with the 3-in-1 combo LED mirror cover and pay no additional shipping charges
• $134.90 + $20 shipping, 3-in-1 combo LED with color matched mirror cover – Top Sage International Co., LTD.