Wow that looks really nice. Hopefully I can find someone locally to install one for me. Thanks for the pics!

 

UBOW, where did you get the steering wheel? I just got my Xa and also let them install the cruise but I hate allready that flimsy little stick and like to change it to the steering wheel. I also would like that the cruise kicks in at 25mph and not 33mph.
Thanks

 

Check here for the cruise control
https://www.scionlife.com/parts/?sub=86
The steering wheel switches is an extra $50 and well worth it IMO. The cruise stays dead-on, even on hills - up or down. Coast, Accel and Deccellerate work perfectly as well. All that is missing from a factory job is a dash indicator letting you know when cruise is on. I'm gonna work on that and want to put a blue CRUISE light on the dash panel to the right of the speedo.

 

UBOW,
did you install it yourself the CC, or was it done by a professional?
If you did it how complicated was it?

~Omar

 

I am a professional! Just not a professional auto technician. I repair copiers and computers.

I did do this installation myself. The installation was complicated on ascale of 1 to 10 about 6. I did it over 2 days. The steering wheel switches took just over an hour. I moved slow because I didn't want to screw anything up. These photos should help others shorten the install time to a half day.

I took my time finding the brake wires and the computer wire to tap into and routing the wires. I didn't want wires dropping down after hitting any bumps. Fishing the harness through the firewall wasn't difficult because I have the fibreglas rod designed for that kind of work.

For the under dash parts I thought long and hard about placement. That's why it took to the next weekend. I wanted to make sure of where I planted the modulator. I don't like fabricataing brackets. They vibrate and wobble and usually get in the way of things. I looked for the most simplest installation and believe I found it. I have looked at dealer installations after I did mine and am glad I did what I did.

 

But where did you purchase it from? The bought4less.com that is linked from the parts section?

Also where could I go to have it installed? I don't want to even attempt to do it myself. The Dealer? Ziebart? Independant tech?

 

Hey, UBOW, when you gonna be in the Seattle area to install mine???

Seriously, very nice job, and better than I would expect from any local installers who do it for a living...

 

ok thanks. I will look for a professional then, since I am not procificient on the matters pertaining to EE, Comp E, etc.

One last q. open to all as well.

During my last visit to my dealer, I had a casual conversation with the scion agent while my specific agent finished his dealings with a client. I made the comment about the wheel bottons for CC as opposed to the CC stick option, which he has in his xB. His reply was of interest for he had not heard or seen such option yet, however immideately he added a comment on regard to safety concern. He contended that it is a potential concern because when the aribag bursts it will have the buttons on its way, thus making them blow away. -LOL I guess the corresponding mental picture here would be of having the CC buttons incrustrated on one's face.- His stated assumption, which seem very confident of, was that after the marked CC buttons on the wheel are not as screw tight as those installed from the factory.

What do you guys think. Was this a meritorious argument or was is just an apparent a reasonable one but not really valid?

~Omar

 

The buttons are not mounted on the bag. They are mounted on the cowling between the bag and the column.

Anyone who has patience, and now with my experience, I could guide you through the installation. No problem.

 

If the air bag deploying dismounts the aftermarket buttons and causes a safety hazard by doing so, the airbag has a SERIOUS problem.

The buttons are BEHIND the area the bag deploys from...the buttons cannot be in the way as shown in UBOW's pics...

 

UBOW,
I ordered the switch but then bought4less send me e-mail and told me that it may not work with the CC Toyota installed. I am allready a bit piiiiieeed because when I opened the hood to see what brand I got I just found out the installer took the main harness rubber out , cut the 1" slit , shoved the harness in and never bothered to push the rubber gromet back into the firewall, not to mention that he should have sealed it too according to the Toyota Manual. I will go back tomorrow and tell them something.
Now I would like to know how you installed the harness down the steering column. I called bought4less and he mentioned something that they are using the horn to send the signal down. Could you elaborate on the wiring of the steering wheel switches? Where did you had to connect this wires and did you took the steering wheel off?
Thanks, would appreciate it because if it is just slightly possible I still would like to order the switches and install them. Changing the complete CC after just spending $335.- would be a bit much.

 

Tis true the cc from Bought4Less uses the horn circuitry for the switch wiring. Otherwise you have to figure out how to give the harness enough slack to absorb the rotation of the wheel from center to lock. Decades ago that wasn't too diffcult. Today it isn't so simple.

If you could solve that one problem it would only be a matter of getting the switches, extending the wires from your existing switch cluster to the wheel and connecting the wires. Piece of cake.

To incorporate the switches from Bought4Less is not simple. Because, in using the horn wire the system relies on voltage levels to determine which switch was depressed. That is interpreted by a small circuit board (switch controller board) that connects between the switches and the brake pedal switch and sends the appropriate signal to the throttle controller. It's an ingenious design.

What you have in yours is more straight forward and doesn't rely on voltage levels. Just switch A is momentarily on, switch B interrupts, etc.

 

One more thing about passing the harness through the firewall. I cut a slot in the harness boot just big enough for the 3 connectors to pass through. Once I got them past the resilience of the rubber sealed the slit right back up. Perhaps in a year or two as the rubber ages and shrinks I may have to seal it with anything.

 

The CC they installed is a ROSTRA CC and I just found out that ROSTRA makes a wheelswitch that works wireless (RF). Send them E-mail to see if I can switch over to that one. According to a write up from a other car where he used the RF Switch it works perfect too. Hope I can install this one to the steering wheel.

 

This may be a dumb question... but what is the different between vaccuum and electric?

-- Anthony N.

 

Olaf - that is good news. I hope it works out for you.

____geek - the difference is, the vacuum taps into one of the existing vacumm lines on the engine (typically the air intake and carbureted engines have more vacuum lines to choose from). The vacuum creates the pull to hold the throttle stready. This cc method can be less responsive on hills and feel mushy at times. Electric cc systems are more precise. They use a solenoid, quick to respond, less mushy and usually cost a bit more.

 

Has anyone else attempted to replicate UBOW's installation?
I started it myself last weekend but I ran into problems with connecting the actuator cable and with trying to figure out which wires to tap into.
I'm taking pics of the installation as I'm going along. If anyone's interested, I'll post what I have so far.
Andy

 

Does anyone know if the dealer installed Rostra CC is the vacum or electric version??? I was on the Rostra site they have both. Someone in here said Rostra makes a wireless wheel mount for the CC system. I didn't see it anyplace would you mind letting me know how to get info about that.

Thanks for your attention in advance on this matter.

 

Since the Installation Manual for the xA/xB cruise control doesn't have any vacuum connections, only electrical and mechanical, it is the electrical control...

Here's the complete xA/xB Rostra cruise control:
http://www.mnrelectronics.com/scxacrcokit2.html
Here's the RF cruise control controller from Rostra:
http://www.mnrelectronics.com/par25rfcruis.html
Here's just the bare cruise control:
http://www.mnrelectronics.com/par25roscrui.html
Here's a page with a whole lot of Rostra control handles and stuff:
http://www.mnrelectronics.com/roscruiscon.html

Here is the Rostra wireless controller installed on a Honda:
http://www.mnrelectronics.com/hoincrcokit2.html

Like everyone says, search. (Even if it's a Google search...)

(There are other retailers that carry Rostra, too, but that one was the first in a Google search...)

Hope that helps.