A little confused about the pre-wire on a 2012

[deckboat234]

I have been searchiong the forums and am confused about the pre wire on a 2012 se with tow prep. Is there an actual 4 wire plug-in under the vehicle or do you need to run it from the plug under the dash to the rear? I have ordered a curt hitch and was going looking to see if there was a harness underneath and could not find one.
Thanks

[sweeneyp]

Originally Posted by deckboat234

I have been searchiong the forums and am confused about the pre wire on a 2012 se with tow prep. Is there an actual 4 wire plug-in under the vehicle or do you need to run it from the plug under the dash to the rear? I have ordered a curt hitch and was going looking to see if there was a harness underneath and could not find one.
Thanks

well basically pre-wire means there are 4 wires going from the front to the rear, and a few wires/socket in the front that taps into brake and turn signals. That is it. It does NOT come with a control box or the 4 flat plug.

The quick connect wire harness sold for the highlander come with 2 things, the control box and that 4 flat connector. The control box is plugged into a empty socket in the driver foot-well behind the dashboard (the plug is near the steering shaft, its white and stands out, I believe it has 10 pins) The 4 flat connector is under the driver side sub-floor cargo bin in the trunk. You have to take the bin out and you will see a 4 pin square plug, you plug the 4 flat connector in to that, and run the wire through a rubber grommet nearby to the exterior of the car.

But take a look here its toyota's instructions for installing their quick connect trailer harness (the aftermarket ones are the same). It will probably make more sense than I'm making haha http://www.mediafire.com/?v05mo9xik4d9a2p

Those quick connect kits are like $100 from Toyota, $50 for aftermarket ones, and about $40 for a universal harness. if you look on sites like etrailer, they have video's on how to install the quick connect harnesses. But they don't route the 4 pin connector through the rubber grommet (they instead leave it in the trunk to hang out the tailgate when in use, which I personally don't like). The toyota kit comes with a new rubber grommet to allow the wires to go through. I got an aftermarket one, so it didn't come with that grommet, so I just made a small slit in it (barely big enough for the 4 wires), pushed the wires through and sealed it with silicon. That way the wire is always available, and not dependent on the trunk being unloaded to get to it. Just an idea if you don't go the OEM route.

also, to Toyota Nation!

[deckboat234]

Thanks, that was what I was looking for.

[evjm]

Could the aftermarket harness affect warranty? They are so much cheaper to buy than the dealer harness! I'd like to dave the money but I don't want to affect my warranty.

[dtown40]

I have made such a fuss about the wording of "Pre Wired" on the factory sticker, that 2 different dealers installed the trailer wiring on my Rav 4 and my Highlander for free. Just remind them that you will have to bring it up on the Toyota Survey when you recieve it, and they will jump thru hoops to make you happy. It is very deceptively advertised on the sticker.