- New clockspring: Part number 84306-0E010 Genuine part: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/281716543382
- Steering pad buttons: Part number 84250-02200 (ebay) or ALTERNATE with an extra button
- PAC Audio SWI-CP5 steering wheel interface. The SWI-RC or Axxess ASWC or Scosche SWC1 should also work. I recommend PAC because they invented steering wheel controls!
- Aftermarket radio (this might work with the factory radio but since I do not advocate the use of factory radios, I have no comment)
- Sharp utility knife
- Jeweler's flathead screwdriver (for prying up the retaining clip on the harness so you can insert the additional wires)
- Guts to cut the plastic wings off the airbag. Remember it's basically a bomb on your workbench, and you can't undo this.
- Spare wiring harness from a junkyard
DO NOT FORGET TO REMOVE THE STEERING WHEEL ANGLE SENSOR FROM THE OLD CLOCKSPRING.
The biggest deal is removing the "wings" off the sides of the airbag to make way for the steering wheel controls. The plastic cover cannot be removed from the airbag itself, but once you remove the airbag from the car, you can use a sharp knife to repeatedly score a line following the grooves, then when the groove is deep enough, cut the rest of the way through with the knife. If you screw up or do it perfectly, there's really no going back. You'll also have to trim some of the ribs off the back using a knife or side cutters. I've included two pics of the backs of the base airbag and GT airbag so you can see the difference.
The steering pads fit firmly into place, and then can be further secured with a bolt in a pre-threaded hole in the steering wheel. I found a couple of bolts in my parts bin that fit, but it's something like an M4 or M5 bolt. Length isn't critical, they can be extra long and won't interfere with anything.
The big question of course is, what about the wires from the clockspring to the radio? I've included a pic that shows the wires you have to add and where to add them. Then you can solder and shrinkwrap to longer wires back to the steering wheel interface module. Colors don't matter, just make sure the wire goes to the right place. I got my wires from other Vibes at the junkyard for free, which is important since the metal pins on the end are small and delicate and they break, so get extras. Wires from 1st or 2nd gen will work, and probably other Toyota's, too. Sorry I do not have pin-outs for adding steering wheel controls to a factory base radio.
There is an optional 12V illumination line, but the LEDs are really bright orange and are distracting. They don't seem to dim with the dimmer knob, either. They are tiny and soldered to the PCB in each pad, so not worth changing them. So I'm probably going to disconnect them.