nwfl4runner
GOLD Star
This post details how I retrofitted 2013+ 5 Speed Crawl-Control (CC), Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), and Offroad Turn-Assist (OTA) into my 2010 LX570 that came standard with the paltry 3 speed CC. I had to do this because my control switch had chipped paint and was really bringing down the interior. I do NOT know if this will work on the 2008 models that I think did not have a network gateway ECU, but assume it will. Party on, Wayne!
Step 1: Justify This Mod
“Why not get a rear locker” – Cause I did already
“Why waste your money on this” – Cause I did already. And then some. Honestly, it was more about seeing if I could than if I should.
Step 2: The Parts You Will Need
To make this work you will need a new Skid-Control ECU, control panel switch, combination meter, network gateway ECU, and skid-control connector. Bunch of wiring tools too.
Crawl Switch: 84010-60B30 – This is the new switch control unit. It uses the same connector as 2010, but with additional wires. I paid $115 on eBay.
Skid ECU Connector: 90980-12297 – I chose to use a new connector because at 10 years old, I was convinced I would be breaking plastic tabs while de-pining the connector. Also, as you have to rearrange a few wires, I was going to be disconnecting them anyway. It’s cheap peace of mind. $18 online from any of the good dealers.
Combination Meter: 83800-60Y40. You need this unit because it has the dash icons for the TA/MTS. I also figured that it would be necessary for the MTS/CC menu selection. I could not confirm whether MTS would work on the old cluster, but given the display output and that this was never an option for 2010 (unlike the GX retrofit), I figured better safe than sorry. There is an added benefit to this mod – the 2013 functions like turn-based navigation work on the 2010! Bad news #1 is Toyota doesn’t sell this anymore, so you have to scour eBay or car-part.com. Bad news #2 – you lose your mileage. I don’t sell cars that I buy, so I don’t care, but there it is.
Skid-Control ECU: 47025-60510 (as mine does not have pre-crash). On our models, the Skid-Control ECU is attached to the master cylinder. You can buy the brand new parts for $1,150 online, and then disassemble your unit (abs pump assembly) to replace certain parts, or just go on eBay and buy the entire actuator assembly which is what I did. Cost was $1,200. The benefit was that I got a newer complete assembly and was able to keep mine on the bench for repairs later. In my quest to get it to work I also bought an OEM master cylinder and swapped over parts from my 2010 because one can never have enough brake master cylinders. Easy to do, takes 10 minutes.
Network Gateway ECU: This was the part that held me up. The 2008-12 Network Gateway ECU is 89111-60060. If you read on the Lexus parts website it claims to be the same part for 2008-2013. This is a lie. 2013-15 use 89111-60080. If you do not swap this, you will still get 5-speed crawl control/color menu, but you will not get MTS/OTA. You can find them online for $150-250 used.
Cabin Harness: If you want to minimize the in-cabin re-wiring, buy/find harness 82223-60720A. This the wiring harness that connects most of the console items and the crawl switch to the main wiring harness. If you do this, you will only need to add 2 new wires, which saves you time. It’s $30.
Terminals: You are adding wires to the Skid-Control ECU. The Toyota “Terminal Repair” wire is 82998-24250. It’s $14 or some nonsense. This is a Sumitomo 025 type TS waterproof F series terminal. I bought 50 terminals from hi-1000ec.com. They ship insanely fast. For inside the cabin, you will be using a female Toyota 82998-24290, and male Toyota 82998-24270. These are Sumitomo 025 Type TS female non-waterproof and 025 Type TS male non-waterproof respectively. The ONLY place I could find these were hi-1000ec.com. If you search “sumitomo XXXXX-XXXXX” and put in the Toyota Terminal Repair part number I’ve listed, you will see these connectors. To crimp these, I went with Hozan P-706 crimpers. Again, buy in bulk so you can practice.
Wire: I went with TXL wire, not the regular store stuff. Thinner wall, great temperature resistance, easy to work with. In retrospect, I would order the sumitomo wire from hi-1000ec.com as well. It is super thin wall, and the skid control ECU connector is a tight fit, even with the correct gauge thin-wall wire.
Techstream: You really should have this anyway, but needless to say, it’s important to have this to make the project go smoothly.
Cotter pin for brake pedal – 90468-07027 – removing it is much easier if you just grab and yank. It’ll break, so replace.
Gasket – 44785-04020 – gasket between the master cylinder and the firewall. Swap in a new one.
Step 3: Install
Overall, the install is actually incredibly straightforward. Following these steps, it should take you a lazy afternoon. I would recommend you buy/rent/steal/borrow a snake camera the first time you work on disconnecting the brake pedal, trying to line it up/get oriented underneath is just a nightmare. Assuming you are going to be doing this entire job at once, make sure you slide your driver’s seat all the way back. You will need the space. DISCONNECT BATTERY.
Combination Meter – I confirmed through the FSM that the 2010/2013 combination meters received data from the same locations/systems and were pinned identically. This makes swapping the clusters literally plug and play. The only issue that I found was that my 2010 did not have an oil level sensor, so I threw an error code when I installed. In short, the combination meter wants to see 14V from the oil sensor terminal. The sensor acts as a resistor, low oil = high resistance, and when the voltage drops below 11V, you get an error. Solution is this jumper cable.
The plug here is where the oil level and pressure sensor plug in. Pins 1/3 were open on mine so I jumped them.
Voila, no error. Now I’ll find out I have no oil the old fashioned way.
To install the cluster itself, you’ll want to use techstream to turn OFF the auto retract function of the steering wheel. It needs to be all the way and all the way down. The cluster has 2 10mm bolts holding it into the dash. Simply unscrew, and then reach threw the open air vents to pop the top of the cluster out. Tilt it down and forward, and it will come right out. Unplug the old cluster and plug the new one in. Remember to put the AC vents back in after the cluster and before the rest of the trim. PDF with removal instructions is attached below.
Crawl-Control Selector Switch – This is identified as the “Integration Control & Panel Assemby”. If you have purchased the wiring harness (82223-60720A), disregard the pin-out location on the switch itself, instead look at VE3 which is the connector to the body harness. That pin-out is identical between the years. The only difference is 2013 adds a pin-out at 7 and 14. If you have not, then you will want to repin the connector coming out of the control panel to match. Let’s be honest though, if you have spent the money to get this far, buy the harness.
New harness next to old harness. Much cleaner and easier! Removal instructions are attached, easy to follow.
Below is a picture of connector VE3 where you will run the new wires to/from the skid ECU. For now it really doesn't matter which wire you put in 7 or 14, just remember it when you've run through through the firewall.
Giving myself plenty of extra wire, I wrapped them together and guided them carefully to the VE3 connector. Next, I crimped each with a Sumitomo TS 025 male connector, and plugged into VE3. The 7/14 terminals are at end of the connector which is currently unoccupied. Use the following diagram as a guide for when you connect them to the skid ECU:
Now, reassemble the dash in reverse order, but leave the leather pieces off, as you will be replacing the Network Gateway ECU/master cylinder next. Run the new wires you have through the engine bay and prepare to add them to the wiring harness. You can run them through the respective connectors if you want (EA1), but that was too much of a pain at this stage, as I was not convinced the project would even work. I may go back and connect it following the wiring diagram if/when bored.
Network Gateway ECU
Remove the door trim, kick panel, air-bag module and glove-box. It’s all 10mm bolts. The Network Gateway ECU is staring you in the face, a single 10mm bolt removes the unit and simply plug the new part in. Reassemble the dash. For the airbag module, use a pick to remove the center yellow piece and then you can unplug the connector. You must remove that center piece otherwise the connector will not disconnect.
Reassembly is easy. This job can be done without disconnecting the airbag, just prop it up as the cable is short.
Brake-Master Cylinder – There are a few wiring changes between the years.
First, there are 3 connectors present in 2010 that are not present in 2013:
28(A) – Parking Brake. No idea why it’s not present, no idea why it would need to be present. When I de-pined the connector, I sealed it up and left it there.
42(A) – WFSE (Write Flash Enable Input)
13(A) – D/G (Diagnosis Tester Serial Communication)
42(A) and 13(A) go to DLC3 (OBDII). 2013 doesn’t have them, so I pulled them and capped them as well. I don’t need to flash the skid ECU, and I don’t need to test communication with the skid-ECU from the OBD2 anyway.
Next are two connectors that swap. Use the Wits' End Tool or a sewing needle.
43(A) and 9(A) swap
45(A) and 7(A) swap
Finally the 2 connectors we are adding from the switch panel
29(A) is a new connector (OTA/EXI4 from the crawl panel) – pin 14 on VE3
13(A) is a new connector (ATRC/ECU3 from the crawl panel) – pin 7 on VE3
As discussed, I planned on replacing the entire connector because heat cycling in the engine bay kills plastic. Sure enough, I was snapping the tabs left and right just trying to remove unused terminals. Here is the terminal pin-out for reference.
I've attached the PDF for removal, but here are some highlights.
They recommend draining the brake fluid, I didn’t bother. Instead, I have Toyota brake-line plugs from 4Crawler. Disconnect the lines one by one and plug both ends. Be prepared as this is messy, and your engine bay looks pretty. I used a lot of water and rags to keep the brake fluid off. I recommend you label each line so you can reconnect them in the correct order (I used my wife’s label maker). Once all the brake lines are disconnected, also disconnect them from the plastic clip that they route through (follow the lines back and you will see). You will want them to be flexible when it comes time to remove the master.
Removing the master cylinder sucks the first time. After removing all the interior dash panels, I used a snake-cam to help me orient myself to aid in disconnecting the plunger from the foot pedal. Yank the cotter pin and push a small rod that connects the master cylinder plunger to the brake pedal.
There are 4 nuts holding the master cylinder to the firewall. Disconnect each and then back to the engine bay. Now bend/move/manhandle the lines out of the way and yank that master cylinder out.
With the cylinder removed, you can easily re-pin the connector as described above. As with all Toyota connectors, you have to slide the lock (the white part) outwards slightly. Re-pin as described, wrap/clean up. Take care NOT to untwist any wires. CANbus wires need that twist to transmit data.
When reinstalling the master cylinder, measure the distance of your plunger (the rod coming off the master cylinder to the pedal). When you swap this part over to your new cylinder, you will want to keep this distance the same so that your brake pedal has the same throw/feel. Install is the opposite. Tighten it to the firewall before attempting to reattach the brake lines. As with every Toyota brake line, torque it until it isn’t moving. It says 11ftlbs which is just enough to leak everywhere. Don’t gorilla it, but I tighten them until they STOP. No more, no less.
Reattach the brake pedal by inserting the metal rod and then the cotter pin. Worst part of the job.
You have now swapped the necessary hardware and run the 2 new wires into the cab. Button up the interior, and prepare for what feels like an hour of bleeding the brakes.
To bleed the master cylinder you need techstream. You do not bench bleed. With the lines hooked up, fill the master cylinder to the full line, and put the cap on. Follow the procedure I've attached.
The final step is to do a zero point calibration. PDF attached.
With that complete, you should be good to go!
Now you can be like all those cool kids with their fancy buttons.
Step 1: Justify This Mod
“Why not get a rear locker” – Cause I did already
“Why waste your money on this” – Cause I did already. And then some. Honestly, it was more about seeing if I could than if I should.
Step 2: The Parts You Will Need
To make this work you will need a new Skid-Control ECU, control panel switch, combination meter, network gateway ECU, and skid-control connector. Bunch of wiring tools too.
Crawl Switch: 84010-60B30 – This is the new switch control unit. It uses the same connector as 2010, but with additional wires. I paid $115 on eBay.
Skid ECU Connector: 90980-12297 – I chose to use a new connector because at 10 years old, I was convinced I would be breaking plastic tabs while de-pining the connector. Also, as you have to rearrange a few wires, I was going to be disconnecting them anyway. It’s cheap peace of mind. $18 online from any of the good dealers.
Combination Meter: 83800-60Y40. You need this unit because it has the dash icons for the TA/MTS. I also figured that it would be necessary for the MTS/CC menu selection. I could not confirm whether MTS would work on the old cluster, but given the display output and that this was never an option for 2010 (unlike the GX retrofit), I figured better safe than sorry. There is an added benefit to this mod – the 2013 functions like turn-based navigation work on the 2010! Bad news #1 is Toyota doesn’t sell this anymore, so you have to scour eBay or car-part.com. Bad news #2 – you lose your mileage. I don’t sell cars that I buy, so I don’t care, but there it is.
Skid-Control ECU: 47025-60510 (as mine does not have pre-crash). On our models, the Skid-Control ECU is attached to the master cylinder. You can buy the brand new parts for $1,150 online, and then disassemble your unit (abs pump assembly) to replace certain parts, or just go on eBay and buy the entire actuator assembly which is what I did. Cost was $1,200. The benefit was that I got a newer complete assembly and was able to keep mine on the bench for repairs later. In my quest to get it to work I also bought an OEM master cylinder and swapped over parts from my 2010 because one can never have enough brake master cylinders. Easy to do, takes 10 minutes.
Network Gateway ECU: This was the part that held me up. The 2008-12 Network Gateway ECU is 89111-60060. If you read on the Lexus parts website it claims to be the same part for 2008-2013. This is a lie. 2013-15 use 89111-60080. If you do not swap this, you will still get 5-speed crawl control/color menu, but you will not get MTS/OTA. You can find them online for $150-250 used.
Cabin Harness: If you want to minimize the in-cabin re-wiring, buy/find harness 82223-60720A. This the wiring harness that connects most of the console items and the crawl switch to the main wiring harness. If you do this, you will only need to add 2 new wires, which saves you time. It’s $30.
Terminals: You are adding wires to the Skid-Control ECU. The Toyota “Terminal Repair” wire is 82998-24250. It’s $14 or some nonsense. This is a Sumitomo 025 type TS waterproof F series terminal. I bought 50 terminals from hi-1000ec.com. They ship insanely fast. For inside the cabin, you will be using a female Toyota 82998-24290, and male Toyota 82998-24270. These are Sumitomo 025 Type TS female non-waterproof and 025 Type TS male non-waterproof respectively. The ONLY place I could find these were hi-1000ec.com. If you search “sumitomo XXXXX-XXXXX” and put in the Toyota Terminal Repair part number I’ve listed, you will see these connectors. To crimp these, I went with Hozan P-706 crimpers. Again, buy in bulk so you can practice.
Wire: I went with TXL wire, not the regular store stuff. Thinner wall, great temperature resistance, easy to work with. In retrospect, I would order the sumitomo wire from hi-1000ec.com as well. It is super thin wall, and the skid control ECU connector is a tight fit, even with the correct gauge thin-wall wire.
Techstream: You really should have this anyway, but needless to say, it’s important to have this to make the project go smoothly.
Cotter pin for brake pedal – 90468-07027 – removing it is much easier if you just grab and yank. It’ll break, so replace.
Gasket – 44785-04020 – gasket between the master cylinder and the firewall. Swap in a new one.
Step 3: Install
Overall, the install is actually incredibly straightforward. Following these steps, it should take you a lazy afternoon. I would recommend you buy/rent/steal/borrow a snake camera the first time you work on disconnecting the brake pedal, trying to line it up/get oriented underneath is just a nightmare. Assuming you are going to be doing this entire job at once, make sure you slide your driver’s seat all the way back. You will need the space. DISCONNECT BATTERY.
Combination Meter – I confirmed through the FSM that the 2010/2013 combination meters received data from the same locations/systems and were pinned identically. This makes swapping the clusters literally plug and play. The only issue that I found was that my 2010 did not have an oil level sensor, so I threw an error code when I installed. In short, the combination meter wants to see 14V from the oil sensor terminal. The sensor acts as a resistor, low oil = high resistance, and when the voltage drops below 11V, you get an error. Solution is this jumper cable.
The plug here is where the oil level and pressure sensor plug in. Pins 1/3 were open on mine so I jumped them.
Voila, no error. Now I’ll find out I have no oil the old fashioned way.
To install the cluster itself, you’ll want to use techstream to turn OFF the auto retract function of the steering wheel. It needs to be all the way and all the way down. The cluster has 2 10mm bolts holding it into the dash. Simply unscrew, and then reach threw the open air vents to pop the top of the cluster out. Tilt it down and forward, and it will come right out. Unplug the old cluster and plug the new one in. Remember to put the AC vents back in after the cluster and before the rest of the trim. PDF with removal instructions is attached below.
Crawl-Control Selector Switch – This is identified as the “Integration Control & Panel Assemby”. If you have purchased the wiring harness (82223-60720A), disregard the pin-out location on the switch itself, instead look at VE3 which is the connector to the body harness. That pin-out is identical between the years. The only difference is 2013 adds a pin-out at 7 and 14. If you have not, then you will want to repin the connector coming out of the control panel to match. Let’s be honest though, if you have spent the money to get this far, buy the harness.
New harness next to old harness. Much cleaner and easier! Removal instructions are attached, easy to follow.
Below is a picture of connector VE3 where you will run the new wires to/from the skid ECU. For now it really doesn't matter which wire you put in 7 or 14, just remember it when you've run through through the firewall.
Giving myself plenty of extra wire, I wrapped them together and guided them carefully to the VE3 connector. Next, I crimped each with a Sumitomo TS 025 male connector, and plugged into VE3. The 7/14 terminals are at end of the connector which is currently unoccupied. Use the following diagram as a guide for when you connect them to the skid ECU:
Now, reassemble the dash in reverse order, but leave the leather pieces off, as you will be replacing the Network Gateway ECU/master cylinder next. Run the new wires you have through the engine bay and prepare to add them to the wiring harness. You can run them through the respective connectors if you want (EA1), but that was too much of a pain at this stage, as I was not convinced the project would even work. I may go back and connect it following the wiring diagram if/when bored.
Network Gateway ECU
Remove the door trim, kick panel, air-bag module and glove-box. It’s all 10mm bolts. The Network Gateway ECU is staring you in the face, a single 10mm bolt removes the unit and simply plug the new part in. Reassemble the dash. For the airbag module, use a pick to remove the center yellow piece and then you can unplug the connector. You must remove that center piece otherwise the connector will not disconnect.
Reassembly is easy. This job can be done without disconnecting the airbag, just prop it up as the cable is short.
Brake-Master Cylinder – There are a few wiring changes between the years.
First, there are 3 connectors present in 2010 that are not present in 2013:
28(A) – Parking Brake. No idea why it’s not present, no idea why it would need to be present. When I de-pined the connector, I sealed it up and left it there.
42(A) – WFSE (Write Flash Enable Input)
13(A) – D/G (Diagnosis Tester Serial Communication)
42(A) and 13(A) go to DLC3 (OBDII). 2013 doesn’t have them, so I pulled them and capped them as well. I don’t need to flash the skid ECU, and I don’t need to test communication with the skid-ECU from the OBD2 anyway.
Next are two connectors that swap. Use the Wits' End Tool or a sewing needle.
43(A) and 9(A) swap
45(A) and 7(A) swap
Finally the 2 connectors we are adding from the switch panel
29(A) is a new connector (OTA/EXI4 from the crawl panel) – pin 14 on VE3
13(A) is a new connector (ATRC/ECU3 from the crawl panel) – pin 7 on VE3
As discussed, I planned on replacing the entire connector because heat cycling in the engine bay kills plastic. Sure enough, I was snapping the tabs left and right just trying to remove unused terminals. Here is the terminal pin-out for reference.
I've attached the PDF for removal, but here are some highlights.
They recommend draining the brake fluid, I didn’t bother. Instead, I have Toyota brake-line plugs from 4Crawler. Disconnect the lines one by one and plug both ends. Be prepared as this is messy, and your engine bay looks pretty. I used a lot of water and rags to keep the brake fluid off. I recommend you label each line so you can reconnect them in the correct order (I used my wife’s label maker). Once all the brake lines are disconnected, also disconnect them from the plastic clip that they route through (follow the lines back and you will see). You will want them to be flexible when it comes time to remove the master.
Removing the master cylinder sucks the first time. After removing all the interior dash panels, I used a snake-cam to help me orient myself to aid in disconnecting the plunger from the foot pedal. Yank the cotter pin and push a small rod that connects the master cylinder plunger to the brake pedal.
There are 4 nuts holding the master cylinder to the firewall. Disconnect each and then back to the engine bay. Now bend/move/manhandle the lines out of the way and yank that master cylinder out.
With the cylinder removed, you can easily re-pin the connector as described above. As with all Toyota connectors, you have to slide the lock (the white part) outwards slightly. Re-pin as described, wrap/clean up. Take care NOT to untwist any wires. CANbus wires need that twist to transmit data.
When reinstalling the master cylinder, measure the distance of your plunger (the rod coming off the master cylinder to the pedal). When you swap this part over to your new cylinder, you will want to keep this distance the same so that your brake pedal has the same throw/feel. Install is the opposite. Tighten it to the firewall before attempting to reattach the brake lines. As with every Toyota brake line, torque it until it isn’t moving. It says 11ftlbs which is just enough to leak everywhere. Don’t gorilla it, but I tighten them until they STOP. No more, no less.
Reattach the brake pedal by inserting the metal rod and then the cotter pin. Worst part of the job.
You have now swapped the necessary hardware and run the 2 new wires into the cab. Button up the interior, and prepare for what feels like an hour of bleeding the brakes.
To bleed the master cylinder you need techstream. You do not bench bleed. With the lines hooked up, fill the master cylinder to the full line, and put the cap on. Follow the procedure I've attached.
The final step is to do a zero point calibration. PDF attached.
With that complete, you should be good to go!
Now you can be like all those cool kids with their fancy buttons.
