Add an extra USB socket to the rear passengers

[JoaoM]

It's widely discussed and recognised that Toyota left some small details out of their priorities when developing and building the 12th Generation of the Corolla. One of them is the placement of the USB ports: the only one with AA/ACP connection to the infotainment system is placed near the front passenger knees, another inside the armrest compartment. I have 3 kids and it's not practical to run a long wire (that I'd have to buy) from the armrest box port to one of the seats. And there are 3 potential users on the back for one outlet.

I've checked the drawings and it's fairly easy to disassemble the rear cover of the console and the cigarette lighter and USB socket mount to be able to add something like this:

 

Connecting this to the 120W lighter will be easy and won't disturb the car's electric system. My only doubt is regarding the quality of this devices made by unknown companies in the far east. Did anyone tried to do something like this?

 

[RzrAzr]

Interestingly enough, Japanese Corollas come with additional 2 USB ports for rear passengers, BUT without air vents behind the armrest.

I would go for a brand name charger from Anker or similar

 

[AndrueC]

Toyota's choice in this was weird. My previous car was a Honda Jazz and it had three USB sockets. One under the dash and two in the armrest. All of them supported full power charging and USB 3.0. I have never understood why Toyota went for the paltry number they did nor why only one supports full power charging (and doesn't support data - WTF?).

With my Jazz I could leave my Apple iPod inside the armrest out of the way. With the Corolla it had to be in view under the centre console.

Mind you the Jazz also had an HDMI socket under the dash which could be used to present audio on the infotainment unit. Sounds vaguely clever until you realise that it was a low-resolution display. Oh and the HDMI socket was disabled when the car was moving.

[Arno C.]

Hi JoaoM,

I found this topic and your solution for a USB charger looks great!
Could you share how you did the wiring? Today I opened up the arm rest and found 1 connector to the lighter (2 poles).
Were you able to easily attach the wires of the USB port? And do the wires run through the armrest compartment or were you able to route them in another way? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Arno

[simond64]

On 10/29/2021 at 12:32 PM, JoaoM said:

It's widely discussed and recognised that Toyota left some small details out of their priorities when developing and building the 12th Generation of the Corolla. One of them is the placement of the USB ports: the only one with AA/ACP connection to the infotainment system is placed near the front passenger knees, another inside the armrest compartment. I have 3 kids and it's not practical to run a long wire (that I'd have to buy) from the armrest box port to one of the seats. And there are 3 potential users on the back for one outlet.

I've checked the drawings and it's fairly easy to disassemble the rear cover of the console and the cigarette lighter and USB socket mount to be able to add something like this:

 

Connecting this to the 120W lighter will be easy and won't disturb the car's electric system. My only doubt is regarding the quality of this devices made by unknown companies in the far east. Did anyone tried to do something like this?

 

I have a my23 excel TS and it has 2 usb c ports in the rear and air vents so maybe it’s down to the trim level

[JoaoM]

2 hours ago, simond64 said:

I have a my23 excel TS and it has 2 usb c ports in the rear and air vents so maybe it’s down to the trim level

No, you have it because yours is a newer version with the small restyling and corrections. Updated engines too, with more power.

[JoaoM]

5 hours ago, Arno C. said:

Hi JoaoM,

I found this topic and your solution for a USB charger looks great!
Could you share how you did the wiring? Today I opened up the arm rest and found 1 connector to the lighter (2 poles).
Were you able to easily attach the wires of the USB port? And do the wires run through the armrest compartment or were you able to route them in another way? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Arno

It's very easy. You have to check the+ and - of the cigarette lighter and then solder the leads of your new usb plug. You can easily route it through the structure and bring them to the back of the armrest where you have installed the new usb outlet. Then it's just plug and play. It has a polarity that you have to respect.

Don't drill too high or the lid will bump into it.

Pick the version with a fuse inline with one of the leads.

[50p]

13 hours ago, simond64 said:

I have a my23 excel TS and it has 2 usb c ports in the rear and air vents.

hmm, wonder how much it would cost and how easy to buy these parts and retro-fit?

[Corollanutter]

29 minutes ago, 50p said:

hmm, wonder how much it would cost and how easy to buy these parts and retro-fit?

Knowing the cost of Toyota parts (in fact most car spares these days) - probably and arm and a leg....

 

[simond64]

14 hours ago, JoaoM said:

It's very easy. You have to check the+ and - of the cigarette lighter and then solder the leads of your new usb plug. You can easily route it through the structure and bring them to the back of the armrest where you have installed the new usb outlet. Then it's just plug and play. It has a polarity that you have to respect.

Don't drill too high or the lid will bump into it.

Pick the version with a fuse inline with one of the leads.

If you do this I would think your warranty could be at risk, if anything goes wrong, we now have a 10 year warranty

[Arno C.]

15 hours ago, JoaoM said:

It's very easy. You have to check the+ and - of the cigarette lighter and then solder the leads of your new usb plug. You can easily route it through the structure and bring them to the back of the armrest where you have installed the new usb outlet. Then it's just plug and play. It has a polarity that you have to respect.

Don't drill too high or the lid will bump into it.

Pick the version with a fuse inline with one of the leads.

Thanks a lot! I'm not able to solder myself I'm afraid. I've been looking for some connectors that you could attach to the default one which could split it - so i wouldn't require soldering - but so far I came up empty. I think I'll leave it for now. Thanks a lot for your quick reply!

[JoaoM]

4 hours ago, simond64 said:

If you do this I would think your warranty could be at risk, if anything goes wrong, we now have a 10 year warranty

I don't mind loosing the warranty of the cigarette lighter and the armrest 😝. It's not the car warranty that is affected, just the parts you change. And even that it's arguable as I'm a mechanical engineer, I know what I did and the interference with all systems that may happen in consequence of that intervention (very limited).