[MrBrooks]

Anyone try one of these kits? I saw these after getting our 2019 & realized that only a small dot on each side lights up on these huge tailights. At that time the kit was around $200 & from an iffy source. Now they are much cheaper & we have a 2021 XLE also so I'm thinking about doing both cars.

Looks like it taps a harness off the 3rd brake light for the inner lights & then another harness on each side for the outer lights. I watched a video of the install that seems pretty straight forward just removing plastic panels

 

[Louis hong]

it is only made the taillight looks like when you turn on the head light during the night.

 

[MrBrooks]

it is only made the taillight looks like when you turn on the head light during the night.

Correct I still feel that more of the light should light up even during daylight. The more visible the better.

I have an 18 Tacoma & those tailights are terrible also. I ended up getting a kit that adds more visibility & converts to LED from halogen bulbs. I don't understand why Toyota is designing things like this

 

[FKHeath]

Anyone try one of these kits? I saw these after getting our 2019 & realized that only a small dot on each side lights up on these huge tailights. At that time the kit was around $200 & from an iffy source. Now they are much cheaper & we have a 2021 XLE also so I'm thinking about doing both cars.

Looks like it taps a harness off the 3rd brake light for the inner lights & then another harness on each side for the outer lights. I watched a video of the install that seems pretty straight forward just removing plastic panels

View attachment 176307
View attachment 176308

I have them on order from CarTrimHome: Free Shipping LED Wiring Harness The Brake Lights Are All On For Toyota RAV4 2019-2021 Only $39.

 

[toofastforyou]

Does it light up only the brake lights?...What happens when the parking lights are on and you press the brake pedal? I don't know if the larger lights on the tailgate have provisions for two intensities...one for the parking lights and one brighter for brake lights?
Claude.

 

[FKHeath]

Does it light up only the brake lights?...What happens when the parking lights are on and you press the brake pedal? I don't know if the larger lights on the tailgate have provisions for two intensities...one for the parking lights and one brighter for brake lights?
Claude.

I don't know as well, but I can update this thread when my kit comes in and I have it installed.

 

[MrBrooks]

I have them on order from CarTrimHome: Free Shipping LED Wiring Harness The Brake Lights Are All On For Toyota RAV4 2019-2021 Only $39.

I saw this website when searching but then found them on Amazon for the same price labeled brand XGR so I ordered 2 sets. Looks like the same kits

 

[MrBrooks]

Does it light up only the brake lights?...What happens when the parking lights are on and you press the brake pedal? I don't know if the larger lights on the tailgate have provisions for two intensities...one for the parking lights and one brighter for brake lights?
Claude.

It looks like it does. I was skeptical also! Here's a video showing towards the end after he installs the kit at 9:20

 

[JFox562]

I ordered my harness set from Amazon yesterday after researching my build. I was concerned since I have the subwoofer on the one side in the back. I wanted to make sure that I could access the plug before ordering. It's a tight fit for my hand, but with a screwdriver to release the catch, I was able to unplug the connector and then plug it back in. Actually, the other side was even tighter. Not sure why but I think I can do it.

After I order the harness set, I all of a sudden got nervous regarding the accuracy of the wiring. Since this is tapping into the harness to run a wire to something different, how can we be sure that nothing will get damaged when the new harness' are installed?

This is the one I ordered. For some reason, there is a different one for hybrids:

Amazon.com: XGR Brake Light Wiring Harness Compatible with Toyota RAV4 2019 2020 2021, Wiring Harness for All Tail Light Turn On （Fuel Version ） : Automotive

Buy XGR Brake Light Wiring Harness Compatible with Toyota RAV4 2019 2020 2021, Wiring Harness for All Tail Light Turn On （Fuel Version ）: Tail Light Assemblies - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Colonel]

I did this for our Sonata moons ago and it really classes up the rear end to have the tail gate/trunk match the corner.

So this makes the rear activate the brake light across hatch regardless of parking lights?

EDIT: Ok after reading JFoxs amazon link I get the comments above. This does not activate "brake" intensity light (because, duh). It just activates the existing LEDs when you press the brake pedal.

 

[Colonel]

After I order the harness set, I all of a sudden got nervous regarding the accuracy of the wiring. Since this is tapping into the harness to run a wire to something different, how can we be sure that nothing will get damaged when the new harness' are installed?

If you have a DVM you can measure the destination pinouts to see what the voltage change is when you have someone press the pedal.

 

[SmellyTofu]

I did mine with a Japanese sourced harness plus added the lower bumper reflector to also be parking/brake lights. Makes a big difference to the visibility of the brake lights.

 

[MrBrooks]

I got my kits from Amazon & installed one of them on the 2021. I checked out the connectors, pins & the termination and everything looks very good quality. I followed the directions from the video I posted earlier & it was very easy but I've been doing this kind of stuff for a long time. The tailgate part was simple but it was a little tricky getting access to the connectors for the outer side lights from the side cargo area panels.

I can confirm that now the whole light will light up when the brake light comes on & not just the side "dots" along with the 3rd brake light. This is basically a daytime mod as the tailights already do this at night time when the dash sensor detects sunlight or darkness. I tried to get pictures but it was too hard to capture the full effect. I did test with all the different functions of the headlight stalk in Auto, off, parking etc... & this kit does exactly what I was wanting to do to make the Rav4's tailights more visible during the daytime. It's been something that has annoyed me for a couple years now seeing them in traffic or following my wife somewhere.

Here is the kit I got & is the same as @JFox562 ordered from Amazon branded XGR

 

[JFox562]

I got my kits from Amazon & installed one of them on the 2021. I checked out the connectors, pins & the termination and everything looks very good quality. I followed the directions from the video I posted earlier & it was very easy but I've been doing this kind of stuff for a long time. The tailgate part was simple but it was a little tricky getting access to the connectors for the outer side lights from the side cargo area panels.

I can confirm that now the whole light will light up when the brake light comes on & not just the side "dots" along with the 3rd brake light. This is basically a daytime mod as the tailights already do this at night time when the dash sensor detects sunlight or darkness. I tried to get pictures but it was too hard to capture the full effect. I did test with all the different functions of the headlight stalk in Auto, off, parking etc... & this kit does exactly what I was wanting to do to make the Rav4's tailights more visible during the daytime. It's been something that has annoyed me for a couple years now seeing them in traffic or following my wife somewhere.

Here is the kit I got & is the same as @JFox562 ordered from Amazon branded XGR

Thank you for the pictures.

I've been scouring over the wiring diagrams for both the stop light and the brake light (see attached).

There are a few things I haven't been able to figure out since I don't have the altered wiring the new harness will make. Watching the video, it doesn't make sense that tail lights on the cargo door get brighter since they already have 12 volts going to them when on. Then I can't figure out why the license plate lights don't get brighter since they are wired into the same power source as the cargo door tail lights. The other theory I have is I read somewhere that there was a European rear fog light. Maybe the altered wiring harness is accessing this connection.

MrBrooks, when was your 2019 built and was it built in Japan? Mine was built in Dec 2018 and the reason I ask, the color of the wires going to the cargo door lights on mine are 3 white and 1 white with a black stripe. This is different than in the video. My concern is the brake light control taps off the same line that goes to the Skid Control ECU. I don't want to feed additional voltage back up this line and blow out the ECU if mine is wired differently. I had already discovered that my front turn signals have 3 wires and most other RAV4's only have 2. So you can see my concern about correct wiring.

 

[JFox562]

If you have a DVM you can measure the destination pinouts to see what the voltage change is when you have someone press the pedal.

Yep. I am well versed on DVM's but it would be nice to have a pinout for the new harness. I am now wondering if that would actually help since they might be using part of the light assembly not used in North America if my rear fog light theory is correct. Knowing where voltage is going is one thing but if it's going to an undocumented empty pin then all hope is lost of figuring out what it is actually doing in the end.

But it was a good idea.

 

[MrBrooks]

Watching the video, it doesn't make sense that tail lights on the cargo door get brighter since they already have 12 volts going to them when on.

I believe they are tapping into the signal from the 3rd brake light to illuminate the LED's in the tailights for brakes that weren't activated normally while headlights/parking lights are off. This mod only seems to trigger in this situation.

This gets complicated because of the daylight sensor near the windshield for the auto headlights on the stalk. During the day the LED headlights look like they are on low beam but they are actually a lower voltage DRL signal that aren't triggering running lights on the tailights.

Remember this is a 12 volt system & not always flowing 12 volts. Voltage can be variable for example I have DRL's on the headlights of my Tacoma that are bright when my low beams are off but switch to dim when low beams are turned on. There is a module that controls the amount of voltage for both senerios so they are bright & high vis during the day but then dim at night since they don't need to be so visible when the low beams are now on

Kind of hard to explain in full but I hope this helps

 

[MrBrooks]

Both the 2019 & 2021 were built in Canada

 

[SmellyTofu]

It's more than just tapping into the CHMSL but also a one way diode so that when the rear parking lights energise as the brake circuit is closed that it doesn't light up the front parkers or anything inside.

Also if you've noticed a Mazda CX5 brake lights, it's also how the light up their brake lights during the day time with the rear parking lights

 

[JFox562]

It's more than just tapping into the CHMSL but also a one way diode so that when the rear parking lights energise as the brake circuit is closed that it doesn't light up the front parkers or anything inside.

Also if you've noticed a Mazda CX5 brake lights, it's also how the light up their brake lights during the day time with the rear parking lights

Yep, this is what I was think as well. Back in the day I had a 1980 SR5 pickup with a camper shell on the back. It had a light inside but you had to manually turn it on after you opened the hatch. I added magnet switches to the hatch so the light would come on when opened but I powered it from the interior dome light of the truck. My thought was since I had the sliding glass window always open between the cab and the camper shell, I wanted to light it up when I opened a door. This all worked fine except for the fact that the dome light would also come on when I opened the hatch. A simple diode addition prevented this from happening so I can imagine how they could have done this in the new harness.

My concern is if my early Japanese built 2019 is wired like all the rest.

If anyone is interested, here is what I have deciphered:

Connectors N18 and M14 are in the rear fender areas and support the lights not on the hatch door. They have a 4 pin connector.
They are wired as such:

1. Running Light
2. Brake Light
3. Ground
4. Turn Signal Light

Connectors R6 and R7 are in the hatch area which includes the backup light and running light array. They too have a 4 pin connector.
They are wired as such:

1. Backup Light
2. Running Light (this pin also powers the license plate lights)
3. ??? ( I couldn't find any reference to this pin in either connector.)
4. Ground

I am comfortable about the rewiring of N18 and M14 and I can see where a diode would prevent the brake light from coming on when the running lights are turned on.

The issue I have is pin 3 of connectors R6 and R7. Mine has 4 wires in both connectors. What does this pin 3 do?

I understand that the new harness for the hatch bring the 12V signal down to R6 and R7, but what pin does it go to?

Also, as you can see in the picture, the 4 pin connector must be on a distribution board since the Blue and White wires are the backup light bulb socket and I would imagine that the Green and Black wires are for the running lights. Since they both need a ground wire, that makes 3 wires needed in this area. What's the 4th wire used for?

Sorry, I'm a technical writer and have issues with getting all of the details for a project.

Needless to say, I will be doing my research on the harness' once mine arrives on Monday from Amazon.

 

[FKHeath]

It's more than just tapping into the CHMSL but also a one way diode so that when the rear parking lights energise as the brake circuit is closed that it doesn't light up the front parkers or anything inside.

I got my brake light kit from CarTrimHome today and installed it. Works as advertised (single intensity on parking light part when brakes are applied).

The main difficulty I had was I also have the OEM trailer wire harness which plugs into the same connectors for the tail lights, and the instructions for the trailer wiring harness have you wrap the connectors in sticky foam to reduce rattles. Thus I had to peel off the sticky foam to disconnect them. This wiring mod should go between the rear lights and the trailer wire harness, not between the trailer wire harness and the body wiring.

The installation videos on the CarTrimHome web site have you remove the large rear inside panel on the tail gate, but you don't have to do that. Just remove the access covers where the hatch lights are, and fish the new wires down the side.

I also found that removing the lower D ring (10mm head bolt) on the side panels gave me more room to peel off the sticky foam tape on the trailer wiring harness connectors.