Replace horn with REAL horn

[TonyWilliams]

So, in other words, exactly what the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that I posted previously requires from the dealer / manufacturer.

No, he referenced another source; something in the California statutes.

Yes, there are those, too.

 

[Luke26]

I changed the horns out for a more robust version that Feature steel housing and plastic projector, can be mounted singly or as duals (I highly recommend a high and a low dual install) at 130 dB:

FIAMM 72112 Low Note (420hz) Freeway Blaster Horn

http://www.fiamm.com/Horns-F-Freeway-Blaster-Low-Note-Zone-21-typeLBU84L117A127-Prod-956-561

FIAMM 72102 High Note (500hz) Freeway Blaster Horn

http://www.fiamm.com/Horns-E-Freeway-Blaster-High-Note-Zone-21-typeLBU84L117A127-Prod-957-561

Many people are happy with the compact "El Grande" model (frequency
405-485):

http://www.fiamm.com/Horns-El-Grande-Twin---P-N-74100-Twin-Electric-Horns-Zone-21-typeLBU84L110A127-Prod-997-561


It's super easy to do. Just remove the plastic cover over the radiator (pop the center plastic pins in to loosen the fasteners). Page 356 in the owner's manual tells you how to remove the motor compartment cover. Then remove the two 12mm hex head bolts that hold the radiator in.

Remove the top radiator brackets (they just slide up, off the radiator) and push the radiator assembly towards the windshield. You'll see the two horns on the driver's side, mounted high, in front of the radiator. You'll need a 12mm hex head wrench to remove the hangars. If you want to "go for it", just remove the 10mm hex head nuts from the center of the horn and reuse the hangars.

Don't drop any bolts or nuts because you will have to remove the lower motor cover from the bottom of the car to retrieve them. It's not hard, but you have to crawl under the car with a 10mm socket and short extension, and a flat screw driver.

Pictured is the stock Low tone horn (420 hz) with the replacement Fiamm horn. The high tone horn looks the same (500 hz), but is not pictured:

Thank you Tony for the clear instructions. I replaced the OEM horns with a dual Fiamm install, and they sound great! It took me less than an hour. I actually spent some time checking out the high and low note horns separately, then together. What a difference. I highly recommend this small project.

 

[mudpie]

I was planning on taking off the front bumper cover (seems like it is only 4-5 screws and a bunch of pop-up/push-in fasteners)...until I saw this post about pushing back the radiator.
Which do you suppose is easier? Do you just use the existing connector, albeit without the latching feature?

Nobody can claim 100% that they know that a big company like Toyota would do in a warranty dispute situation. But seriously, changing 12-volt horns for other 12-volt horns is not changing the electrical system, and removing a bumper cover and putting it back is not changing the mechanical structure...neither the ECU (engine computer), nor any people (mechanics), would know. If you got into a fender bender and it pushed your bumper cover into the horns to break 'em, would the electrical and powertrain sections of the warranty be voided? No, that would be silly.

I'm saddened by people's fear of making modifications DUE TO an unfortunate instilled FEAR OF LIABILITY, DAMAGE, & WARRANTY VOIDING. I was doing light modding and fixing of cars before I even had my driver's license, and the confidence it gave me to diagnose, fix, and customize things in general was an invaluable life skill. I'm struggling to teach my kids the same confidence and practical skill, rather than have all of their achievement be virtual from 'winning' on IPAD games.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I was planning on taking off the front bumper cover (seems like it is only 4-5 screws and a bunch of pop-up/push-in fasteners)...until I saw this post about pushing back the radiator.
Which do you suppose is easier? Do you just use the existing connector, albeit without the latching feature?

I'm not sure what you're asking. The radiator is only moved to allow my big fat hand in there.

Then, you return the radiator to its normal position.

 

[mudpie]

Tony, I was just wondering if it would be easier overall to remove the bumper cover to have plenty of space to reach in and unbolt the horns.

Also, do you just use the existing connector, slipping it over the metal tab of the FIAMM horn without using the latching feature, or did you cut off and replace the existing connector with a crimp-on spade or something?

 

[mudpie]

Done. Did as Tony suggested and just removed two bolts/brackets and pushed the radiator back. Took an hour -- much of that because the horns both wanted to rotate and not let me loosen the nut, and I just couldn't get two hands in there to stop the rotation of the horns.
I like this upgrade to use on those crazies texting on their cell phones.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Tony, I was just wondering if it would be easier overall to remove the bumper cover to have plenty of space to reach in and unbolt the horns.

Also, do you just use the existing connector, slipping it over the metal tab of the FIAMM horn without using the latching feature, or did you cut off and replace the existing connector with a crimp-on spade or something?

Yes, reused the existing electrical connection.

I don't know about it being "easier" to remove the bumper cover. Why don't you try it and post the details?

 

[Khaihon]

Thanks to Tony's instruction and some steps on Rav4world, I was able to do the horn mod. No broken clips or weird unsettled installations, just overall pretty smooth. I recorded the process and will post the video up later today (or this week). Overall, very easy. I even dropped a bolt and had to pop off a couple of the holders on underneath the car. Although I dreaded it, it wasn't too bad and I didnt have to remove the whole bottom cover. I've never done any work on any car so this was a pretty big personal accomplishment for me. The feels man!

EDIT: Finished. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J630MaTAAfA

 

[Khaihon]

A day after my horn installation, it stopped working. I found out that after I washed my car, I flooded the horns with water because I had mounted the horns with the horn end facing up. Oops. After I drained them, I reinstalled the horns so that they face down. This was a little tricky because the connecting wire seemed like it was too short. After some wiggling I did manage to get the wires connected to the horns and now they work again.

 

[Conan]

I installed the Grande horns and they didnt really make a huge difference. I would say it was not worth the headache/cost/chance of messing with the warranty or fighting the dealer over the warranty/horns.

I did have a hard time removing the first horn. It was bolted on very very tightly. Literally took me 30 mins to get it off. I had to charge my 18v Makita hammer drill to get it to unscrew the bolt.

Anyways, If I could do it all over again, I wouldnt go with the Grande, id go with the other pair the original poster went with. Or I would not bother at all.

I do have a video of before and after. Ill try to upload to youtube and link to it.

 

[sbessel]

Just got the Rav4 EV for my wife, and neither of us are happy with the horn.

I installed one of these: http://screaming-banshee.com/all-products/full-banshee-horn-system-black-horn-1.html
on my daughters PT Cruiser and it works great.

I think I will try one on the Rav4.

Scott

 

[crxpilot]

Just got the Rav4 EV for my wife, and neither of us are happy with the horn.

I installed one of these: http://screaming-banshee.com/all-products/full-banshee-horn-system-black-horn-1.html
on my daughters PT Cruiser and it works great.

I think I will try one on the Rav4.

Scott

I wish i could install one of those ships foghorns!

 

[n3ckf]

it seems to be popular around here to install train horns on cars. I've seen 2 different vehicles (both pickups) with one installed.

However those are compressed air horns so they require a compressor to operate. Likely not enough space in the Rav4 to mount one...

 

[TonyWilliams]

it seems to be popular around here to install train horns on cars. I've seen 2 different vehicles (both pickups) with one installed.

However those are compressed air horns so they require a compressor to operate. Likely not enough space in the Rav4 to mount one...

Stebel Nautilus compact dual tone motorcycle air horn:

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/stebel-nautilus-compact-dual-tone-motorcycle-air-horn-12-volt-139-db-black-or-chrome

 

[sbessel]

The advantage of the Screaming Banshee horn I posted is it gives the best of both worlds. You can still give a polite beep when needed, but press for longer and you get the full blast of a VERY loud horn, and you can also wire it to pulse the headlights. You want to get noticed, this is the method. I can tell you it saved my daughter in her PT Cruiser as well as mine on my bike countless times.

As soon as my wife gives me clearance to mess with her car a bit I will put one on the Rav4EV.

Scott

 

[Lexy Thompson]

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Check : https://www.sickspeed.com/product/chrome-vintage-ooga-horn-chr-ooga-horn for best deals.

 

[asavage]

The wire harness on my 2014 does not have the two long separate wires, one to each horn, as shown in this picture from upthread:

Instead, it's a single wire to one connector, then a branch from the first to second connector. That branch wire is fairly short, 4-5"?

Like Conan, I was unwilling to apply enough force to the 10mm nut on the outboard horn's stud to break it loose; the entire bracket & horn support member was flexing quite a bit and I found it hard to backstop the horn to apply counter-torque. The weather was good, I decided to remove the whole horn support member and work outside the vehicle. I don't recommend doing this, as although the horn support member comes out fairly straightforward, reinstalling it is a more advanced topic, due to having to position the two outboard bolts without dropping them. It's tricky. I dropped both, they both came out on the driveway, but I also have a very good magnet-on-a-stick as a backup.

I bought two low-tone Fiamms, and while the packages imply that one is F and the other B, they both are within a few beats of the same tone, definitely nowhere near a fourth apart. They are plenty loud for me.

I used:

Fiamm 72112 Freeway Blaster LOW Note Horn, $16
and
Fiamm 72012 LOW Note Replacement Horn, $12

Both have a limited lifetime warranty and are made in the USA.

Be sure to mount them horn down or they've been reported to fill up with water when going through a car wash.

I had to try a few different mounting options and orientations in order to get the terminals oriented close enough together to use the factory wire harness without modification.

The Fiamms' stud is 8mm and would not fit into the factory horns' original mount bars, so I used the supplied mount bars. Additionally, the instructions sheet that comes with the horns indicate that using their mount bars is required, and that it affects their warranty if they are not used.