Installation of Rostra Cruise Control on a 2003 Tacoma

Similar to others that have posted on this site, I was taken by surprise when I discovered, after purchase (my fault), that my used but modern automobile did not have factory cruise control. Every new car I have bought since 1989, including a bare bones Nissan Hardbody 4x4 26 years ago, had cruise control even if a power package was not included! Aghast, I was. Maybe even gobsmacked! So I did the research and decided to try installation of an aftermarket cruise control, Rostra brand. Once I had this product in hand, I just became more and more confused from reading the instructions. The main instruction booklet is more of an overview of installation with broad variations on the procedure based on make of car, and not at all specific for Tacoma. Adding to my confusion, each box/component had very specific instructions for Tacoma, but it was difficult for me to wrap my mind around the whole project as each instruction sheet did not have a context for where/when to start and in what order. So I put the box of parts aside for almost a year until I had a few days free to concentrate, knowing I would have to partially disassemble the dash (I hate doing that; in retrospect it wasn't too bad) and the vehicle would be out of service for a day or two.

Turns out the Rostra instructions are pretty good; you just have to decide in what order to proceed. Also, I found this string on TW that helped me immensely https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...allation-on-2002-v6-auto.154342/#post-5910889 . Most of what I will post here is just an embellishment of this thread, and I want to thank Sign Guy for leading the way; I couldn't have done it without your help, buddy.

I purchased the components from www.thecruisecontrolstore.com, also known as M&R Electronics. They sent me everything I needed in one shipment, and their friendly customer support when I got stuck once was very helpful. Total cost, including shipping, was $308 (June 2014 prices.)

Let's do this. My new best friend is a 2003 extended cab, 2.7L 4WD SR5 with a manual transmission, still mostly stock with a few small improvements.

The Rostra kit included:
Item 250-1223 Rostra Ultracruise II module
Item 250-3742 Rostra Universal left mount column switch
Item 250-4326 Tacoma/T 100 throttle adapter
Item 250-4206 Rostra Universal Disengagement switch (for the clutch pedal)
The Rostra kit is complete with most everything needed for the installation.

I started under the hood, picking first an installation site for the module and the module bracket. On the passenger side of the engine compartment I found a suitable open space with several options of pre-drilled and threaded holes; I chose to mount to the inside of the fender, but could have just as easily picked some holes on the vertical side of the compartment. A little bending of the bracket with the bench vise and some channel locks, a trip to the hardware store for some metric bolts, and the module bracket was installed.

TheCruiseControlStore's instructions state how to set the switches in the module (under the rubber plug) for the specific engine. I used a small screwdriver to gently toggle the switches for the 2.7 L:
1=on 2=off 3=on 4=off 5=off 6=off 7=on 8=off 9=off 10=on
11=off (manual trans in my case) 12=off.
Easy-peasy but don't forget to set those switches BEFORE you screw the module to the bracket or you will have to take some stuff apart later. I left the module-to-bracket screws a bit loose for the moment in case I decided to change things up, but tightened them down once everything under the hood was hooked up. The instructions also caution to not overtighten the module-to-bracket screws which are basically large sheet metal screws going into the plastic housing.

Next I installed the Throttle Adapter Kit. There are good instructions that come with this kit on how to form threads on the cruise control cable cover, install the cruise cable bracket onto the truck's throttle cable bracket, and put the Throttle Lever Bracket onto the truck's throttle. Again, this sounds complicated but does become clear once one studies the diagrams and inspects the throttle mechanism.

Here is the cruise cable bracket (Black piece)in place on the vehicle's throttle cable bracket.


Here is the Throttle Lever Bracket installed on the throttle pulley. There is not much room to get a wrench on that pivot nut; be patient and find a skinny wrench!


Next the bead chain was attached to the Throttle Lever Bracket Pin.



I gently looped the cruise control cable along the firewall and across the engine in kind of an "S" pattern, attached it to the cruise cable bracket, and attached the bead chain to the cruise control cable.


Now it was time to run all the wires from the module to the passenger compartment. There is a hole in the firewall to the right of the brake cylinder, and it has a rubber grommet in it that can easily be pried out. I put some slits in this grommet.



I then disconnected the mating connectors of the cruise harness so I could pass the harness (group of colored wires in the photos) along the firewall, through the rubber grommet and then through the firewall. I reconnected the connectors inside the passenger compartment.


There is a ground wire from the harness that needs to be attached to something. I chose this handy bolt on the firewall.


I covered the wiring harness with 3/8" plastic wire conduit to keep it protected.


Ugh, now it was time to tackle the dash disassembly and the inevitable upside-down under-the-dash tight-workspace nightmare. I found a great site on the internet called YouTube. Anything you need to do, someone has made a video of it, and God bless those people. There were several good videos of how to take apart selected areas of the Tacoma dash.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE DOING ANY ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

At this point I had a bunch of wires on the driver's side floor; Rostra provides plenty of length to the wiring harness so you can be creative on how you route it. There is only one wire, the gray one (for the VSS or Vehicle Speed Sensor), that needs to be taken under/through the dash to the passenger side where it can be spliced into the harness of the ECM. I was very nervous about this because I am not that comfortable with electrical systems, and it did not sound like a very good idea to me to basically compromise the integrity of wires that go to or from car computers. Rostra provides a number of Scotchlok connectors with the kit, and a friend of mine told me these are accepted in the industry as a reliable and safe way to make splices (Thanks, Ben). I took my time to isolate wires and make sure I had everything situated properly before I crushed down on any Scotchlok connector, and it all turned out well. I guess I will know in 10 years or so if the connections are stable.

There is another long wire, the blue one (Tach wire) that I was confused about. I called TheCruiseControlStore (M&R Electronics) to verify that this wire should be grounded. The answer was Yes, ground that wire, because it doesn't work correctly in Tacomas. Now, I am not sure this is the case for vehicles with automatic transmissions, but at least for vehicles with manual transmissions and the clutch disengagement switch installed, the blue wire goes to ground. I used a bolt on the handbrake assembly for grounding (This photo is out of the actual work order as I worked on the passenger side first, then came to the driver's side and removed some dash components to access the handbrake, brake pedal and clutch pedal. See further below for how to do that.)


It was time to take some of the dash apart. I'm going to digress from the CC install here. I had also recently purchased a GROM Car Kit to hook into the back of the stock radio so I can play music from my phone or a USB drive. The wire harness from this little unit plugs into the CD Changer connection on the radio, so I started the dash disassembly by removing the central plastic components around the radio and climate control switches. Thank you, YouTube. Start by removing the ashtray and then push in on the center button of the plastic pin on either side of the center molded plastic near the floor, remove the pins and gently pull back on this section and lay it down.


Remove the climate control knobs and gently pull out that small instrument panel. A little hook of some type is helpful here. I used my angled screwdriver to get behind the panel to pull back.


I next removed some screws that secured the radio and climate control electronics. While I had the climate controls out I replaced a couple of burned-out bulbs that light the control panel. Dang, $8 EACH at Toyota for the 3 little, tiny bulbs. Toyota is pretty proud of those bulbs! I hooked up the GROM wire to the back of the radio and exited it down by the floor on the passenger side, and later hooked up the GROM module. So cool! If you're going to ride in a cage, you got to have tunes. I don't have very detailed photos of this part of the installation, but it is not difficult. With the radio and climate controls out of the way, it is easier to pass the gray VSS wire through the dash to the passenger side.


GROM harness and how I mounted the unit after everything was put back together.


To get to the wires of the ECM the glove box was removed and the air duct behind the glove box also came out. The air duct slides to one side for removal/replacement. I forgot to take photos of this part of the disassembly, but it is straightforward. Here is the air duct behind the glove box that needs to come out.


I found a garage door remote control opener behind the glove box, left there by the previous owner; that was the source of an annoying little rattle that is now cured. Yay!
The wire you are looking for is a green/orange wire going to (coming from?) one of the plugs behind the now-removed air duct. The wires need to be separated a little and there is not much room to work. I used a Scotchlok connector to splice the gray wire into that green/orange VSS wire. Minor mistake I made here; just to make things look right when the plug is put back in I should have reversed that Scotchlok so the gray wire was pointed out the other direction. No big deal.


That was all that needed to be done on the passenger side. Reassembly was in the reverse order - Replace the plug into the ECM, put the air duct back in, reinstall the glove box, replace the climate controls and radio, replace the climate control panel and knobs, replace the lower center molded plastic and ashtray.

Next I did some disassembly on the driver's side. The molded plastic panel under the steering column comes off after removing 5 bolts, I think (no photo). The air duct on this side was removed by taking out two screws and fiddling and finessing and doing a little cussing, but that allowed much better access to the pedals. Here are photos of the duct mounting screws and the duct out of the vehicle.


There is a connector at the brake pedal switch. I unplugged that connector. The wires from that connector need to be separated to find the Green/Yellow wire and the Green/White wire. The red wire from the cruise harness was spliced into the green/yellow wire, and the violet wire #2 from the cruise harness was spliced into the green/white wire (There are 2 violet wires, one for clutch pedal and one for brake pedal. I don't think it matters which of the violet wires goes to which pedal.) I again used Scotchlok connectors, and I should have reversed the direction of the connectors so the cruise harness wires were pointing out the other direction, just for the sake of tidiness. The violet wires from each pedal need to be connected to each other as well. There are very good diagrams included with the kit that show how the brake and clutch disengagement wires are to be connected.



I replugged the connector into the brake switch. This is when I also did the grounding of the blue Tach wire to the handbrake assembly.

I purchased the clutch disconnect switch with the Rostra kit. This needs to be installed, on manual transmission vehicles, to prevent engine over-rev if the clutch pedal is depressed while the cruise control is engaged. Remember, the Tach wire has been grounded and will not read an over-rev condition. To install the clutch disconnect switch (Universal Disengagement Switch), I first removed the stop bolt at the clutch pedal, then threaded the disconnect switch into the same hole the stop bolt was in. I thought it would be so much harder, for some reason. Super easy! Here is a photo of the clutch disconnect switch installed.


The Violet Wire #1 of the cruise control harness was then connected to the clutch disconnect switch. The brown power wire from the cruise control harness was run to the fuse panel; I attached it into the fuse for Accessory and it works fine there. I would welcome anyone's advice for using one of the other fuse sites. Here are photos of the fuse box and the cruise harness on the floor after connecting both the brake and clutch disconnect wires.



I disassembled the cover of the steering column; there was one screw on either side of the steering wheel and one underneath the column. Then the column cover came off so I could install the control switch. I drilled a 3/8" hole in my selected location of the left side of the upper half of the cover. (I spent some time playing with locations before I selected a spot for the switch, and I found several photos on the internet showing the switch in different positions. Ultimately I put it in about the same place as Sign Guy's photos show. It is readily visible there and easily reached.) The switch was easily installed in this hole. One can make some adjustment of the position of the switch in the hole (angled a few mm up, down, forward or backward) for where it might be most easily seen. The switch plugged into the cruise control harness and the steering column was reassembled. Here are photos of the screws to remove for the column cover, the location of the hole I drilled and the switch in place.



I bundled up the cruise control harness wires with cable ties and stowed it all up under the dash neat and tidy. Then I reinstalled the air duct on this side (more fiddling and finessing and cussing) and replaced the lower dash panel. I reconnected the battery cable, turned the ignition switch to ON, checked the cruise switch and, holy cow, the green light came on. I got on the freeway heading out of town and tried the CC. PERFECT! There is no more delay in the take-up than I have ever felt in any factory-installed cruise control. Happy am I, and my right foot will not experience cramping on road trips anymore. All-in-all I probably had 15 hours of work time to install this, but I was working slowly, taking photos, and musing over every step. If I had to do it again right now I bet I could do it in half that time. I will update this post if I have any further comments or problems. Thanks for reading!

 

Thanks for posting! I too was surprised to find my truck did not have cruise control.

Looks like a lot of work and wiring!

 

Thanks for great write-up, I knew my 01 Tacoma had after market cruise control but had no idea who made it, it's the same brand as yours, thanks.

 

The wiring was, all-in-all, fairly simple. One wire for the VSS at the ECM harness, two spliced into the brake harness, two wires grounded. The Rostra cable had connectors for the clutch pedal disconnect and the control switch so those were easy. The hardest part, for me, was just working under the dash in confined space.

 

Could you post all the part #'s used? I am looking to upgrade but every system I have seen online seems very confusing to install.

I have a no-name cruise control installed in my truck and it surges like a crazy on the highway, doesnt always engage, overall big piece of crap.

 

I swear I saw someone posted on here that all tacomas come shipped with everything set up for cruise but the actual lever on the column is missing if your truck didn't get cruise. Someone actually just bought the column lever and cut their column apart and installed it. tried searching but couldn't find it.

 

wolfgang123, the Part Numbers from thecruisecontrolstore.com are:
Item 250-1223 Rostra Ultracruise II module
Item 250-3742 Rostra Universal left mount column switch
Item 250-4326 Tacoma/T 100 throttle adapter
Item 250-4206 Rostra Universal Disengagement switch

All of these items are shipped together when ordering for your specific vehicle. Best to check the website or give them a call, as it has been over a year since I ordered.

Polack, you may be right but I could not find any information. If I missed it, well, it wouldn't be the first time I took the long road to get where I wanted to go.

 

Sweet, I needed this guide. I just cut out a bunch of old wires for a hidden panel and an old stereo they just snipped out, and mistakingly removing the cruise control.

 

Awesome write up, thank you for taking the time to document the process. Imma see if it can be done to my 92

 

Just did this on a '01 Tacoma and your instructions were super helpful. Instructions that came with the kit definitely had a lot to be desired.

 

polack, you are right in that there have been posts saying that some tacomas came prewired, and that all you have to do to have cruise control, is to install a cruise control switch assembly, and you have factory cruise! However, your truck must be prewired for this. It is really easy to install the steering wheel switch, but you will need a "torx" wrench, which can be bought for under $10 at Home Depot. But really, once you get the steering wheel middle cover [airbag/horncover in middle of wheel] off, it is simply a matter of unscrewing the mounting hardware that came with your truck, and then, mounting the new switch in the same place, and plugging in the connector to the plug that is in the middle of the top of the steering column. You will see it, as you have to unplug the plug that came with your truck, to be replaced by the new connector plug on your cruise control switch.

 

My 2004 V6 4x4 Manual TRD SR5 had everything except the speed control stalk. You are probably looking for this writeup:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...on-2004-v6-4x4-manual-trans-with-pics.341438/

Since I bought a Tundra steering wheel with the stalk and my truck already had the clutch and brake switches I didn't end up needing any of the parts I ordered. So check before you order!

-chris

 

Hi, just wanna say GREAT writeup, super detailed and good pictures. Gonna take out my 2.7 next week and hopefully make something like this about replacing all the gaskets and expendables. Anyway I have a Tacoma exactly like yours but a 98 and it came with this same brand CC already installed but I haven't been able to make it work. When I press the on button on the stalk the green light turns on on the stalk but no CC light on my dash and it doesn't want to set a speed or anything like that. As far as I can tell from following your instructions and with minimal disably of my dash I can't see anything that's not plugged in like how u stated. (I would rate it down but this is my daily since my brother has the Prius for the week lol) any chance you would know which one of these wires would make the light on the dash turn on atleast?

 

Just wanted to give a shout-out to the OP, without this write up this installation would've been a much bigger challenge. By going back and forth between Rostra's literature and dwh's write up I was able to complete this in about 14 hours and with limited frustration. Now I've got functioning cruise on my 2001! Should've done this year's ago. Thanks again dwh!

 

I also wanted to send a big THANKS for these directions and photos...not so sure I could have done it without them. It took me several days as it was. It did not work on my first test drive and the diagnostic light would never flash. Turned out the clip connector on the brake + wire didn't actually connect. The clip was latched, and when I took it apart both wires were tightly grabbed by the metal tooth insert, I had to get needle nose pliers to get it off them, but no connection. That was weird. I bared a bit of the brake wire and made a direct wrapped wire connection and it worked perfectly. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for these GREAT instructions!

 

This was a really great post, and had great detail. The only thing I didn't like about the installation, was how he mounted the cruise control switch. It was done like the instructions from Rostra say, but to me, being a somewhat purist, I still say the cruise control switch should be mounted on the steering wheel itself, like they are when they are installed at the factory. You are not supposed to have to take your hands off the wheel, in order to activate, utilize, various features of the cruise control switch. the way this is mounted, one has to take their left hand off the wheel, reach on the left side, behind the turn signal lever, and then maneuver the switch. From the factory, the switch is mounted on the right side of the steering wheel, and it typically accessed with one or two fingers, while still holding onto the steering wheel. THIS, was how I was trying to figure out how I could install a Rostra system on my 1996! After running into too many roadblocks in trying to install original factory Tacoma cruise control parts, I had decided to install a Rostra system, but still trying to use an original Toyota tacoma cruise control switch, since it is virtually identical to the one from Rostra. For me, the problem was the wires going to the switch that is mounted on top of the clockspring, which is under the steering wheel airbag, and plugged into it. This switch is supposed to have four wires, but since my tacoma didn't come with cruise, it only had two wires. Under the plug, it only had two wire prongs, which meant I would have to replace the clockspring with one that had a plug with 4 prongs. I found one, but then, its plug for the airbag was different than the one in my Tacoma! So I would have had to cut that off, and replace it with the one that came on my tacoma. It just got to be a nightmare, and after struggling with this for months, I finally gave up. I still have a brand new Rostra Universal Cruise Control kit, still in the box, and unopened, along with a brand new rostra Cruise Control Switch, still in the box, that I bought for comparison to the Original Toyota Tacoma Cruise Control switch. And yes, I also still have all of the original Tacoma Cruise Control parts, such as the actuator, Cruise Control Module [computer], control cable, etc. I put out about $100 for the original parts, as well as a lot of time at junk yards, and I put out about $200 for the complete Rostra Universal Cruise Control kit, including the control switch. I still see them everyday, sitting there in my bedroom, piled in the corner. But I will tell you this; I feel like I am an expert in how the cruise control system works and/or, how it is all supposed to be plugged in! If I could just pay someone to put it in, and utilize the original Toyota Cruise Control switch in its original and correct mounting place, then i would pay them to do it for me. In any case, this post was a great one and very helpful to anyone who wants to install cruise control in their tacoma. Thanks for posting!

 

Anyone know if you can use this switch just to relocate cruise control to the column if you already have factory cruise control?

 

I assume you are referring to the cruise control switch from Rostra, and using it on the column if you have factory cruise control? If so, then I just wonder why, if you already have factory cruise control, would you want to use the Rostra switch? If there is something wrong with your OEM switch, then you can easily get replacement OEM switches on the internet, for about $20, give or take. I think I got the one I ordered from Ebay, and I seem to recall paying $15 for it. Oh yeah, it was from Toyotayard, on ebay. They have a big stock of Tacoma parts, and all of their parts are checked out to make sure they are ok. But they may or may not have an OEM switch at this time. But there are many available by just doing a search online. that is what I would do in your case. But, to directly answer your question, the Rostra switch would work, although depending on your year, you may have to modify it slightly, but I am pretty sure it would work.

 

clock spring damaged? he would rather move the switch to another location.

 

it’s because I’m swapping to an aftermarket wheel and need to relocate the switch from the factory wheel to the column