Side by Side Comparison of: Tekonsha

Such a simple setup. Makes connecting the brake controller a breeze.

Perfect fit for my 2006 GMC with trailering package. Just plugged it in to truck, and brake controller, and done.

fits perfect and does the job. but now I need fourteen more words to describe this product, that is as described

FIt perfectly and I was able to setup my brake controller in a matter of minutes. Now I can swap my controller between my vehicles with ease!

Super time-saver and idiot proof (vs. the 4-wire do-it-yourself connector that came with the brake controller). Fits our 2003 Silverado perfectly. Under the dash (above the emergency brake) pop off a black plastic cover that conceals several plug-in ports. There is one to receive the large end of this connector. Plug the small end into the rear of your controller and you are good to go. The length of the adapter was ample to mount our controller to the right of the steering column within easy reach of the driver's right hand. First time to install a brake controller, and it couldn't have been simpler. This one came from the Amazon Warehouse in great shape, just no formal packaging. Highly recommended!

Always best to get the right part rather than try to fiddle with a cheap-approach.For my 2015 Colorado with the trailering package, the wiring for this was underneath the driver side kick/trim panel. No plug though like the Silverados have, so I just cut the end off this and the accompanying diagram made it very easy to solder-in the harness. Then it just plugged into the back of the Tekonsha brake controller. When I don't need it in the truck, it unplugs and can be stowed.

My truck came with an older Tekonsha brake controller that was very finicky. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't apply trailer brakes, and always required fine tuning. I bought this as a replacement after deciding I'm not going to let my family ride in an unsafe tow situation. All I had to do is plug this one in and choose my settings. WAY more consistent and much better controlling my travel trailer than before. I'm very happy with the purchase and wouldn't hesitate to buy again.

We purchased our first camper this month, and the dealership wanted $300+ for a brake controller and install. We purchased this unit and followed the included instructions. Total install was less than 15 minutes and the unit works great for controlling the brakes on our Jayco X23B.Pros:Super easy to installLCD screen makes setup easyCan change the color and brightness of the LCD screen to match your interior lightingMultiple mounting optionsSimple menu-driven setupInstructions were clear and easy to followCons:Screen is impossible to read in bright sunlight, or with polarized sunglasses on

Installed this in our 2007 LR3 to help tow our 25 ft, 4500 lb travel trailer and it's night and day! Highly recommend getting a brake controller for your vehicle- your brakes will thank you! Purchased with the Tekonsha 3035-P cables. Easy to install if you're somewhat familiar with cars.

Tow vehicle:RAM 1500 Hemi Lonestar Crew CabParts used:Tekonsha P3 Proportional Brake Controller purchased from AmazonTekonsha 3024P RAM Brake Control Wiring Adapter purchased from Amazon(used to plug into factory installed wiring under dash)Total Expense:$151.45My 2016 Ram 1500 Hemi Lonestar didn't come with the integrated brake controller. After searching all the RAM forums and studying Amazon reviews, I decided on Tekonsha P3 controller, and not to shell out the $440.00 my local dealership quoted to install the OEM. There's one video currently on YouTube that gives a breakdown how to remove the full length center console to install the OEM controller, but even then, you still have to have the dealer flash the computer so it all works together, and all the functions appear on the screen above the steering column. Some people are okay with this, but decided on the Tekonsha path myself.I knew I wanted a clean, and minimally invasive install, so a little thought was needed to snug it up to my center console. In order to mount the controller, you have to have enough room to tighten the screws on either side. Instead, I used two very thin diameter toggle bolts I had left over, put them through the controller bracket with washers, screwed controller to the bracket, pushed the thin bolts through pre-drilled holes I made, and screwed the wings on from under the dash with some washers. This may not be the ideal way, but it worked great for me. All I can say is use this idea and improve upon it. :)I might add before I started my project, I checked under the dash for the two factory installed connectors wrapped in foam tape. They're literally just hanging there and simple to find. This made it as easy as mount controller, plug n' play. Total install for me was about 30 minutes cause I was being careful.After installing, it dawned on me there is no on / off switch. Back to the reviews and forums I went. Turns out there's controversy on this and weather it goes into a sleep mode or not. In my case, I checked 20 minutes later and the screen was blank as shown in picture. Starting the truck or touching a button wakes it up. Some reports from others is the opposite, and controller stays on. Either way, the power draw from the device is so little, it would take months to drain one's battery.Setting up the controller for your trailer is pretty straight forward. As far as function, I'll be putting it to work next weekend for our 7,600 pound travel trailer. Just follow the directions, and you should be all good.Hope this helps, and safe towing!*** UPDATE ***I can't think of a single complaint for this controller. Everything works in unison together as it should, and is easily adjustable. I included a picture we took on our way down to Galveston of the travel trailer when we stopped for a pee break. Gotta love Bucees!I started with the boost on level 3, then turned it down to b2. It provides plenty of juice to the trailer brakes with the gain set where it's best for us now.

Just towed a 9,000 lb trailer from NC to D.C. behind my 1/2 ton Yukon and this brake controller did great. Setup is easy, with three boost modes which allow you to quickly vary the intensity for different driving situations. For example, while towing on I-95 at 70 mph, if I'm stepping on the brake, I mean to rapidly decelerate. For this I used B2 or B3. When just meandering around town, I don't need the brakes to exert a kung-fu grip at every stop sign I creep up to, so I used B1 or Boost off. With the accelerometer functionality (instead of a mechanical pendulum), it doesn't have to be level to operate. I installed mine right in front of my right knee, where it's facing up at about a 45 degree angle. The instructions say you can mount it upside down if you want to, it just has to be oriented in line with the vehicle. I like that the display can show half a dozen colors, so you can match it to your dash lighting.Only complaint is that the permanent mount is kind of hard to install in tight places. It's pretty basic: two screws mount the bracket to the vehicle and two screws mount the controller to the bracket. You can't access the bracket screws when the controller is installed, so you have to install the bracket first, but then you need to screw the controller in from the side. I had to use a right-angle screwdriver to tighten the right side screw, since it was so close to the center console. Surely they could have put a little more thought into this.

Updated for 2017... See below.Consider this... The combine cost of your tow vehicle and trailer... The combine weight of your tow vehicle and trailer... The fact that your trailer may well weigh more than your tow vehicle... And that moron that just jumped in your lane then slammed on his brakes... This is NOT the time to think to yourself, "maybe I should've gotten a better brake controller." Seriously, when the difference in cost is under $100, is it really not worth buying the best?I've used the Tekonsha P3 for two and half years now and I have nothing but praises to sing! Features, user friendliness, and results! This unit has it all. First lets talk about the mechanism. It uses a digital G-Sensor as apposed to a physical pendulem. Why is this a benifit? Because there are no downhill issues that you see with the physical and analog type sensors. Prior to digial sensors, the downhill slope would throw off the pendulem and the brake controller either would send a weaker current to the brakes or none at all. Some people have questioned the reliablity of digital sensors. But with more than 10 years of full production digital units, complaints are actaully less than the older analog units. Consider this as well, the sensor is not only quicker but more accurate as well, hard to soft braking is much safer now. How does it work? Just like any other accelerometor...it senses the volume deceleration and then computes an appropriate voltage and current to send to the trailer brakes based on a percentage of the user's max output setting.Let's talk interface. A four button face with a roughly 1.5" LCD display plus a belly mounted manual switch. With no brakes connected, this unit will dispay the default "Tekonsha Screen". Once brakes are connected via the trailer plug, the unit will display the "Tow Screen". It has a large two/three read out that displays 0.0 as a default. While sitting still and once brake pressure is applied it will jump to approximately 10% of the max set output, after 3 seconds of being stationary it will move up to 25% power. This is designed to "hold" the trailer if stopped on an incline or decline. Setting the max brake power is a snap with the two "Up" and "Down" buttons on the left side of the face. The value moves up and down by 0.1 increments and quite quickly if you hold the button down. The last two buttons are "boost" and "page" which I will discuss when I talk features. The last button is the manual brake override. This bottom mounted spring loaded slider switch will manually add braking power to the trailer brakes (up to the user set max) even without depressing the vehicles brake peddle. This is a standard feature on all brake contorllers, but I wanted anyone looking for their first brake controller to understand what this was. Lastly, is the warning screen. It's a deep red screen with a trailer and a "no" sign. This indicates that the controller which had previously sensed brakes connected no longer can sense them. Generally an indication of a poor trailer connection at the wiring harness or a problem with the brakes themsleves.Let's talk features. I've mentioned the "Boost" button, but what is it? There are 4 levels of boost for trailer brakes. Off, LV. 1, LV. 2, & LV. 3. Boost adds a brief (fraction of a second) burst to the trailer brakes which slows the trailer slightly more than the normal pressure would and keeps it from bumping or pushing the tow vehicle when brake pressure is initailly applied. Very important if as many are these days, your trailer weighs more than your tow vehicle. After the burst it returns the voltage and current to the G-sensors reccomended output. There isn't a real scientific method for figuring what you need to use. The picture on the home screen shows LV1 as small trailer, 2 as a med tailer, and 3 as a large trailer. My trailer is a 6K lb. TT and I just leave it on the default LV. 1 boost. Everytime the units is powered it returned to the default LV. 1. The unit will power down after 15 mins with no trailer connected AND no input from the brake signal wire. The "Page" button will take you to a second screen that you navigate with the "up", "down", and "Boost" (now "enter") buttons. This sceen has some cool features as some useful features. "Backlight" allows you to brighten or dim the brightness of the display. "Color" lets you set the color of the display. (Yeah I know, unessesary, but cool) The default color is "White" which is more of a light blue. There's also Magenta, Orange, Dk Blue, Violet, Lt. Green, and Dk. Green. Red is not availible as it's reserved as a warning color for the "no trailer connection" warning screen. Back to the page screen. There's also a VERY USEFUL troubleshooting screen. It lets you view diagnostics on the fly and over the road that can give you four digit readouts of battery voltage, stoplight (brake input signal) voltage, brake voltage, and brake current. This screen alone is worth the cost of this brake controller! When you first connect your tailer do some tests and record the max input you set, the output under normal braking conditions, as well as the brake voltage and amperage. If down the line you get the feeling the brakes aren't working properly, you can re-run this test and see if it's an electrical problem or not. Finally when your done, pressing the page button will return you to the "tow screen."Installation. A snap for anyone that has a factory tow package. Tekonsha offers plug and play wiring harnesses that plug into most make and model years of trucks. If you have to have it installed or choose to install it yourself as I did, it can be challenging. But it's a simple four wire hookup. A 12V input from the battery (running thru a 30A auto reset breaker NOT a fuse), an output to the brake pin of your 6 or 7-way trailer connector, a stoplight input running to your vehicle's stoplight switch behind the brake peddle, and lastly a frame ground. The mount can be a little challenging to install because of the akward access to the screws, but it can be mounted at nearly any angle other than strait up or down and provided the face is facing a close to directly rearward as possible.All in all, this is probably the most important review I've ever done. This controller will save you grief and keep you and your vehicle safe. Make sure for your safety, your families safety, and the safety of all those on the road you buy the brake controller that does it's job the best. Buy the Tekonsha P3.---2017 UpdateTwo years ago I droped my original P3 and cracked the screen. I decided to replace it no knowing if the internals might have been damaged. I don't feel the P3 is fragile. The drop was an unforgiving freak bounce off my steel hitch and concrete. There are minor firmware differences between the 2009 model I had and the 2015 model I'm using.The boot screen shows a P3 logo which is new. The diagnostics screen showing system voltages shows only tenth volt increments which used to be hundreths. But I can live without that.Fuctionally they are the same and in my opinion still the best add on brake controller on the market. Propietary controllers and built in vehicle units may have it beat these days but I'll stick with my P3 until those in dash units are standard equipment.One note. After years of use, the P3 does have an occasional quark. Sometimes when going down hill the brake power applied will be greater than on a flat road. (This has happened a couple of times on level roads as well but only rarely.) As you let off the brake the trailer will brake slightly heavier than the tow vehicle and when brake signal ceases the vehicle will jerk a bit as the trailer stops braking. The solution is to turn off the boost mode. But I caution drivers to turn this back on as soon as they're back on level surfaces. This is a safety feature to keep the trailer from pushing against the tow vehicle and thus not to loose control when braking. It promotes overall better braking performance and decreases the likelihood of jack-knifing.After 8 years I'm still happy to put my faith and my family's safety in the Tekonsha P3.

Fit like it should just. Would've been a little nicer if the harness had a heat shrink wrap to keep the wires together, but overall it works.

good product would recommend

On my 2001 Silverado I had to relocate one of the pins to a different location. The lead for brake activation was going to a pin that stays hot so the brakes were always on when hooked up. It took a lot of head scratching but I figured it out with a test light. Once I switched the pin it worked great.

Exact fit for the application. Love the plug 'n play connections. Would be a 5 star if the wire harness was a little longer.

This fit and worked well in my 2003 GMC Sierra. It was easy to install, but on many trucks (including mine) you need to make some wiring changes under the hood, at the fuse block, to power the brake portion of the towing harness. The internet was very helpful in instructions on how to do this.

Connectors well worth the money. I would have liked a longer pigtail. Maybe could have reached the infrequently used cubbies in the middle of the Chevy dash. This way works too... Yes it is up on the dash but well out of any line of sight. Great to keep an eye on such an important safety function when the truck is loaded! *I did end up disassembling the Tekonsha end to fit thru the small hole, went back together very easily!

My Tekonsha P2 had an internal short so I purchased this as a replacement. This is much easier to use than the P2, as there are no symbols/codes to figure out. I've used this to tow a 7000 lb trailer a couple times and it worked great.

Install takes 30-45 mins. I installed this in my 09 Silverado and thought it worked excellent for my needs. They provide you with a soft shell case to remove the unit if your worried about theft. I mounted it under my dash and never removed it once. I would buy it again.

Used it for 10,000 miles now with an ecodiesel Grand Cherokee and 18' car trailer. First, I have to give credit to Jeep for an awesome brake package on the GC because I towed max weight several times and never had a lack of braking power. I assumed that ordering the towing package meant control of electric brakes through the 7-way was standard, but it does not, You must have an additional trailer brake controller to activate electric brakes in the Jeep GC with towing package. This one,when ordered with the correct harness, works great in this vehicle and likely many others that already have the factory-ready molex trailer plug-in.

Make sure you have it installed by a COMPETENT professional with the appropriate materials and relays to protect the vehicle systems. I had a RV retailer install mine and they still managed to fry my cruise control via the brake switch wiring on my 2000 Ranger. They installed it exactly as the etrailer.com site did, and it wasn't good enough, unfortunately. A quote for the repairs is pending.

The only reason this did not reach top marks is the instructions are lacking. Good thing i do have a basic knowledge of electric breaks and how they operate. A quick demonstration video would be ideal for your product. After setting the controller to the trailer the difference is noticeable from the standard electric controller. First trip out of the box I had to use the brakes headed down hill at 65-mph to avoid a collision. The trailer stayed in contact with the pavement and did not push my half ton truck. one of the other cool features as we all know your trailers act differently from loaded to empty. thr pre-sets are nice to quicklyt set your brake on the run. or for multiple trailers. If your not using this on your rig ....you should. Worth the extra bucks.RIg: CHevy 1500 5.3 2wd 7x16' inclosed tandom 3100lbs dry 7k max

Easily installed in a dodge 2500. Also used the wire adaptor. Truck was already wired for towing. I still have a issue with trailer brakes locking when going over a hill. (Truck is at a slant trailer is level) have to set at lowest setting, still does it, not as harsh. Works better then last one, but was expecting more. (No slamming) can feel it slowing trailer when activated when moving above 15 mph, but likes to grab at speeds under 15. Have locked tires.

The length of this only allows you to place it in a couple of places. I wish it was longer, allowing more placement flexibility. Otherwise it worked as I'd expect.

Wrong wiring harness again, this happen on my last truck.

It would of been a snap but I received the wrong adapter but amazon got me the right one at no charge. The adapters snap into your brake circuit board and hook directly into your brake controller.. It's a lot better than using the provided wiring with the brake controller.

My bad, it did not fit my 1999 Chevy truck. But upon review of the original description, it wasn't supposed to. Otherwise, it would have made installation of the brake controller a no-brainer.

did not need

Worked as expected. I had to cut the wiring and splice.

I will start off by saying this brake controller works great. Easy to see display and controls are easy to use while driving.I'm really disappointed though that the down button started sticking on me about a month after I bought it. Used it 4 or 5 times. It turned my trailer brakes all the way down while I was driving. Had to pull over to unstick the button. I have not spilled anything on it. I read some other cases of this happening and hoped I would get a good one. Apparently there is a design flaw in the buttons or some poor QC happening. I'm still using the unit as is but its pain to use. Now I have to find time to deal with warranty service.Also, the display shuts off but the unit never seems to shut off completely when plugged into my 02 Silverado duramax. There was noticeable battery drain when letting the truck sit a couple days. I started unplugging and storing the controller when the truck is parked and all is well now.

Unit works fine but the mounting hardware is crappy.

Product works good, but the buttons get stuck. So, when you're trying to lower the setting, the button gets stuck, and this is happening both on the arrow up, and arrow down.

Works GREAT when it works, but I had one go out after just a year.

Controller is okay, seems to work as described. The bracket is cheap garbage. Mounting holes didn't line up which caused grief, for the money I hoped for something made a little better.

Great product. Simple to install and set up.It's just sad that I've used it twice in 6 months and when to use it a 3rd and it had blown a fuse and is shorting out in the unit itself. Had to replace on the fly with a different unit and it's just not as smooth. Hoping I can get it replace.

Listing for this item indicated it would fit my truck. It didn't. They accepted the return without question.

Doesn't fit a 2001 Chevrolet 2500 HD

Installed this unit on a 2006 Jeep Commander using the generic wiring connector supplied. Upon first testing; unit emitted a burnt electrical odor. It never blew the 30amp fuse, unit still seems to function, and it actuates the trailer brakes, yet has that electrical odor.So I'm returning and will try a second unit. Hopefully this one was just faulty.(?)

Really upset about this one. I just spent 140 dollars on this break control and it came in an open box that was missing the wiring pigtail and the mounting bracket! I needed it for this weekend, but now I'm going to have to order a pigtail (even more money) before I can use it. Very upset about that.

Purchased this a year ago. I have to select boost 3 for any brake action. And it stops working saying power failure at times. I plan to call the company but it doesn't work as well as the unit I used in this 2000 chevy for many years. I wanted to eliminate the brake grab on steep gravel but now have no trailer braking help at time.update: Purchased this unit September 2014. Talked to tech and he was condescending and not much help. It worked erratically. Finally replaced it with competing brand May 2016. Wow, nice to have dependable trailer brakes again.

After some research it was said that this was the only brake controller that was compatible with my 2014 Dodge Ram because everything is networked in the truck. I purchased the adapter harness for my truck and followed the instructions. As soon as I turned on my truck I got a check engine light and a electronics brake system error. I removed the unit and I still couldn't get the errors to clear. I had to take it to the dealer to correct the problem. The unit does seem of quality with some very nice options, it just did not work for my application. Amazon was great giving me a refund.

First unit failed. Second warranty unit works better

Can't read the screen. It seems the contrast is messed up.

even with reading the simple hook up, when I put the brake on my interior lights dim and yet has the controller worked. So i'm going to get our electrician to check it out and see if he see's anything.It was simple hooking up o the fuse box and mounting but hasn't worked so far.

NEEDED MODEL YEAR ESCALADE 2011 this cable only fits up the year 2007!

Was told it would fit my 2008 gmc sierra but it would not.l called the company that sells this harness and was told they don't make one for my truck !

Not enough information provided for this adapter wire at time of sale . It did not fit my 2007 Chevy Silverado. And I missed the return date , and unable to return.

When I drive through the mountains going uphill or downhill without the brake pedal being pushed the break unit goes still trying to figure out why

Product crapped out after 30 days so couldn't return it and tech support doesn't pick up the phone. Even after talking with the operator who said he transferred me directly they didn't pick up, Called the operator back and he refused to pick up, spent almost a half hour and 4 phone calls trying to get this thing fixed and got absolutely nothing

Has Great Features, but for some reason will not brake correctly. It hovers around 1 then jumps to 5.5 & applies brakes quickly, but then stops working & drops off to 1 or 2, then jumps back up to 5.5. It doesn't slowly apply the brakes like my cheaper brake controller. Its either nothing or full braking power. I've checked all my connections & they are good, ground wire has continuity where it should.I must have received a lemon.

Web search for "P3 Open Ground" error message and decide beforehand if this is the all the super-dooper "smart" controller you really need. I had the error pretty consistently, even without a trailer connected, and after adding THREE (3) additional ground wires to the wiring system of my truck...to the frame, the battery negative terminal, the tail lights....all without any success. Tech support can give you some ideas about why, but there's apparently no way to diagnose which one of the 3 (?) ways this error can occur. So you end up playing electrical system "whack a mole" looking for problems (Do my brake lights work? Yes. Does the P3 have power and ground? Yes) that don't exist...when you're NOT towing a trailer...that the P3 "finds". Other than that, it looks nice, and seemed to work correctly for a brake controller for the one test drive I did. But I'm done with doing anymore "black box" testing on why it thinks there's an open ground when a) the unit is obviously on (so it has ground) and b) I have no trailer connected (so there's no open ground on the brake wire), and c) all electrical connections have been cleaned and tightened, etc. I should add that all wiring is only about a year old and heavier gauge than what was originally installed in the truck. I'm done!

The first one's screen broke after several months of very light use. The second one's screen broke a couple of days after the install. The third one had a missing button on the control panel - I was able to find it and stick it back in, but it sure doesn't say much for their quality control practices. The units have been freezing or experience screen corruption in the middle of trips. Luckily the units haven't failed when I was towing - that could be deadly.As far as I can tell, these are cheap units, made in low quality manufacturing plants with extremely expensive price tags. I'd recommend something else - after 3 tries I've had it with Tekonsha.

I like how it operates when it does work. I am now on my third P3 in less than a year, same problem each time, up -down buttons stick. When they stick its almost impossible to get the setting you want, drives me crazy. Lucky it comes with a lifetime warranty, Tekonsha has been great to get me out a replacement real fast. Now my third one is doing the same old crap, the rep told me they have had problems and are changing the design from buttons to a wheel but that hasn't happened yet.