To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.
Most brake controllers stick out or clutter the dash, but this one fits tight and flat against the panel. The Curt TriFlex NEXT measures only 1" thick, mounting flush so it takes up almost no room under the dash. The included bracket keeps it looking clean while still giving easy access to the controls and manual override. It’s a simple setup that blends in instead of getting in the way.
The TriFlex NEXT makes every stop feel natural and steady. Its internal 3-axis accelerometer senses how your vehicle slows down and automatically applies your trailer brakes in perfect proportion. Whether you ease onto the pedal or stop hard, both sets of brakes work together for smooth, even deceleration. It supports up to 4 axles (8 brake assemblies) and works with both electric and electric-over-hydraulic systems, so you get confident braking on every trip.
You don’t have to guess what your controller is doing. The large LED display shows gain and load settings, error codes, and even full-text diagnostics. You can tweak gain from 0.5 to 9.9 in 0.5 increments using the gray rocker switch and fine-tune brake aggressiveness on a 1–9 scale with the black rocker switch. Adjustable brightness and a night mode keep the display easy on your eyes no matter when you tow.
Shorts, reverse polarity, or power surges won’t take down your system thanks to built-in safety circuits and continuous self-diagnostic checks. When you park for more than five minutes, the controller slips into sleep mode to cut power draw from your battery, then wakes up the instant you touch the brakes. It’s built smart to protect both your trailer and tow vehicle electronics every time you hit the road.
Hookup couldn’t be simpler. The included custom-fit adapter plugs straight into the factory brake control port behind your dash—no splicing or guessing wires. Automatic leveling lets you mount it at almost any angle so long as the controls stay within reach. A few screws secure it in place, and once it’s plugged in, you’re ready to go towing with reliable proportional braking right away.
If you don't already have a 7-way plug at the back of your vehicle, take a look at our exclusive 7- and 4-way brake control installation kit (ETBC7 - sold separately).
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi there, I'm Michael with etrailer.com. Today we're gonna take a quick look at this Curt Triflex Next Trailer Brake Controller. So if you have electric brakes or electric over hydraulic brakes, you're probably already aware that without a brake controller your trailer's brakes won't activate. So they're really not doing you any good. So you are gonna need to have a brake controller. Basically what a brake controller does is when you apply the brakes in your tow vehicle it's gonna send a signal through your brake switch to your brake controller.
The brake controller is then going to send an electrical signal out to your trailer's brakes so that they apply and help to slow down your trailer. There are several different kinds of brake controllers. There's different basic technologies and that sort of thing. Really your two main categories are you have a time delayed set up or you have a proportional setup. So with your time delay, essentially you set how much power you want applied to your brakes and then no matter if you're just tapping your brakes or really slamming on them in an emergency sort of situation, it's going to apply that same preset power each time.
So there are some downsides to that. It doesn't give you as much control. It can be a little aggressive sometimes when you don't need it to be. But then with your proportional setup it is going to apply your trailer's brakes with the same intensity as your tow vehicle's brakes. So if you're just lightly tapping on the brakes it's just going to lightly apply your trailer's brakes.
So proportional systems like this one are definitely my preference. I think they're a little bit more, give a little bit more finesse to your performance. There are some downsides to these. Typically, they are gonna be a little bit more expensive then your time delayed systems just because they do have more components to them. They've got an accelerometer in there that's going to sense the inertia of your movement so that it can apply the brakes proportionally for you.
And then another downside is typically because it does have that inertia sensor in there, or an accelerometer, it's going to have to be mounted in certain configurations to follow your direction of travel. And that's one benefit to this particular model is that it doesn't have to be mounted in any particular configuration. So you can basically mount it wherever you want. So definitely a benefit to this one over even other proportional systems. So for this model specifically, it does have the LED display that's going to show the amount of power output. You can adjust that with your rocker switches here. So very easy to access those. That's going to allow you to adjust between 10 different gain settings. So you can adjust the amount of braking power to suit your performance, the road conditions, the type of trailer you're towing, and the weight of your load. If you select a higher setting for a harder braking and a lower setting for more gradual braking, you do wanna make sure when you're getting that set up a good rule of thumb is to go just shy of where your trailer's brakes lock up. So test it out a few times. As you're going down the road you don't want your trailer's brakes to lock up. So get to that point and then come down just a little bit to get that fine tune where you need it to be. And then typically your gain is only gonna have to be readjusted when you're experiencing changing road conditions or if the weight of your trailer changes. So if you drop off your trailer load and you're needing to you probably need to adjust that gain there. It also gives you nine different load settings so that you can adjust how quickly the brakes will reach their maximum braking level. So if your vehicle takes too long to come to a stop, good idea to increase your setting by pressing the upper rocker switch. And then if it's stopping too abruptly you can decrease the settings as well. So you kind of fine tune it to your preference. We also have the pinch trigger manual override here. So that's within very easy reach, very simple to operate. What that's gonna do is allow you to apply your trailer's brakes without having to apply the brakes in your tow vehicle. So say for instance, if your trailer starts swaying you don't really need to slow down your whole setup you just need to apply the brakes in your trailer to kind of bring that back in line. So you can just push in on that trigger switch there and that will apply your brakes in your trailer without having to apply the brakes in your tow vehicle. This does have several different integrated safeguards to help protect your vehicle, the trailer, and the controller itself. It's going to run continuous diagnostic checks to alert you to any potential problems. It will help to minimize drain on your car battery by entering sleep mode. After about five minutes of inactivity it's gonna help keep your trailer's brakes from overheating by reducing power output when you're sitting for prolonged periods or prolonged stops. So if you're in traffic or something like that it's gonna help decrease the power so your brakes don't overheat. It's also going to defend the brake controller and trailer brake away system against any shorts and prevent positive and negative power reversal with its built-in polarity protection. This is gonna be very quick and easy to get installed. Again because you're not having to worry about the orientation, you can basically just get it mounted wherever it's gonna be most convenient for you to reach and access those controls. They've got this mounting bracket here. As you can see we'll just use the included hardware to get this mounted in place. And then basically our controller just slides onto that so it can be mounted flush with your dash. So very convenient to get that mounted. When you're considering where you can mount this, give you a few measurements here. You can see it is right about three we'll call it three and one eighth of an inch wide. Our length, we're right about four inches long. And our height approximately one inch overall. So keep that in mind and when you're deciding where you can get this mounted. Now as far as wiring goes, that's gonna completely depend on your setup. So there are some vehicles that already have a plug pre-installed from the factory that will allow you to just plug this right in there. If you don't have that on your vehicle, there are some kits available that will allow you to make that installation process pretty simple. But they are very vehicle specific. So I'd encourage you to use our vehicle fit guide here at etrailer.com. You'll select your year, make, and model of your vehicle. We'll let you know which products are confirmed to fit with your vehicle. So that's another route to go. If your vehicle isn't already pre-wired with a plug then I would recommend that. Otherwise, it is gonna take a little bit of doing to get this installed. If you don't already have a seven way plug at the back of your vehicle, I would highly recommend using our ETBC seven plug that's gonna provide wiring and everything to get you set up so that you've got that connection so that your trailer can connect to your vehicle. But overall, a really great option here. Like I said, I really like the proportional system. The way this is going to allow your trailer's brakes to be applied at the same intensity as your tow vehicle. I like that this model gives you that option to have more versatility and where you get it mounted. And so overall, I think this is gonna be a great way to go if you are needing a brake controller for your trailer's brakes. And that completes our look for today. Again, I'm Michael with etrailer.com. Thanks for watching.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
95% were satisfied with this product
5% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
I grabbed this cable to connect my Curt Spectrum brake controller to my 2017 Toyota Tundra tow package cable. Worked great. The Tundra cable was located immediately behind the panel to the right of the steering wheel with the auto LSD button and Tow/Haul button (if equipped). My truck had a blank instead of tow/haul button.
VERY easy install. As mentioned in other reviews the hardest part is finding the factory plug in for a 2017 Tacoma. Toyota tucked it way in the back behind a wire bundle. Picture attached for reference.
This was easy to install easy to calibrate and delivers great braking for my 5th wheel camper. I originally purchased a product from another company that just didn't work right. I ether had no trailer brakes or they grabbed really hard. It was similar in design to the curt Triflex so I was skeptical at first. I called etrailer to make sure and after checking with tech was assured it was the right application. I appreciate having someone to answer my questions and concerns. No need to purchase anywhere else.
Easy to install, works great!
I picked this Curt brake controller As it is specifically wired for my 2017 Toyota Tacoma which already has the tow package. When I finally found where to hook it up in my truck I realized I needed C51455 part which is the female end .. they gave me another 15 inches of extra wiring so I can mount the controller by my right leg as I drove.. and the great thing about this experience I called on a Sunday afternoon got a hold of A person ( Shawn B) Who was very helpful and knew exactly which part I needed .
I highly recommend using e trailer
As alway, etrailer had exactly what I needed to do the job simply, effectively, and as the best price. What more can you ask for?
Easy installation and configuration. Works flawlessly!
Brake controller is all plastic, screen is ok, broke after the second use, would not turn on/work and then randomly the brake lights started turning on when no one was in my vehicle and key was out. After 3 weeks etrailer warranted it and I got a new one.
Outstanding product is everything we expected from easy to connect and display in the truck. Great to have when necessary too.
The hardest part of the job was finding the pre-installed connector on the Tacoma. It is tucked in behind a wire bundle so you have to know where to look. Once found, simple plug and play.
Pat V.
8/3/2020
Works very well.
Perfect fit plug'n'play for my Honda Ri dgeline.
I bought this connector for my new Toyota Tacoma after moving the Brake Controller from my traded in Jeep. I had hardwired the Jeep, but this was a direct connector and was much, much easier to install. The Curt brake controller and this cable make an excellent combination to control the brakes on my Casita. The only flaw is that Toyota hides the factory end under the upper left side floor-well cover and was hard to find. Not etrailer's fault. Also, I have bought several items from etrailer and the customer service is always superb, as are all of the item descriptions and videos on the products they carry. Great place to get what you need for your vehicle.
Awesome controller
I purchased an adapter to go between my brake controller and the factory wiring in my 2015 Tundra (C51455), I have not installed it yet. I will review it when it is installed.
Dave
7/29/2016
The wiring adapter I purchased worked perfect and the install was simple, thanks
Very easy to install. Instructions were very clear products worked as intended very satisfied.
All the information I needed was on your site. Got the correct adapter cable and was able to just plug in the controller.
I’ve use the electric brake system several times over the last year. I was impressed at how easy it was to use, and how much safer it was when braking. It was easy to install and worked great
Easy to install, had no glitches. Replace an older brake controller.
This unit took less than 10 minutes to install and works flawlessly with my Grand Cherokee while pulling a Travel Trailer. Plus its low profile design made it easy to install by the hood release so I don't have a big box and display on top of my dashboard. Great product at the right price. Highly recommend this brake controller and etrailer.
Works well. The connector I got from e trailer which fits other older model Audi’s wasn’t listed to fit the 2024 Audi but fit perfectly. The Curt Triflex is an easy to use brake controller. Highly recommend!
Arrived as planed and was much smaller then my old clunky one. The custom cable harness was easy to install. Finding a flat spot to mount the controller took the longest to find the perfect spot. I gave a five stars because every was as it said. (Plug and play)
Great brake controller for the price. Easy to install with the video. Customer service was very prompt and kind.
Works like it should only problem mounting in a 2022 tacoma is if you dont mount towards bottom of the dash you can't get the controller to click in the mounting slot. Just because how the angle of the dash is. Other than that works like it should and basically a plug and play unit.
Took a while to figure it out. Have a 2003 Dodge van. Had to tow in package but didn’t have any wiring factory installed other than for the seven way. Paul it was great identifying what I need and sending it to me. Thank you very much.
This is a new model of the Curt TriFlex brake controller. As a replacement for the previous unit, it was nice to be able to install it without rewiring. The new model has a more modern style digital display that is easier to read and less annoying. The button controls are a bit less obvious than the previous model, so it takes a little effort to figure out how to adjust the system. Overall, I think it's a better unit that the previous models.
Info for this part was:
At etrailer we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time.
Kevin
9/6/2016
Flawlessly