What is this thing? - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

jabe · 09-17-2018, 12:11 AM

I'm a fairly new owner and also overly curious how things work.

I see on top of the dash, forward near the windshield, passenger (right) side, there's a small, raised dome-shaped "button". I can't quite tell if it's molded into the dash, or a separate part that might be removable. (In a symmetric position on the driver's side, there's a circular depression.) What the heck is it? (I thought maybe it's a daylight sensor for the headlights, but I'm pretty convinced now that it isn't.)

And if it's not the daylight sensor, where the heck is the daylight sensor?

(I've probably got a few more silly questions coming!)

ToySub1946 · 09-17-2018, 12:46 AM

Passenger side is a sensor which tells the headlamps to turn on or off when the headlamp switch is in the auto position.

Driver's side, depression in same area simple means there's nothing there, on that side.

jabe · 09-17-2018, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToySub1946

Passenger side is a sensor which tells the headlamps to turn on or off when the headlamp switch is in the auto position.

Thanks for that. It does make sense, but I had convinced myself it wasn't that, by covering it. I'll play with it again.

FRSBRZGT86FAN · 09-17-2018, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabe

I'm a fairly new owner and also overly curious how things work.

I see on top of the dash, forward near the windshield, passenger (right) side, there's a small, raised dome-shaped "button". I can't quite tell if it's molded into the dash, or a separate part that might be removable. (In a symmetric position on the driver's side, there's a circular depression.) What the heck is it? (I thought maybe it's a daylight sensor for the headlights, but I'm pretty convinced now that it isn't.)

And if it's not the daylight sensor, where the heck is the daylight sensor?

(I've probably got a few more silly questions coming!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToySub1946

Passenger side is a sensor which tells the headlamps to turn on or off when the headlamp switch is in the auto position.

Driver's side, depression in same area simple means there's nothing there, on that side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabe

Thanks for that. It does make sense, but I had convinced myself it wasn't that, by covering it. I'll play with it again.

You'll have to do better than that to trick it, try black electrical tape and watch what happens

Mr.ac · 09-17-2018, 02:55 AM

Or..... you could try and read the owners manual. It has info you really should know about your car.
Yes even your original question is covered in there.

accwai · 09-17-2018, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Or..... you could try and read the owners manual. [...] your original question is covered in there.

Yup, it's in 2017 86 Owner's Manual at the top of p.174.

PetrolioBenzina · 09-17-2018, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Or..... you could try and read the owners manual. It has info you really should know about your car.
Yes even your original question is covered in there.

I don't know why they bother printing the thing. They should just do what everyone else does and just leave a card with a web address in place of the manual.

FRSBRZGT86FAN · 09-17-2018, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Or..... you could try and read the owners manual. It has info you really should know about your car.
Yes even your original question is covered in there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PetrolioBenzina

I don't know why they bother printing the thing. They should just do what everyone else does and just leave a card with a web address in place of the manual.

It's definitely a legal thing, but they did provide it with scions, you could go onto the scion owners portal thing and get the entire owners manual online. No doubt subaru and toyota do the same now.

Sapphireho · 09-17-2018, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PetrolioBenzina

I don't know why they bother printing the thing. They should just do what everyone else does and just leave a card with a web address in place of the manual.

I want a printed manual, thank you very much.

FRSBRZGT86FAN · 09-17-2018, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I want a printed manual, thank you very much.

You might, but a searchable PDF would really make it easier for people

Tcoat · 09-17-2018, 01:52 PM

"What is this thing?"

spike021 · 09-17-2018, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

You might, but a searchable PDF would really make it easier for people

Good luck in the middle of nowhere when your phone dies and you absolutely need to check something in the manual.

Also, manuals have an index and page numbers. It's actually super easy to glance at the back, find the thing you need, and then go to the correct page number. That's probably even quicker than searching a PDF.

FRSBRZGT86FAN · 09-17-2018, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike021

Good luck in the middle of nowhere when your phone dies and you absolutely need to check something in the manual.

Also, manuals have an index and page numbers. It's actually super easy to glance at the back, find the thing you need, and then go to the correct page number. That's probably even quicker than searching a PDF.

Or you could, you know, read the manual before and learn about your car so you don't run into a situation where you don't know where something is or what something does. But that's just me....

Tcoat · 09-17-2018, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Or you could, you know, read the manual before and learn about your car so you don't run into a situation where you don't know where something is or what something does. But that's just me....

When I bought the car they needed a couple of days to prep it. I took the manual home and read it through. When I picked up the car I was able to set everything up how I wanted before I even left the lot.

09-17-2018, 12:11 AM	#1
jabe Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Drives: 2017 Toyota 86 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	What is this thing? I'm a fairly new owner and also overly curious how things work. I see on top of the dash, forward near the windshield, passenger (right) side, there's a small, raised dome-shaped "button". I can't quite tell if it's molded into the dash, or a separate part that might be removable. (In a symmetric position on the driver's side, there's a circular depression.) What the heck is it? (I thought maybe it's a daylight sensor for the headlights, but I'm pretty convinced now that it isn't.) And if it's not the daylight sensor, where the heck is the daylight sensor? (I've probably got a few more silly questions coming!)

09-17-2018, 02:55 AM	#5
Mr.ac [insert cool phrase here] Join Date: Aug 2015 Drives: BRZ Premium Location: Central Coast CA Posts: 2,369 Thanks: 709 Thanked 1,558 Times in 930 Posts Mentioned: 30 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Or..... you could try and read the owners manual. It has info you really should know about your car. Yes even your original question is covered in there. __________________ New daily driver - Subaru BRZ Premium Weekend fun/track car - '91 MR2 Turbo Gen3 Old daily driver - '88 MR2 Supercharged

09-17-2018, 01:52 PM	#11
Tcoat Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Drives: 2020 Hakone Location: London, Ont Posts: 69,845 Thanks: 61,656 Thanked 108,283 Times in 46,456 Posts Mentioned: 2495 Post(s) Tagged: 50 Thread(s)	"What is this thing?" __________________ Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar, because Racecar.

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09-17-2018, 12:46 AM	#2
ToySub1946 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Drives: 15FRS, 05MustangGT, 85Toyota truck Location: Eureka, Ca. Posts: 574 Thanks: 672 Thanked 590 Times in 279 Posts Mentioned: 5 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	Passenger side is a sensor which tells the headlamps to turn on or off when the headlamp switch is in the auto position. Driver's side, depression in same area simple means there's nothing there, on that side.

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