Purpose of switch? below steering column?

Hello all,

I posted this question over at PriusOnLine on Oct 23rd & so far haven't gotten any real answer from anybody there. But to be fair, there is not a lot of activity there any more due to the past history of numerous spam posts. Those spam bombardments are a thing of the past though, so you are all welcome to go back & revisit the site to see for yourselves. And hopefully you'll come back there & be productive posters again. Anyway, I'm going to just cut & paste that question here for you folks & your consideration. Original post follows now.

I was in getting my 85,000 mile service done this morning (only $49.16) & the dealer had a 2010 Prius in the showroom. It was my first chance to really get up close to an open one to get a feel for the inside of it. I have one question for any of you new 3G owners that the salesman couldn't answer for me.

There appears to be a switch hidden deep within the dash below the steering column. It looks like a black plastic push button on a bare shiny metal surface in there. If I insert my hand into the opening between the lower dash panel & the bottom of the steering shaft shroud I can almost reach it. I don't know if you come up from below that lower dash panel if it's any more accessible. I wonder what use such a switch is (if it is indeed a switch), being so hard to find & get at. Does anybody know what it really is & what it's for?
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Ken (in Bolton,Ct) 2005 Pkg #4 (AM)

 

rachaelseven,

I'm not sure. I have no familiarity with the new 2010 model. This was my first up-close look. That switch (at least it looks like a switch) is visible through the gap between the bottom of the steering column shroud & the lower dash panel (& is set back about 4 inches deeper than that panel), but is unreachable unless with a pencil with an eraser tip or if the steering column is tilt-able upward, then there may be enough clearance to get your fingers further/deeper in there (I didn't try to tilt/move the steering column & I didn't try coming up from underneath the lower edge of that panel & I wasn't there long enough to read the 2010 owner's manual).

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Hi again, rachaelseven,

It sure looks like a switch to me. It's shiny silver metal with what appears to be a rectangular black pushbutton about a half inch long & 1/8 inch wide protruding out from the shiny metal, but again it was too deep in for my fingers to reach it & I didn't want to stick my metal ball point pen inside there to possibly slip & short something out on a car I don't own. Take a quick look at your car & see if you can see what I'm talking about.

Ken (in Bolton, Ct)