2011 Tacoma, new purchase, mystery after market item

skydealer

Member
Hello - first post here.

I recently purchased a 2011 Tacoma 4cyl 2WD access cab. Once the paperwork was signed at the dealer I seem to have fallen off the face of the earth as they have provided zero info on some of my questions.

This is a pretty basic truck with not a lot of accessories, which is fine as I just need it for daily transportation and hauling. things like branches and furniture. Since the dealer is useless as far as information I was hoping to get some info here.

There's actually 3 different items that I was wondering about...

I'd like to one day add in fog lights and also the temperature/compass module inside the cab. I was hoping all the wiring would already be there and all I need to do is pop out the covers and plug and play with the equipment. Anyone ever add in these sort of things?

But the biggest head-scratcher is something that was mounted on the driver's side, down near the fuse panel. It's hard to trace the wiring back to see what it was attached to but it's held on with Velcro and has a button on the top and a window with 2 LEDs in it. Not sure if this is a sensor for a remote or not. I also tried to see if it was a Bluetooth adapter but nothing came up when I sniffed with a Bluetooth device.

The 2011 Tacoma was used very little. It only had 14500 miles on it when I bought it ($17,500) and it has cruise, multi CD player with satellite radio, power windows and locks, and the only accessory port is an audio jack.

I'll attach some images in hopes someone can identify what this is for and if it was a typical item found in the Tacoma. It has a small ribbon cable attached to it and there is no writing or logos on the exterior.

Thanks for any help.
 

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The ribbon cable promptly disappears into the wire bundle right above it. There's some after-market wiring in the same area which also contains 2 fuses, but I am thinking those may be for the XM/Sirius module that was added on to the stereo.

The truck already has an alarm & keyless entry fob. Those were all factory items as well. (forgot to mention those in the original post).

Pressing the button has no noticeable effect.
 

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Not as easy as it sounds.

As soon as the ribbon cable goes under the bottom of the dash it disappears into the tape-wrapped wire bundle. I looked around as much as I could and didn't see any place where it exited and was hooked to any accessory. That has me wondering if this was a Toyota accessory or at least a dealer installed after-market gadget.

To trace it further I'd have to disassemble the dash and start splitting open the wire bundles. :sad: It's not that major of an issue to have to do something that drastic, so I was hoping another Tacoma owner has seen something like this before.
 
It's the led and valet button for the alarm.if you purchased it they plug a little chip into it and it works if not well it's there just not used.
 
Thanks for the responses - unfortunately I'll never get to use the options.

Just 7 weeks after I purchased a great truck with super low mileage some bonehead wasn't paying attention while driving and plowed into me while I was sitting at a red light.

My poor truck was totaled out this week - -bent frame, also took out he rear axle and suspension. Sons of beaches.

Now I'm in the market for a replacement Tacoma.
 
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Thanks for the responses - unfortunately I'll never get to use the options.

Just 7 weeks after I purchased a great truck with super low mileage some bonehead wasn't paying attention while driving and plowed into me while I was sitting at a red light.

My poor truck was totaled out this week - -bent frame, also took out he rear axle and suspension. Sons of beaches.

Now I'm in the market for a replacement Tacoma.

Dang that sucks. Are you ok?
 
I feel your pain:thumbdown: This October, My 2009 Tacoma was rear ended at a stop light. 4300 bucks to fix a bent frame. Only looked like the bumper was bent down... however, It was frame damage and the entire back of the truck had to be taken apart:thumbdown:
 
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