Orange light under rear view mirror

I briefly had a 2nd gen '13 CM that had a orange/amber light jnder rear view mirror that shined down on shifter...Do 3rd gens have this??? Now I have a '14 CM same trim as '13 but no light

 

I don't think i have a light on my 15 platinum

 

I have always wondered what the hell it was?

 

Same trim packages vary equipment-wise, from truck to truck, even within the same model year. Toyota is unpredictable that way. Are you sure that you have the same mirror? When I was searching for one to upgrade the one in my truck, I found that there were many different model numbers. Some had the light you're talking about with and without the compass, and/or the monitor for the back up camera. Some had a red compass, others blue/green. Pretty confusing.

 

I have that light... it scared me to death coming home from a wedding one night this summer. What is that for?

 

Assuming just to shine down shifter area

 

The '13 I had I bought it used it still had window sticker inside manual all it said it was a SR5...The '14 I have now is a SR5 TSS the back up is on the radio head unit the '13 back up monitor was on the mirror with orange light

 

Ya, my '11 SR5 mirror was just a mirror. No camera, no compass, no light. My neighbor's '07 SR5 has a compass and a light that shines on the shifter that is just below the lid on the center console. It's kind of a gamble.

 

I work for the company that makes those mirrors.

Internally it is called the PRNDL light because it effectively shines down on the shifter. The idea is that it provides a non-intrusive ambient lighting that will reduce your need for the map lamp.

Toyota dropped the PRNDL feature with the 2014 refresh. This is not uncommon with vehicles that have the big radio screen as the radio now generates more than enough ambient light (typically too much).

 

Thanks for the explanation!

 

I have a 13 with compass auto dim and homelink. Had wished there was light on the shifter cupholder area. Had a little fender bender and when I got it back from the body shop low and behold there's a little orange light on the bottom of the mirror. I can't find a switch anywhere. Weird, the truck only had 9k on it when I got it last Feb and was like new. It's 25k on it now.

 

The light can be turned off with a software setting in the mirror. They probably pulled the battery for an extended period of time when the did bodywork. Long enough for your mirror to loose its mind.

 

Interesting, your probably right. Why does everything have to be software controlled? What's wrong with giving us a simple switch to turn it on and off as we please? F-ers.

 

F-ing engineers

 

Yeah, it helps a little. I'm still thinking about getting some leds to light up the cupholders.