Just bought a 2018 Octavia. All very lovely. However, there is a button that no one knows what it’s for. Any ideas?

It’s not OEM. That’s all I know. 

It calls the US presidential election. Press it! Or Don't! It depends...

What happens when you press it?

Do you know the history of the car? Is it ex Police/Ambulance/Miltary/Motability?

Does it have any additional lights, equipment or a non standard fuelling system?

 

 

15 hours ago, BigHair said:

Just bought a 2018 Octavia. All very lovely. However, there is a button that no one knows what it’s for. Any ideas?

Interesting that the recess in the dash appears to exactly match the switch bezel - is there normally some other switch in that position?

1 hour ago, Warrior193 said:

Interesting that the recess in the dash appears to exactly match the switch bezel - is there normally some other switch in that position?

 

Pretty sure it's normally the headlight range for cars with halogen headlights

 

As for the OP's car, it's probably for an aftermarket tracker which can be set to business or personal use (hence B & P). No idea if it'll still be fitted or if it's just the switch that's been left in place.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it is in the headlight levelling position. The car was leased prior to my purchase. Suggestions that make sense so far are:

 

1) Switching from bio to petroleum diesel. However, here is only one tank so this would be switching engine settings and I’m not sure a leasing company would have allowed this.

 

2) something to do with the alarm system, maybe switching to allow a dog to be in the car while the alarm is set but not setting it off.

 

3) Tracker.

 

Nothing appears to happen when I switch it. But maybe it is doing something I can’t see.

Ask the one you bought it from...

I did. It came from a dealer. He’s never seen one before and was as clueless as me.

Pretty sure most common rail engines aren't a great candidate for bio-diesel conversion due to the lubrication needs in the high-pressure fuel pumps and injectors so it feels quite unlikely for such a new car to have been converted given the potential savings.

 

There is already an option in the infotainment system to disable interior monitoring if needed. It used to be a switch on the drivers B-pillar... Progress

 

As I said before, the tracker is the most likely option. It might be worth taking a look to see if there is any wiring coming off the back of the switch or any other obvious modifications around the OBD port. It's likely to be a separate system so I wouldn't expect any obvious changes when flicking the switch. It's worth investigating to make sure that you're not being tracked and there are no future issues with power draw causing a flat battery etc.

 

Assuming it has been completely removed, a new blanking plate will let you remove the switch too 

Thanks Langers

2 hours ago, langers2k said:

It might be worth taking a look to see if there is any wiring coming off the back of the switch or any other obvious modifications around the OBD port.

👍👍👍

Most likely some sort of tracker with Business/Personal miles. The blanking plate is for the halogen cars - looks like someone has just taken a Dremel to it.

 

Pull the switch out, figure out what's behind it and rip it all out!

Maybe too late for answer but i have similar button (but digital) in a company's car. In my case button is connected to 4G module for tracking purposes. If I press P it means private-personal usage and B is for business. Some company policies give employee some mileage for private use per month(for example 1k km).

Thanks. That’s what we figured. Where is the module? Any idea?

14 minutes ago, BigHair said:

Thanks. That’s what we figured. Where is the module? Any idea?

Easiest way would be to pull the switch out and follow the wiring loom.

22 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

Easiest way would be to pull the switch out and follow the wiring loom.

I agree. In clio was under the driver's seat. But i guess it depends who and how installed it.

Tracker I saw was in the boot drivers side