# AS SEEN ON TV: Secret hidey hole compartments in cars **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048 "2022-07-16T13:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/21 "2022-07-17T01:59:25Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > It’s actually reasonably simple theses days. Even 20 years ago, it was reasonably easy–depending on the car. My 2003 BMW had something called iBUS, which was similar to the CAN bus. Every button/switch/knob/etc. in the car sent a signal across the bus. Trivial to listen in on the bus and do something after the right sequence. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/22 "2022-07-17T02:09:18Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Couldn’t find word one about it in my owner’s manual. > > Also, what cars come with a cigarette lighter these days? - Besides almost universal USB ports of various flavors, some cars/trucks have household outlets and even the cigarette lighter power outlets. I have no idea if you can buy the lighter or if they fit. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/23 "2022-07-17T02:12:23Z")
The manual for my 2010 Honda specifically says that the thing that looks like a cigarette lighter can’t be used for that but instead just to deliver power to stuff. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/24 "2022-07-17T02:21:33Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/25 "2022-07-17T06:30:36Z")
My 2014 BMW has a cigarette lighter. It’s where I plug in the phone charger. It’s annoying because the with the lighter sitting in the ashtray (we always leave it out, phone charger plugged in) the lid to the ashtray won’t close. (In a BMW, perhaps it’s meant as a cigar lighter?) My Tesla Model 3 has an “Auxiliary Power Socket” in the central console. Like **Finn** says, not for lighting cigarettes - but good for 12V 12A. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/26 "2022-07-17T12:34:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I fasten my seatbelt. As do I, \>90% of the time. But if I leave the house and need to run into the barn to do something as I drive by, it’s foolish to buckle, unbuckle, rebuckle. Additionally I feel stupid rushing to buckle to beat the chiding chime. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/27 "2022-07-17T13:47:39Z")
Exactly. I’ll buckle up at the point _I_ want to within my start-up sequence. Not the instant my ass hits the seat which is when the car starts nagging by default. My car serves me, not vice versa. Easy enough to alter that behavior w the right hardware and software tools. Or the right “cheat code” for some cars. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/28 "2022-07-17T19:33:57Z")
My car complains about my “passenger” being unbuckled whenever I put a bag of groceries in the shotgun seat. Which I deal with by just leaving that belt always buckled across the empty seat. (I very seldom carry an actual passenger) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/29 "2022-07-17T21:51:50Z")
Why on earth would that be unconstitutional? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/30 "2022-07-17T22:57:13Z")
With the current SCOTUS? 6-3 it wouldn’t. 🙂 I think it would be because it criminalizes making a lock box. It’s already illegal to smuggle illegal things, criminalizing the container is not necessary. A container can be used for anything, or nothing, Maybe you hide your cash there when you travel. Or your condoms. Who knows, but there are at least a few legal reasons to have one. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/31 "2022-07-18T00:48:56Z")
I’ve observed that those laws tend to be add on offenses. They’re charged when the hidden compartment is used for illegal purposes. Using one to stash your license in or a lawfully carried gun is exempt. But I didn’t read every states statutes, just a few. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/32 "2022-07-18T02:09:02Z")
If the Constitution doesn’t say there’s a right to own lockboxes, then a state can pass a law that makes lockboxes illegal. If they don’t, it’s just because the legislator doesn’t want to make that law. Other than the limits set out in the Constitution, there are no limits on what states can do. This is in contrast with the federal government, which only has those powers specifically laid out for it in the Constitution (though, over the course of the nation’s history, they’ve gotten much better at finding ways to apply those enumerated powers to whatever they want). ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/33 "2022-07-18T03:53:06Z")
The article I read also commented that the law is stupid because car break-ins, especially in urban areas, are a common hazard. A lot of people may want an undocumented, not common place to hide perfectly lawful things. They can’t make carrying an AR15 illegal, but they can criminalize making your own hidden compartment. I shake my head at the wonders of the Land of the Free… ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/34 "2022-07-18T05:28:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which I deal with by just leaving that belt always buckled across the empty seat. You can also use a [seatbelt silencer](https://www.amazon.com/2PACKS-Silencer-Tongue-Universal-Vehicle-Black/dp/B08V3V9Y1R) if you don’t like the appearance of a latched seatbelt on an empty seat. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/35 "2022-07-18T16:51:00Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > My 2014 BMW has a cigarette lighter. It’s where I plug in the phone charger. It’s annoying because the with the lighter sitting in the ashtray (we always leave it out, phone charger plugged in) the lid to the ashtray won’t close. (In a BMW, perhaps it’s meant as a cigar lighter?) It’s meant to light the $100 bill, which you then use to light your cigar. Didn’t you go to German Car Owner’s Training? It’s the lesson right after, “Yes, you do in fact own the road.” ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/36 "2022-07-18T17:29:36Z")
That’s not quite right. They can seize contraband or prima facia evidence that is in plain sight. The “search” for things in plain sight is nothing more than looking, with your eyes only, from wherever you happen to legally be. You can’t move things around or even touch anything. That would be an actual search and requires a warrant. The idea of plain sight is intended to allow LEOs to seize things that they come across unintentionally. “Oops! There it is!” as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/37 "2022-07-18T17:45:27Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > You can also use a [seatbelt silencer](https://www.amazon.com/2PACKS-Silencer-Tongue-Universal-Vehicle-Black/dp/B08V3V9Y1R) I have seen those in use by the people who move the rental cars in the airport parking lot from where they are returned to where they are cleaned (the cars, not the guys) to where they are rented again. They told me they really resented having to use the seatbelt in a parking lot for those short distances. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > It’s the lesson right after, “Yes, you do in fact own the road.” That is an exageration: Mercedes only has in-built right of way for the E-, the S-Class and the roadsters. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/38 "2022-07-18T17:54:24Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I have seen those in use by the people who move the rental cars in the airport parking lot from where they are returned to where they are cleaned (the cars, not the guys) to where they are rented again. They told me they really resented having to use the seatbelt in a parking lot for those short distances. Resent? How bizarre. What the fuck would they have their employer do? Obviously it would be insane just from a liability perspective to turn that off in a rental vehicle. Is it really that much more difficult to use and then keep track of one of those devices than to put on the seat belt or just listen to a chime for several seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/39 "2022-07-18T18:02:19Z")
Yes, I thought hat bizarre too, that’s why I remember. People are weird sometimes, in that car rental company there seems to have been a discourse that lead to that behaviour. I wondered too how it might have started and why they did not just buckle up. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048/40 "2022-07-18T18:25:10Z")
If you jump in and out of 200 cars a day driving them for 20 feet at a time, you may well get tired of fiddling with a nuisance that does exactly zero to improve your workday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-seen-on-tv-secret-hidey-hole-compartments-in-cars/968048.md?page=3)