DRIVERS have been left baffled by a “hidden” car door button that makes it much easier to park up and quickly pop into the shops.
The handy switch is a major help for parents and pet owners and can save you from an embarrassing issue.
The debate over the button’s function was sparked when a driver posted a picture of it on Reddit in the hope of discovering its purpose.
They wrote: “I just got myself a 2014 Peugeot 308 and have found a button on the dash and I have no idea as to what it does.
“It’s to the right of the steering wheel.
“To me it looks maybe like some kind of radar detection maybe, so mobile speed camera or something.
“Can anyone shed some light on what it does as I was hoping if I pressed it, it would come up on the centre console screen what it does but nothing happens?”
The button was set into the cabin’s central console and was marked with an outline of the car containing what appeared to be a WiFi symbol and the word “off” below it.
Several mystified motorists came up with some humorous explanations.
One joked: “[It] microwaves all the occupants in an emergency.”
Another chuckled: “Ejector seat.”
And a third even quipped that it was the button to detonate the car’s in-built nuclear warhead.
However, there is a much simpler, and more convenient, explanation.
One savvy driver commented: “I think you press that to turn off the volumetric alarm when locking the car.
“You press it just before getting out and locking the car.”
When you press the button, it disables the movement sensor that triggers the alarm.
This is ideal if you are nipping out of the vehicle quickly and leaving a child or a pet inside the car as it stops them from accidentally setting the alarm off.
All you have to do is turn the ignition off, hold the button until the LED light beneath it turns on and then get out and lock the car as normal.
It should automatically reset to turn on the next time you leave the vehicle unattended.
