What the heck IS this thingy???

[pawsplus]

Pic below NOT my car --stock internet photo of 2008 LB. But my car (2010) has a SQUARE version of this round thingy marked w/ arrow. It's just like a spacesaver or something. It's on one side only (same size as in this photo. What is it for??

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb249/pawsplus/2008toyotayaris.jpg

[thebarber]

removable plate to attach tow hook if you get in an accident

[DARK AGE 53]

you'll find the stock tow hook near the spare tire, best to use a stiff plastic credit card when removing the cover......using a screwdriver might chip your paint. Here's a pic of mine with the NST tow hook installed, http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26318 .

[RedRide]

To elaborate a bit....

The "tow hook" is used mainly for a situation where a car is in a ditch/over an embankment, etc where ther is no other place to attatch a cable to tow it out of the situation and back on the road or to place so it can be hooked up to a tow truck, etc.

[WeeYari]

Probably might want to take a coffee break and acquaint yourself with your owners manual. :wink:

[Yaris Hilton]

This is a FAQ and probably should be a sticky. I asked it, too, when new on the board and it was pointed out that it had been asked and answered many times.

[SailDesign]

Probably might want to take a coffee break and acquaint yourself with your owners manual. :wink:

Heh... I was going to say RTFM, but WeeYari was nicer. :smile:
And don't worry - you're not the first to wonder what it was.

[KCALB SIRAY]

It's a porthole hatch for the Hellfire missle (factory option only in USA and Canada)

[Mistry]

^ LOL!

[WeeYari]

Fun response to same question in 2008

Gerbil Escape Hatch

[Kal-El]

This has been asked 32,342,642,663,115,786,556,735,325 times on this forum.

[Revsson]

Probably might want to take a coffee break and acquaint yourself with your owners manual. :wink:

Where do I find the owner's manual? :iono:

j/k :biggrin:
I actually don't mind when new persons ask questions, but you do have
a point that they really should look through the manual. Of course, you
don't expect everyone to remember every single thing in there, do ya? :wink:

[b_hickman11]

This has been asked 32,342,642,663,115,786,556,735,325 times on this forum.

whats the point?

[JBougie]

It took me 8 months to figure it out! LOL I didn't want to get labeled as the "dumb girl" so I never asked ........... but holy crap did I want to. That piece actually fell out of my car while on a road-trip to South Dakota, so I was able to figure it out when I got to see what was under there :)

[Yaris#2]

It's a porthole hatch for the Hellfire missle (factory option only in USA and Canada)

Ok, who do I see to get the Hellfire missle? I'm so tired of semi's pulling out in front of me. They either think I'm a junebug or I can't be going that fast. If they didn't take up two to three lanes when pulling out in front of me I would just go around them.

How many missles in the magazine? I think I need five at least for a trip of any distance.:evil:

[pawsplus]

Um . . . pardon me for asking a question! :bow: Didn't SEE it in the owner's manual, and the owner's manual is a piece of CRAP, so I figured I'd ask you guys. I guess you only want to talk about tricking perfectly nice cars up to look like pimpmobiles. Never freakin' mind. :confused:

[WeeYari]

Responses 2, 3 and 4 gave you a clear answer. After that, we are just having fun the thread. It's all good.

[silver_vios]

I guess you only want to talk about tricking perfectly nice cars up to look like pimpmobiles. Never freakin' mind. :confused:

I suddenly want a pimpmobile license plate frame.

I knew about my tow hook pretty much immediately, but I did take me a while to figure out the goofy light on the back of the xB is a reverse light.

[DARK AGE 53]

pawsplus, don't let them get to you. I found it on page 297 of my 09 manual, it's under Emergency towing.

Later,
Al

[MadMax]

I thought that was were you inserted the key to wind up the engine!

Just like these bugs, but their engine is in the back...

http://dvice.com/pics/windup_cars.jpg

With our engines in the front, it makes sense that the key would go there!

:biggrin:

[b_hickman11]

Um . . . pardon me for asking a question! :bow: Didn't SEE it in the owner's manual, and the owner's manual is a piece of CRAP, so I figured I'd ask you guys. I guess you only want to talk about tricking perfectly nice cars up to look like pimpmobiles. Never freakin' mind. :confused:

You have to watch out for the Yaris World Police. They get very pissed when someone new comes on here and ask a question that they asked a few years ago. Feel free to ask anymore questions. These people that say "You need to use the search feature" are a bunch of idiots.

[Yaris Hilton]

I thought that was were you inserted the key to wind up the engine!

American cars of the '30s and '40s usually had a small opening to insert a crank in case the starter didn't work. My '40 Ford had one, with a small pivoted cover over it in the lower center of the grille. The same tool served as the lug wrench, jack handle, and emergency starting crank. The end of the handle had two little lugs that engaged a socket in the front of the crankshaft pulley, which had angled ramps to kick it back out when the engine started. Fortunately I never had to hand crank the old Flathead V8. It's not a bad idea to be able to, though!

[QuantumIguana]

It's for one of two things:

1) optional laser attachment. I hope the add the rear-mounted version to take care of tailgaters.

2) 1.21 gigowatt adapter to power the flux capacitor. Great if you're already late, and you have room to reach 88 mph.

[Kal-El]

Just like these bugs, but their engine is in the back

New Beetles' engines are in the front. :smile:

[Kal-El]

It's for one of two things:

1) optional laser attachment. I hope the add the rear-mounted version to take care of tailgaters.

2) 1.21 gigowatt adapter to power the flux capacitor. Great if you're already late, and you have room to reach 88 mph.

LOL!!! :biggrin:

[Yaris#2]

American cars of the '30s and '40s usually had a small opening to insert a crank in case the starter didn't work. My '40 Ford had one, with a small pivoted cover over it in the lower center of the grille. The same tool served as the lug wrench, jack handle, and emergency starting crank. The end of the handle had two little lugs that engaged a socket in the front of the crankshaft pulley, which had angled ramps to kick it back out when the engine started. Fortunately I never had to hand crank the old Flathead V8. It's not a bad idea to be able to, though!

My first Toyota was a '63 Corrola with a three speed on the column shifter. It had a crank in the trunk in case the battery went dead. It had the same set up you describe. I used it a couple of times, not that I needed to, I just wanted to see if it worked and it did quite well.

[Yaris Hilton]

That was a good idea, to test it and see if it worked.

A '63 Corolla makes you a real pioneer. Bet nobody on here's had an older Japanese car.

[Yaris#2]

That was a good idea, to test it and see if it worked.

A '63 Corolla makes you a real pioneer. Bet nobody on here's had an older Japanese car.

It was a sweet car. Drove it back and forth to college until I handgrenaded the engine on I-94. The speedometer was broke so I just drove a little faster than everyone else. My bad. The little 1100cc engine just couldn't take it that day. Threw a rod through the block right were the fuel pump was attached. Lucky it didn't catch fire. Parts all over the highway:cry:

[MadMax]

Wow, I remember my neighbor having a Honda Civic back in the mid-70s like this one...

http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/honda/antigos/civic-75-cvcc.jpg

..but I don't remember too many Japanese cars before that. Did it look much like this '66 Japanese Corolla?

http://www.tilt-rotor.com/2004/JapnTrip/Toyota/20040326_CorollaKE10.JPG

1963 was also the year Soichiro Honda first started in the car industry, with the S500 Roadster...

http://hondamobilia.vtec.net/images/S500-S800/1964%20S500%20Roadster.jpg

What a beaut! Forty-four horsepower from a 492cc engine, dual overhead cams, four carbs, a needle roller bearing crankshaft, a 9,500 rpm redline, and cost $1,275! :clap:

Cheers! M2

[why?]

i need that laser, man i would use it too much though. All these people on the road just are so stupid...

[tomato]

You have to watch out for the Yaris World Police. They get very pissed when someone new comes on here and ask a question that they asked a few years ago. Feel free to ask anymore questions. These people that say "You need to use the search feature" are a bunch of idiots.

Hahahaha!! Good one!! :laugh: :clap:

The search feature is useful and it's always a good idea to try it first rather than ask a question that was just asked yesterday :wink:, but it does have its limitations.

Personally, I fail to understand why someone would even bother to post "this question was already asked x times on this forum" or "why don't you read the f'n manual." WTF? Why bother wasting time posting anything on a thread if you deem it beneath you and don't want to help the guy out?

Pfeww, now that I got that out of my system ... feel much better now, always meant to say something about that kind of comment

But I digress... :smile: :smile:


A '63 Corolla makes you a real pioneer. Bet nobody on here's had an older Japanese car.

How old is old? I had a first gen. civic hatchback, 4 door, very, very much like Mad Max's pic. Mine was metallic green and had 4 doors and a hatch. I loved that little box! Pretty sure it was a mid to late 70's model, no later. I have some pics somewhere I really need to dig out for the forum.

[why?]

if i am correct, i think the 63 corolla was the first car toyota imported to the us.

i'm wrong, yay toyota website! corollas weren't imported to 68.

[Yaris#2]

My Corolla looked pretty similar to the 66 you see above except I don't recall any side mirrors and there was a small hole in the grill just above the bumper for the crank. Same size and shape. Grill and bumper were different and amazingly the color is the same. I've never seen one like it before or since so I don't know how it got here in the US if Toyota wasn't exporting yet. It was a left side drive like all American cars and everything was in English.

[Yaris Hilton]

I think I recall reading on Toyota's website that a few cars were sold in California in the early '50s, but I don't have time to go hunt for it now. I certainly don't think there was any sort of "mass marketing" of Japanese cars here till the mid '60s. I recall a few odd college professors with those early Corollas, and the first Datsuns (now called Nissans) I really remember were the 1600 and 2000 cc sports roadsters that I think I first saw around 1965. There were small sedans at the time too, but I paid no attention to them.

[b_hickman11]

Hahahaha!! Good one!! :laugh: :clap:

The search feature is useful and it's always a good idea to try it first rather than ask a question that was just asked yesterday :wink:, but it does have its limitations.


If the poster searched for "What the heck IS this thingy???" he would have not found much on the site.

[MadMax]

Yaris #2, are you sure it was a '63? 'Cause I was looking into Why?'s comment that the Corolla was the first Japanese car imported into the US, and this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla) said the first generation Corolla (E10 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla_%28E10%29)) wasn't introduced until 1966! And he is correct, the first one didn't hit US shores until 1968 (at a blazing price of $1,700!).

But to answer which was the first Japanese car sold in the US, that distinction still belongs to Toyota! In 1957, it brought the Crown (a.k.a. Toyopet) to the States...

http://i.cnn.net/money/galleries/2007/biz2/0706/gallery.launch_hits_and_misses.biz2/images/toyota_toyopet.jpg

"We took our chances and began exporting to the U.S. in order to stake our claim," said former Toyota Chairman Eiji Toyoda. "But the reception was horrible. To begin with, the car didn't have enough power to travel on high-speed roads." A mere 50 years later, Toyota recently surpassed Ford as the numbr two U.S. automaker.

The '66 Corolla picture I posted was a Japanese model...note the location of the steering wheel. That is also why the mirrors are on the fenders, that was common on RHD cars (the same occurred in the UK and other Commonwealth countries). This is what the '68 US version looked like...

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/8134678+w750+st0/0802_03z+1968_toyota_corolla+front_three_quarter_v iew.jpg

Cheers! M2

[Yaris#2]

I can't say I'm positive of the year, it has been awhile. It did look very similar to the pictures posted but not exactly and I am certain it was a 4 dr. because my buddy and I stripped it down and took it to the junk yard. He pushed it and we had taken the front seats out and I crawled out the rear door because we stopped too close to another car to get the front door open. It seems like it was a little more rounded in general than the picture above.

[pawsplus]

The search feature is useful and it's always a good idea to try it first rather than ask a question that was just asked yesterday :wink:, but it does have its limitations.
See, I can't think of anything I would put in the search engine to search for this. How about "thingy on bumper"? I'm at a loss.

[DARK AGE 53]

See, I can't think of anything I would put in the search engine to search for this. How about "thingy on bumper"? I'm at a loss.

I tried "what's that square hole in my bumper", that doesn't work either.:smile: If you have a question, then ask it..... why it bothers some I don't know.

[tomato]

See, I can't think of anything I would put in the search engine to search for this. How about "thingy on bumper"? I'm at a loss.

I know what you mean. If you don't word the question exactly right, you might not get any info. Like I said, the search feature is limited.

A good thing from now on, someone will be able to enter "gerbil escape hatch" and fall right on this thread :wink: :laugh:

[WeeYari]

A good thing from now on, someone will be able to enter "gerbil escape hatch" and fall right on this thread :wink: :laugh:

Three threads actually. :biggrin:

[MadMax]

By the way, I got curious and wondered what the price of the Honda S500 and the Corolla would be today. Using this site (http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm), I found...

- $1,275.00 (the cost of the new Honda S500) in 1963 had about the same buying power as $9,057.07 in 2010

- $1,700.00 (the price of the Corolla when it hit US shores) in 1968 had about the same buying power as $10,829.30 today

Obviously, cars are much more complex than they were back then; but it is surprising at the difference...

Cheers! M2