What is this 115v plug by battery?

Wondering if anyone knows what I might be able to use this plug for. I bought my 3rd gen used and just discovered it. The cord runs back behind the battery, around to the back of the dash, and through a point that’s hidden by the engine. I’m guessing it’s for a variety of after market mods? Any help is appreciated!

 

Looks like a block heater pigtail

 

Have you tested the volts ? Doubt its 115. Most electric is idiot proof, where you cant plug into the wrong voltage, unless you try real hard.

 

That’s the premium block heater option. (At least here in Canada)It usually has a corresponding male cord with normal 3 prong 15a plug on the other end. Usually they drill a hole and mount little receptacle in the plastic bumper. I’ve used mine for years. It’s nice if you drive away and forget to unplug-it pops apart safely, and doesn't freeze up as bad. A nice, clean approach to a short cord dangling out and scratching everything up lol

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/canadian-block-heater-port.651744/

 

that's the factory-option electric block heater plug-in that's standard in cold weather states and much of canada.

there was a significant recall on those. unless you can verify it was either updated or replaced with an alternate version, assume you have the version that can make your truck into a bonfire if plugged in.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-block-heater-recall.665044

 

I’m in the US, but the truck came from Canada, so this is all making sense now! No plans to actually use an engine block heater, but that’s good to know about the recall. I should make sure it’s been fixed.

 

haven’t tested it, just saw it says 115v. I don’t think I’ll be using it though

 

The 115v is input...

 

Another section of cord will plug into that receptacle you were asking about. That cord would plug into an extension cord, powering the block heater

 

ah! another canadian transplant truck!

mine is as well. i visited the dealer for the third brake light recall, and asked them about the block heater recall--my truck has one as well.

the biggest notes here are that toyota canada and toyota usa are individual corporate entities. that means that recalls issued by toyota canada don't effect or work directly with toyota usa.

the dealership has to go through a process where they basically 'aquire the rights' to work on a separate entities vehicle. because the third brake recall was a global recall that affected all tacoma's, toyota usa agreed to absorb the cost of that.

but because i'm located near chicago, toyota usa officially told my dealer that they would not agree to do the block heater recall, due to the fact that temperatures don't get all that cold enough to justify it here.

my service advisor gave me 3 realistic options at that point regarding the block heater.
1. he gave me the contact information for toyota usa corporate, and said that while the dealership would be willing to change the unit for the replacement, i would have to be the one that convinces toyota usa that it's worth doing-- either i can pay out of pocket for them to install the replacement, or convince toyota usa to honor a separate entities recall notice.
2. they can 'perform' the appropriate action, which officially, is to disable the block heater-- cut the end off of it.
3. none of this ever happened, i keep the truck as-is, and we part ways.

i chose option 3, and later cut the plug end off myself..

 

yeah option 3 sounds like great to me. I’m a little concerned about recalls in general now though. Does this mean I won’t be notified about future recalls, or possibly just have difficulty getting a US dealership to cover them?

 

you can look up recalls online at Toyota.com/recall

You can ask your dealer to send you recall via email or home address if they don’t have your info on the file.

 

i don't know if you'll ever be notified about recalls. but honestly, i've owned 2 subaru brz's from new, local to america, and never gotten any recall notices, so i question how well the recall process works anyways.

it depends entirely on the recall. safety stuff, or major liability stuff like the third brake light, i really had no major issues on my end. it just represents more paperwork on the dealership side of it, so it took a little while for them to get their ducks in a row.

i went in to my dealership about 2 weeks earlier, and discussed the entire situation (canadian truck, leaky third brake light recall, and block heater recall) with the rep to make the appointment. he took down my VIN, described some of the issues with transferring 'ownership' of the warranty work between entities, and we set an appointment i was available for 2 weeks later. he took care of all the paperwork on his side of things. end-user-wise, it was of no consequence to me. i just made the appointment, they did the work. i had done some research before hand, and knew about the different entities, which was why i walked in earlier to discuss it with them before having the work done. you could also email any of your local toyota service reps, but i had none of that contact info, was in the area, and it's just easier than searching through an email or playing phone tag.

the block heater specifically is a region-specific alteration. technically, he gave me a 4th option-- bring the truck back to canada to have that work done, but that's out because i don't have that kind of time...

we'll see. i'm starting to think my truck is effected by the brake booster recall as well, so i'll have to see how that plays out...

 

100%, block heater.