Older trucks MIGHT have features hidden.

[OTW]

I have no idea whether this applies to anyone else here but my recently purchased older truck has power windows as well as door lock and window lock buttons. Wishing for power mirrors after my first tow, my mechanic observed that "hmmm, that's strange you don't also have power mirrors. Usually comes with power windows." So just for the heck of it I called GMC's 800 number, gave her my Vin# and sure enough, while my truck didn't come with them, all the wiring including the plug is just sitting there, under the pop-off bezel (the plastic covering on the driver's door rest).

Further sniffing around revealed that this is apparently not uncommon. That it would be prohibitively expensive for a car maker to produce a differently wired door that didn't include power mirrors or some other power feature only for the vehicles that don't offer that feature. So they use the same wiring for all doors of a certain type, just using a different plastic bezel that, in my case, just doesn't include the two power mirror buttons.

I got onto eBay and found a used bezel that has all my existing same buttons, the spacing looks exactly the same, but it does include the power mirror buttons and listing says it'll fit my truck. Will see when it arrives (praying because anyone towing could reeeally use power mirrors!) But hey. This is just good to know that a given vehicle might have actually come fully wired for something that it didn't offer in a given model. (Seems strange, but maybe that's how they structure their pricing to encourage people to buy a next model up.)

[Queen]

That is really cool! Way to go on doing a little research and finding out something so worthwhile.

So different than my honeys boss, we bought a five year old Nissan Murano from her a few years ago, it was her daily driver. She's a relatively short woman and told my even more short wife "it seems hard to reach the pedals so it might not work for you". I replied "Ummm, it has power pedals, there's the button right there". I had googled up the features on that model before we went to look at it.

[Liz]

That explains some plugs, like under my driver's seat, that doesn't plug into anything....maybe wired for heated seats or something? There's another plug under the dash that has no known purpose.

[Bethers]

I've always wondered if the plugs with no switches had connections behind them. interesting.

[OTW]

Bethers, yeah, I thought so too.

Liz - just for the heck of it, call your manufacturer's 800# and ask what those 2 plugs are. It's possible your mechanic might know or be able to find out if you specifically ask. Based on my very initial and limited understanding, if for heated seats but the heater isn't in your seats, an added switch wouldn't do anything for you. For instance, on models of my vintage that would have had heated power mirrors I would need the heating element stuff built in also, which mine doesn't have according to GMC. But in this case, if the doors are wired for power mirrors, then it's just a matter of getting a switch with the quad point controller button and the left/right button and then connecting them to power mirrors (those all seem to also be equipped with a heater/defroster capability but the guts for that aren't in it).. So stuff with heating involved would need the heaters. But anything that's just power? Hey, if the wiring is there, then there's no reason I wouldn't think why it wouldnt' work if I just give it power mirrors to control. Kind of makes a person want to know what all dead end plugs might be about even more than normal.

[snowball]

that is good to know...I really like my power mirrors...didn't have them with the old truck
and it was a pain adjusting them with or without another person in the truck
thanks for the information
sheila