'Mind Blown:' Man Shows Hidden Compartment in Car to Hide Things. Then a Cop Responds

A man reveals a hidden compartment in your car to hide things. Initially skeptical, a police officer decides to try the trick out on his own vehicle. He’s stunned by the result.

TikToker @user797467778021 reposts law enforcement content. On Aug. 14, the account reposted a video that starts with the hidden compartment tutorial.

“Push in your headlights, turn them to Auto, and you’ve got a hidden—” a man says. As he twists the headlight control switch, he pulls and the entire component comes out. The component leaves behind a tiny compartment, which could easily double as a stash box.

In a 2023 post showcasing the same trick, creator RangoSRT (@rangosrt) put an AirTag in the compartment. “That way if my vehicle ever gets stolen, I can track it,” says. He then jokes that you could hide other things, like “oregano clippings” or “Smartie candies” in there.

In the anonymous user's repost, the TikTok is stitched by a police officer, who says, “Calling BS. Let’s find out, though.”

The officer films himself walking out to his patrol vehicle, opening the door, and climbing inside. He looks extremely skeptical the entire way. “Don’t believe it’s going to happen,” he says.

The officer performs the same trick by switching his car lights on, pushing down, and turning. The component pops out. 

"OK, mind blown," he says, looking stunned. "It actually works."

Viewers React to the Police TikTok

The video has 3.1 million views as of this writing. In the comments, viewers offered plenty of thoughts on the original video on the police officer’s stitch.

"Now he'll be checking every car he pulls over," wrote one person.

"Great, he told the cops," said a second person.

A third person said, "Our tax money at work."

Someone else pointed out this is just a function of car design. "It's designed [so you can easily] replace a bad switch," they wrote.

Mischief or Modern Car Manufacturing?

While this might appear like a mischief enabling device to some, the last commenter is on to something. Car manufacturers often use interchangeable components when designing their vehicles because it’s cheaper, makes parts easier to obtain, and saves mechanics precious labor time.

The dash-mounted rotary headlight switch shown in the video is a popular iteration of the headlight switch that dates back to the 1960s and is still in use today. It is generally removed for replacement by mechanics via the method shown in the video. 

YouTube mechanic TRQ shows viewers how it’s done on a Ford F-350, which is a similar yet slightly different configuration than the one shown in the TikTok. In this case, the switch is connected to a rectangular component. It takes less than two minutes for TRQ to make the swap.

It’s natural that those who might operate in a legal gray area would look at this TikTok and think they’ve hit the jackpot. Of course, now that the trick is viral (and on police radar) it’s probably better to steer clear of this particular strategy.

Motor1 reached out to the user via TikTok comment and direct message for more information.