so i think this might be on the wrong category. its more out of curiosity but the other day i was changing the oil in my 96 2.5 tl and noticed a little metal swith thing under the dash board on the driver side. its next to the hood latch its flipped up at the moment and i had the curisority of flippin it down but i dont kno what it does ive had the car for years now and i just noticed it. any ideas anyone?

 

Do you have a picture of it?

 

Ok... I have the answer...
Right (Hood Latch. Left (weird switch).

Close up of the weird switch##################################

So, after a quick discussion on the FB 1st Gen Acura 2.5 & 3.2TL, the weird switch is to tell the alarm the hood is closed. Why? I don't know. if a person were to open the hood, couldn't they just press the switch to activate it as if the hood was closed. But, all this time I thought it was an On and Off switch that a person press with a finger. This is not the case, it is for the hood to press down as you close it. Just like a refrigerator that has a button at the fold of the door to turn off the refrigerator's light.

 

Ok... so the above pics were from a 1996 Acura TL 2.5 with the hood alarm switch. This is the info from the car and VIN..
2.5 in Fort Worth, TX

 

So, all the info above is from the same car. 1996, 2.5, LEATHER seats (premium), and NO sunroof; however, it has a hood alarm switch.

 

Now, here comes the twist in this hood alarm switch research... I visited the Little Rock Pick N Pull and found this 1997 Acura TL 2.5. LEATHER seats (premium) YES, and sunroof YES; BUT, NO hood alarm switch.
Little Rock Pick N Pull


Leather Seats



NO Hood Alarm Switch.

So, The only explanation is that this is an optional alarm for your hood... It doesn't make any sense to me. It's like, "for an extra $200 you can get the hood alarm to prevent Tuners from stealing your 20valve 2.5 engine!" LOL