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The sun visor in your car is one of the most basic yet effective features of a car. The design has been relatively unchanged for a century, but there's a secret car feature that you may not know about.
The first sun visor was put on the exterior of the 1924 Ford Model T. Since then, the only real technical advancements have been moving it to the inside of the car in 1932 and later adding a vanity mirror.
Over the years, it has been one of the only components on a vehicle that hasn't been modernised and overcomplicated with technology. It is simply a material-covered board that blocks UV rays from hitting the front or side of your face.
As we head into summer, protecting your eyes from the harsh Australian sun is essential. This little-known sun visor hack could help protect your skin from harmful UV rays.
Secret car sun visor feature
When you unclip your sun visor from its position above the windshield and swivel it around to your side window, you can extend the visor part out.
The hack is particularly useful for taller drivers sitting nearer the B-pillar of their car, where the sun visor typically will not reach.
We were reminded of this nifty little hack in a TikTok video by StephanieBoothHome, who showed the trick on the passenger side. However, we have tested it on several new vehicles, and it also works on the driver's side.
If you didn't know about this trick, you're not alone. The video's comment section was littered with people saying they had no idea, while a few people said they were surprised that no one knew about it.
"To be embarrassed and honest, I've been driving for 15 years now, and I never knew this. Or maybe I did, but I'm totally blank about it," wrote one user.
"I feel so called out for all the people saying, 'who didn't know this?'" wrote another.
"If you didn't know this, you're missing out on life," contested one user.
It should be noted, however, that not every car has this feature, but most modern cars will. To test it out on your car, only apply a light amount of pressure to slide it out; do not try to pull it with force. If your car doesn't have this feature and you pull with force, you may break your sun visor.
Some vehicles have other clever solutions, like the 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero (below), which has a plastic insert that slides across instead of the whole sun visor. Or even some Land Rover and Jaguar cars, which have a second sun visor just for the side.
Did you know about this secret car feature? Let us know in the comments below.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
