Last night was cold, when I started the car this morning, the orange snowflake light is on. What does it mean? If I still drive, whether will harm the car? how I can remove it? Your reply is appreciated.
It means that it is cold outside. You can remove it by moving your Prius to a warmer location. Other than that, it doesn't mean anything. Tom
The light comes on when the outside air temp (OAT) drops to 37F or lower. It goes off above 39F. It means it's COLD outside and you should watch out for possible snow and ice on the roads
We have speculated that 37ºF (2.7ºC) was selected because potentially dangerous conditions could exist on overpasses and similar bridge-type structures. As Tom suggested, the best way to clear that light is to remove your Prius from such cold conditions and move it to warmer climes.
On newer Gen II Prius the snowflake light has been replaced by a banner pop up on the MFD which states that the outside air temperature is 39°F. It seems kind of silly, so my wife an I always make a big deal out of it when it pops up. Where we live, we see it quite a bit in the warmer months, but not much in the winter because it never gets that warm. Tom
I believe the newer alert is still at 37 degF. Or maybe, since the computer is really thinking in degC, the threshold is somewhere in the middle of 37 and 39...
It was yellow in previous models but people were confusing that with "don't eat yellow snow" and not taking it seriously.
The orange snow flake is a "black-ice" warning device. Some BMW motorcycles have this alarm in the form of a chime. Marshal
and here I thought that it never EVER got that cold in Australia except for perhaps at night in the outback... you learn something new everyday... but yes, don't worry about the alarm - just watch those road conditions
That's the "Behold, Eck!" alert. It was an Outer Limits episode, starring Eck, a life form that was two-dimensional. The 37F alert looks just like him, so naturally, we call out "Behold, Eck!" whenever we see it.
The Black Ice indicator works a little differently in the Prius. After you have hit black ice, spun out of control and slid into the ditch, a message comes up on the MFD reading "there was black ice back there. Be careful." Just kidding.
I believe you are correct. They picked such a weird temperature for the warning that I can never remember exactly what it is. Tom
i have a 2007 mine has not notified me by the snowflake or on the MFD but mine has a dealer installed auto dimming mirror with compass that says ICE briefly before going back to temp. idk i miss the little snow flake that my 04 had.
