Snowflake gone in 2006

If it's gone, that's a good thing. It's got to be the most useless warning, ever, and it just worries people not used to the car for no good reason.

 

Interesting observation. You're right, I can't find a single mention of it in the 2006 owner's manual. Yippee! Toyota must have been listening to some of the confusion/feedback about that "feature".
Counting the days until mine comes in...today might be the day!

 

I also posted this as a question in the Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting forum in the "Does-the-Low-Temperature-Indicator-Exist-on-2006" thread.

The snowflake indicator is mentioned in the pre-delivery checklist that Toyota puts out for 2006, however.

But... looks like the snowlake the snowflake is dead. Long live the snowflake!

~Spidey

 

Yeah, I could imagine that snowflake warning light being obnoxious in freakishly cold areas of the world. It’s probably about as useless as that sunshine warning light on the dash for us Californian’s. [Oh wait. That’s the headlight warning light. Nnevvvverrrr mind. ]

In California and other warm area, the snowflake warning light is a very useful reminder. Those of us who don’t normally drive under those conditions tend to forget. If Toyota did get rid of the snowflake for ‘06, I think that was a mistake. A better solution would have been to design the warning and caution lights like they are on commercial aircraft.

On commercial aircraft there are two main warning lights. A red Master Warning Light for serious problems (much like the red triangle of death warning in the Prius), and a yellow Master Caution Light for items which need to be brought to the pilot’s attention, but are not necessarily serious in nature.

Both lights alert the pilot to look at what is called the Annunciator Panel where the actual warning will be displayed. If the problem caused the Master Warning Light to come on, the pilot can only stop the Master Warning Light from blinking, but may not turn it off - due to the severity of the problem, the pilot is constantly reminded. If the problem lit the Master Caution Light, the pilot can turn the Master Caution off.

In the Prius, a snowflake would be a Master Caution, but if the problem is something more serious, like running out of gas, the Master Warning would stay lit. The Prius MFD could be used as an Annunciator Panel. No need to have all those lights on the dash disturbing us all the time. The MFD would/could do a better job of telling the driver what the problem is, and how to remedy the situation, not just display some stupid icon and expect everyone who ever drives the car to understand its significance.

 

I could swear Heidi said she saw the snowflake the other day on her 2006.

I'll ask her tonight. However, our current weather report shows no opportunity to see a snowflake for at least a week. (Rain and in the 50s.)

 

Could the 2006 snowflake be one that turns on for a short period of time, a couple of minutes and then goes off?

 

Right you are, TP -- it's on this thread, with a picture. Thanks!

Well, that ends that discussion.

 

I may be a little flakey myself but I have a snowflake and my Prius is an 06. It also is mentioned in my manuel. Hopefully when people see it they may remember it when they drive over and overpass or bridge that it might be icey.
Kathleen

 

Oops -- sorry about that. Though, from the wording in that posting that accompanied the photo, I assumed that the photo was from a 2006. (The color of the snowflake is green. And isn't the high-beam symbol on the other side of the snowflake in the 2004 & 2005?)

Oh, wait, I see -- the poster is a 2005. My apologies for not reading the thread completely.

 

I agree that the snowflake should just flash. Not sure if anyone has ever noticed, but when you have the NAV screen on and it gets to 37F, the icon flashes on the MFD a few times. In my Audi I used to own, if it was below 37 or so, I believe a little snowflake illuminated next to the temp and remained there for the duration (or something like that). I got used to it, but I can see how it can be annoying.

 

That's close, but isn't 100% accurate (although I suppose it could depend on type/age of aircraft). I think the current general design is that both master cautions and warnings can be cancelled (acknowledged) thus resetting the master so that second, third, etc., malfunctions/failures will set the master off again, alerting the crew of the subsequent problems. The message itself will remain as a reminder, i.e. on a full glass flight deck there would be a text message on the ECAM/EICAS, and on a round dial machine the individual caution/warning light will remain illuminated.

How's that for off topic?

I like the idea of removing the snowflake from the dash, but keeping it on the MFD, and making the MFD snowflake constant, rather than just a quick flash.

 

Not really off topic when describing a better way of displaying warnings and cautions.

Yes it is true there are differences between aircraft type when it comes to warning lights . . . I just didn’t think anyone would go down that road.

The Prius is basically a glass cockpit car, so why not use the MDF to describe the problem and make suggested actions for the driver. Dumb icons just don’t do it for me.

The problem with placing all the warning and cautions on the MDF is in getting the drivers attention to look at the screen. That is why I recommend a red Master Warning and a yellow Master Caution to be in the driver’s face.

But getting back to the resetting of a Master Warnings or Master Caution lights in aircraft. . . generally speaking, when you rest a Master Warning, it stops flashing, but will remain steady until the problem is fixed or goes away. If the Master Warning starts flashing again, new problem.
Master Caution lights can generally be reset . . . turned off . . . but yes, the individual warning or caution light on the annunciator panels will stay lit. Red = not good. Yellow = caution. And yes, depending on type of aircraft . . . do gliders even have lights? :huh:

 

Do you fly them or design them? You seem too knowledgeable on the subject to be an enthusiast. What you've said is totally right for most types, but there are some types where the master warning will go dark when reset. Seems like it shouldn't, but it does.

 

Mine's an '05...which I get to drive today since my wife needs the minivan! You '06ers are lucky, I hate that light...it's always on here in MN.

:angry:

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