i just purchased a 2007 prius package#2 almost 2 weeks ago and absolutely love it. i read a post where someone asked what the little snoflake was for on his or her car. someone said that the prius has this as a safety feature to alert owners when the roads can be icey and slick. i think it's a great idea, but i've looked everywhere on my dash and on the temp display when the temperature was 28 degrees and still have noticed no snowflake. so basically, i'm just wondering if this is a feature removed for 2007's, but i can't imagine what the justification for that would be. thanks for any feedback..
Actually, from what I've noticed, the snowflake comes on at 37 degrees F to warn you to be careful of Ice even though logic says there shouldn't be any Ice. Don't know to what lower temperature it cuts off. At least that's the way it is on my 2004 model.
The snowflake is only on the pre-2006 models. The 2006 and 2007 drop a flag across the top of the MFD under the same conditions. Tom
Funny how the 2006+ owners want it and the 2004-2005 owners hate it haha. I don't mind it. It's been on for the past week and it doesn't bother me. It comes on at 3°C/37°F and goes off at 4°C/39°F.
<_< Hi writergal... I have been out and about in my '07 Touring Edition in temperatures well below 37º and have not seen an MFD "pop up" either. Doesn't really bother me, but makes me curious. :huh:
So they removed it all together on the 07? lol. Ok, let's get it straight. The snowflake we're talking about is the yellow one on the dash that stays lit, not the warning that momentarily pops up on the MFD (which the older models also had) at 37°F.
I dont know when i start up my 07 anywhere around 36F i get the little snowflake icon for avout 15 seconds next to the temp on the MFD
I'm sure they took it out because the 2004/5 owners whined incessantly that it was annoying, distracting and they didn't need the car to be a 'Nanny' for them. I've always appreciated it especially when driving long haul through temperature changes and it comes on at about the point when 'bridges and overpasses may freeze'. Remember, there can be ice on the ground long before the air temperature hits freezing, especially at night.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Jan 16 2007, 10:43 PM) [snapback]376622[/snapback]</div> Not true. I have a 2007 and I get the snowflake. It only shows up momentarily, you have to be looking at the MFD to catch it. I've never seen a flag across the top of the MFD, do you have a photo of this? Dave
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Jan 17 2007, 10:56 AM) [snapback]376766[/snapback]</div> do you notice it when you start up the car in colder temps? or is it just when you're driving in warmer temps and it drops below a certain degree in temperature?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Jan 17 2007, 10:56 AM) [snapback]376766[/snapback]</div> The 2004/5 Snowflake is a light on the dash not the MFD.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Jan 17 2007, 08:54 AM) [snapback]376787[/snapback]</div> We get both. When the snowflake warning light first comes on the dashboard, it flashes for a few seconds while at the same time a snowflake icon shows up on the MFD immediately to the left of the ambient temperature readout. When the dashboard light becomes steady, the MFD icon goes off.
There is another thread about the snowflake and someone has an '06 that they say has the snowflake. I have an '06 and have never looked for the snowflake because folks here say it isn't there. It is currently 17 degrees at 2:30 pm. I will look for the snowflake when I leave work in a 1/2 hour. I have seen the drop down message on the MFD many times.
:mellow: My guess: It was less expensive for Toyota to use the wiring for warning lights formerly assigned to the "snowflake" for, say, the TPMS warning light and replace the "snowflake" with a pop-up on the MFD. Seems this substitution could be done in aboard computer programming and a substituted 'symbol' on the panel template. As I said... my 'guess.'
But I'd much rather have the dash snowflake AND the MFD flag for ice, and have the MFD come on to tell me which tire(s) has lost pressure, than to just the MFD ice flag and a non-specific low tire pressure icon on the dash.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Jan 17 2007, 08:56 AM) [snapback]376766[/snapback]</div> I have a 2007 and I have never had a snowflake or any type of flag warning on my MFD or the dash.
I have an 07 with nav and the pop down "flag" appears at the top of my MFD at temp 37F. It is slightly annoying as the motion on the MFD draws my attention when I see it in my peripheral vision.
I have a 2004, live in Los Angeles and when I went out to my car parked on the street I actually saw the snowflake on my dash last Saturday when it was 37 degrees. I was so excited I called my parents back in Indiana! Previously, the snowflake had only made two appearances when I was driving through a mountain pass. Long live the snowflake!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Jan 16 2007, 11:43 PM) [snapback]376622[/snapback]</div> Hmmm ... My 2004 (with NEW MFD ... as the original on many were a bit twitchy) has both flag drop AND the snow flake disply. Now I feel special. My snowflake / flag drop both occur at 36 degrees ... stay on at minus 17 ... goes off only when it gets back up over 36 degrees
