Sensor Messages in Snow Driving

[FNP90]

This is what they sent me when I contacted them. I haven’t dug any further into it.

 

[Bajacruzzer]

I am finding when I drive in snowy conditions the various sensors, parking, lane monitoring, collision, etc. get covered in snow and the warning messages sensor won't work start on the central dash incessantly, non-stop. I dismiss them with he back arrow key (ok key doesn't nothing) and literally they come back in ten seconds. They DO NOT STOP! Its is beyond annoying. The senor light also lights up on the display panel which is more than enough. Does anyone know how to make these messages STOP or turn them OFF? I cannot find any warning message options in car settings. Help please. This is among the most annoying things I've experiences in any car I've owned. Thanks!

If you’re in the snow, turn the sensors off, they will drive you crazy. Same thing if you go through a car wash…

 

[PapaSmurf]

It would seem turning off the features removed features I would like to have when it’s not snowing and toggling on and off is not the way to go. I’d like to keep my features on and have the warning message stop flashing appropriately. Herein lies the rub. This is this car’s first winter and clearly Toyota missed this issue. I have already spoken Texas HQ folks now about how this has been missed and needs some corrective programming action.

What did they say?

 

[Bajacruzzer]

I am finding when I drive in snowy conditions the various sensors, parking, lane monitoring, collision, etc. get covered in snow and the warning messages sensor won't work start on the central dash incessantly, non-stop. I dismiss them with he back arrow key (ok key doesn't nothing) and literally they come back in ten seconds. They DO NOT STOP! Its is beyond annoying. The senor light also lights up on the display panel which is more than enough. Does anyone know how to make these messages STOP or turn them OFF? I cannot find any warning message options in car settings. Help please. This is among the most annoying things I've experiences in any car I've owned. Thanks!

The first thing I do with a new ride is turn off all of that stuff. I’ve been driving for over 55 years. I don’t need the dash lighting up to tell me what’s going on. I bought 1958 for off-road adventures not creature features.

 

[dato6966]

I was on a long trip at night in a snowstorm and the front iced up almost immediately when starting out. The warning on the dash is more than distracting driving at night when you can't turn it off nor is it possible to stop on a highway in a storm and clean the snow off every couple of minutes. Holding the back button only cancels it for less than a minute. Fortunately I had some tape and just covered that part of the display. Saw the dealer the next day as I was more than annoyed. Bottom line is there is no way to turn it off & Toyota is well aware of these complaints but as far as they know there won't be a fix. This is a safety issue for distracted driving.

Other issue on the same trip was I was pulling a snow machine and the trailer wiring plug became coated in a ball of ice. There was no way I could unplug it so I could drop the trailer. It's a terrible location for the trailer wiring plugs. Ended up at a car wash to melt the ice so I could uncouple the trailer. Seems to me the location of the trailer wire connection was an after thought by Toyota. I'm not looking forward to laying in the mud to connect my travel trailer this summer.

 

[Meteor]

Other issue on the same trip was I was pulling a snow machine and the trailer wiring plug became coated in a ball of ice. There was no way I could unplug it so I could drop the trailer. It's a terrible location for the trailer wiring plugs. Ended up at a car wash to melt the ice so I could uncouple the trailer. Seems to me the location of the trailer wire connection was an after thought by Toyota. I'm not looking forward to laying in the mud to connect my travel trailer this summer.

Off-topic but maybe this would help: Nilight - 50050R 7-Way Trailer Plug Socket Extension Cable
I haven't used a trailer in years, since owning a 4Runner, but something like that might help if you're connecting/disconnecting often. Mounting the extension-end would be the trick.

On-topic: it seems these sensors should include a heater since this is a common issue, similar to pitot heat on airplanes. Yeah, good luck getting Toyota to add that to their costs, but heaters are used in windshield wiper nozzles by some manufacturers, so maybe. In their defense, these nags & warnings are just Toyota covering their ass as we live in a litigious world, i.e. we're sue-happy and people will us any excuses to do so.