Snow Buildup on the Pre-collision Safety Sensor - Why bother Toyota !

[NeilYoung]

So we got our first snowfall of the year in the Toronto area and I took my 2020 for a spin. Within 15 minutes of driving, the PCSS light came on (I had to look it up in the manual). Stepped out of the vehicle and went to the front and sure enough, there was snow and slush covering the new for 2020 black rectangle on the grill. I cleared it off and the light turned off but by the time I got home, the light was back on and the sensor was covered. I guess what i'd like to know is whether anyone else has this issue ? Seems like a bit of a design flaw. What was Toyota expecting when you are driving something with the aerodynamics of a brick through the snow...of course that sensor is going to get covered up ! Why not place it else where like where that camera thingy is behind the rear view mirror which was ice and snow free. If that's where it had to go, make it heated !!! Not rocket science. What use are safety systems when they shut down in a good'ol Canadian winter when you probably need them the most !

 

[RichinRidgewood]

I cannot imagine slush would cause the system to throw a code. Just for fun see if changing the system setting makes any difference.

BTW do you have a lift or a “Mad Max end of the world” giant steel bumper on your truck?

 

[JoshDub]

Common issue with non-heated radar sensors. My 2020 builds up snow very quickly and shuts off. It's completely normal.

 

[Charlievee]

Not supposed to drive unless its sunny out. Your a rebel driving in such treacherous conditions and put yourself and millions of others at risk. I hope your happy living so dangerous, i just hope you didn't injure anyone leaving the safety of your driveway. Jk, rip all that nanny stuff out.

 

[NeilYoung]

No lift. I would have gladly bought a 2019 if they had the model/colour combo but few OFRD's up here. I'm all for technolgy if implemented properly. This just seems to be done half-assed. Toyota does change models slightly depending on the market they are selling in. Would have expected them to add sensor heating for vehicles sold in Canada or PNW...that's all.

 

[RichinRidgewood]

I guess its a common occurrence with other mfgrs too.

Keep Your Car's Safety Sensors Clean in the Winter - Consumer Reports

 

[a47chuck]

Not supposed to drive unless its sunny out. Your a rebel driving in such treacherous conditions and put yourself and millions of others at risk. I hope your happy living so dangerous, i just hope you didn't injure anyone leaving the safety of your driveway. Jk, rip all that nanny stuff out.

:lol:

 

[AMLOR]

No lift. I would have gladly bought a 2019 if they had the model/colour combo but few OFRD's up here. I'm all for technolgy if implemented properly. This just seems to be done half-assed. Toyota does change models slightly depending on the market they are selling in. Would have expected them to add sensor heating for vehicles sold in Canada or PNW...that's all.

Its not just Toyota...I had a 2009 Mercedes S600. (bought used) It did exactly the same thing...snow wasn't even an issue I had to deal with. Rain, road grime, a suicidal grasshopper...all of them would shut down the front facing sensors and light up the dash like a Christmas tree. This on a car that stickered well into the 6 digits.
Reason 837 why I don't miss that mechanical mistress.....

 

[NeilYoung]

Yeah...you're right. Just irks me that Toyota used the TSS to justify a large part of the price increase from MY 19 to 20. Yet these "innovative safety features designed to protect you and your passengers from harm" arent worth **** in normal operating conditions. Sorry Toyota..your words, not mine. End of rant.

 

[cb1111]

While it is annoying to get these sorts of error messages, it is really immaterial because you can't use adaptive cruise (or regular cruise for that matter) in poor weather.

 

[rightyouareken]

I guess its a common occurrence with other mfgrs too.

Keep Your Car's Safety Sensors Clean in the Winter - Consumer Reports

It is. It happened on my Mazda6 and GolfR too. Not a big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Agent_Outside]

I agree, it’s like wiper blades, you drive in heavy snow and the joints on the wiper blades start to freeze and they can’t contour to the glass so they don’t do shit to clear the windows. If there’s going to be driving conditions that exist that causes them to not function perfectly that whole system is junk and should be scrapped. Working fine most of the time isn’t going to cut it, all or nothing!

 

[NeilYoung]

Mine came standard with the wiper de-icer featue ...button on the lower left side of the dash. They could have easily tied the sensor heating element to it. Penny wise, pound foolish...nothing a lawsuit won't fix.

 

[1jzgte]

what everyone is trying to tell you is, these arent issues limited to toyota.. so stop your whining.. go ahead and lets see how far your lawsuit goes

 

[LandCruiser]

While it is annoying to get these sorts of error messages, it is really immaterial because you can't use adaptive cruise (or regular cruise for that matter) in poor weather.

My mom to Porsche svc dept: Your ACC doesn't work well in a blizzard.

Porsche service manager: ma'am please don't use ACC in a blizzard.

 

[ragin_cajun]

Every car I own that has a similar system has the same issue. Even the higher price point German builds. It's just part of the technology, we think it's high tech, but it's really not... The build up of slush triggers and obstruction.