GregTR

I loved the snowflake feature on my Audis and BMWs. Why is there none on the W212? Weird. Just one of the little things that I wish they had. The other is to be able to lock the car with the keyless remote from the outside while the engine is running. I could do it on my E90 but not on the Benz.

BACnMercedes

What is "snowflake?" Is that something to do with the transmission starting in a higher gear for slippery roads?

stale-bread

In my BMW this would happen: " if the displayed temperature sinks to approx. 37 Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius), a signal sounds and a warning lamp lights up(Snowflake icon). There is an increased risk of black ice. Black ice can also form above 37F/3C. You should therefore drive carefully on bridges and shaded roads, for example, otherwise there is an increased risk of an accident." I think it was at the same temp warning in my old Volvo S60 as well.

GregTR

^This. Same on VWs and Audis as well. It seems like MB is the only one who doesn't think it's important to warn people of possible icing.

Munich77

Trust me that warning gets to be annoying when you live in a climate where winter temperatures are routinely below 37F. My BMW used to bing (the snow flake icon) every time I started driving in the winter!

GregTR

It can't be more annoying than the seat belt chime. I liked that it only did it if the temperature was close to freezing. If it was way below it didn't chime. It was also more for sudden change in temps while driving not if it's constantly below freezing. Oh well...

Bigglen1

But the MB displays the actual outside temperature. Isnt that better that an simple icon. Unless you can never learn at what temperature you should take cautions. Didn't we all complain when a car company replaced a guage with an idiot light? I know I did.

GregTR

All other vehicles display the temperature as well. They even allow you to change it from Fahrenheit to Celsius (another annoyance with MB that you can't change to Celsius on US spec cars). But they also give you the snowflake warning if the temperature is between 27 and 37 F.

When the snowflake would come in handy is when I get in my car at 5PM at work and it's reading 40F as I'm in the city. and as the sun goes down and I start driving out into the country the temperature drops drastically. On my BMW I'd get a notification mid-way through my drive when I'm not actively checking the temperature that there was a sudden drop in temps and I should be on the lookout for slippery surfaces.

You might not understand because you never roam the countryside with widely changing temperatures but I loved the feature and I miss it. The fact that I can't look at my temps in Celsius is just plain sad...

Wig

I use the temperature gauge. If it's near freezing or below, then I know there could be ice. I don't need a 'snowflake' to state the obvious.

GabrielNov

folding mirrors...just once! and a heated windshield would be amazing!

ImInPA

It is a silly little feature, but, I remember noticing it being missing from the MB products. The little snow flake is a nice little feature. Simple and informative. I thought it was a"universal" German thing. Not sure why MB omitted it. In any event, I like to think that MB customers are just that much more intelligent, and, understand that you have to be more careful when the temperatures drop. Yeah, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Tjdehya

There are some legitimate complaints about MB omissions and there are some dumb complaints.
This one is far from being legitimate. JMO

GregTR

Dude, I called it a "small nuance". I didn't attempt to file a petition nor demanded these features to be added immediately. Geez. Maybe you should rail on the ones demanding the ECO feature to be off by default....

tutooo

I have this on my VW and I like it. It is a simple audio (and visual) warning when the temperature drops to a point where a person should be aware of icy conditions. The warning will encourage you take a look at what the current outside temperature is. As GregTR was saying - the temp can sometimes drop rapidly when travelling, especially when driving across mountain tops.
We could also put our windshield wipers on the old fashion way when it starts raining but enjoy the auto wipe feature...