What causes all the snowflake and S lights to illuminate in an automatic transmission?
2 Answers
Low outdoor temperature or signal transmission errors can cause the snowflake light to illuminate; the S light may come on due to faults in the engine or transmission. Transmission fluid: If the quality of the transmission fluid is abnormal, it may damage the solenoid valve, causing both the snowflake and S lights to illuminate. Pressure valve and lock-up valve: If the two pressure valves and the clutch lock-up valve malfunction, or if the gear control valve fails, it can also result in both the snowflake and S lights illuminating. Outdoor temperature: The outdoor temperature warning: the snowflake light does not illuminate above 4°C, it illuminates yellow between 4°C and 0°C, and red below 0°C.
Once I encountered the issue where all the snowflake S lights were on, which seems quite common. The possible reasons could be simple, such as accidentally pressing the button to activate snow mode or sport mode. Just check if the button near the dashboard is stuck and not popping back up. If the button is fine but the lights are still on, it might be a minor electrical system glitch, like the temperature sensor falsely reporting cold weather signals or poor contact in the control module causing a short circuit. In this case, restarting the vehicle might solve the problem; try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and then reconnecting it. If none of these work, it's best to take it to a professional repair shop to diagnose the fault codes with a computer. Don't panic—it doesn't affect basic driving, but safety comes first, so handle it properly.
