Inaccurate outside temperature display
 

I've become quite frustrated with this reading. I've noticed two things about the exterior temperature display:
-it takes forever to level out after being somewhere hot (like in a garage or parked in the sun)
-it never displays the correct temperature. It always reads 5-7 degrees too high.

Has anyone else had problems like this? I'm wondering if my temperature sensor needs to be recalibrated/replaced or is the sensor just located in a really crappy location where its readings are corrupted by artificial heat sources.

Any info on this would be appreciated. (I did a topic search but nothing came up).

From my experience this is pretty typical with all cars. I'm not sure where they mount the sensor but it seems to get very hot sitting.

I've had that featue in my last 4 or 5 cars and none of them have been very accurate. Consequently I don't pay that much attention to it.

I don't have an issue with it being way too hot from sitting. I do have an issue with it being 5-7 degrees off 30 minutes later (and staying that inaccurate). My last car's outside temperature sensor had no such problems.

i agree i also find the reading to be WAY off sometimes, like reading 30+C when it's only 15C and not correcting for long periods after.

my old car used to be very accurate even after it was sitting in the sun.

In the summer time I suppose it's just something "handy" to know, and in this day and age checking a more accurate temperature on your smartphone is just a click away.

However in the winter time it can be quite important to know what the local "on the ground" temperature is if you are concerned about freezing road conditions. By all accounts this car's temp sensor will fail at that miserably.

What difference does it make?

Do you keep your wardrobe in your trunk and it makes your testicles freeze off if the temp is not accurate with 5 degrees?

IMO it's a worthless "feature" to add to a list. Much like clicks on a cheap coilover...

What difference does it make? It's a feature on the car that doesn't work properly.

Thus I don't see the harm in posting on here to see if it's a common occurrence or not. You'll have to excuse me for wanting everything on my brand new car to function properly.

OMG LEMON LAW

When you say the temperature reading on your car is 5-7 degrees too high, what are you comparing with? IF you're comparing with your local weather report, you need to keep in mind that temperature at where you are and where the weather station is could be different. When comparing the car's thermometer reading with another device's temperature reading, there will always be anomalies. Cars also produce quite a bit of heat, so no matter where they install the thermometer on the car, it'll always be reading the temp differently from the air a distance away.

I'm not saying that our car thermometer reading is 100% accurate, but i find the accuracy is within an acceptable range. Just like how our wrist watch or clocks at home is not going to be the same preciseness as the atomic clock in Colorado. Or that your car's speedometer does not indicate the same speed reading as a laser gun's reading. So basically what my point is, this shouldn't be something of a concern, it'll do the job ;)

The sensor is mounted just in front of the radiator on the passenger side. I have found that mine is always very accurate once I get it some air flow at speed for a couple of minutes, and I have a big intercooler in the way. There is no way it is 5 to 7 degrees off in my car.

^that leads me to believe this is something wrong and should be looked at by the dealership. After a 30 minute drive of 75% highway driving my temp sensor is still off a lot (this being my daily commute to/from work). Thanks for your input.

I'm comparing it to my experiences with my last car, S2000. That car's temperature readings were always within 1-2 degrees of what temperature my phone's weather app stated (which references the closest weather station). Unless I was sitting in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic on the interstate in broad sunlight that car's temp sensor was always accurate.

as an example I just got home from driving around for 45 min, prob averaged around 35 mph. Temp gauge currently says 92. Meanwhile it's 84 outside. That's not even close.

There's a temperature gauge somewhere on our car..? :rolleyes:

Not only does it tell you the coolant temperature...it tells you the outside air temperature too! (I'm not sure if you're serious)

Press the DISP button until you see it.

http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/blog/...er-525x350.jpg

edit: on a thread-related note, my thermometer seems to work very well. No complaints here. When I get in the car after work, the car is parked in the shade and it tells me the right temp (well, it seems right. I've never cross-checked with another thermometer). There is a cold, shaded road I drive on before the highway, and the temp display duly shows the temp going down when I drive there, then going back up a couple degrees when I get to the highway.

Please dont, they're just going to laugh at you. If you want be to be hard on them and they have another BRZ/FRS in the lot, they will make the comparison and tell you that your car is either too hot or their car is too cold that could fluctuate the temperature readings. They will not do anything to fix it so long as it is within the range of temperature readings.

Obviously, if you live in a 90 degree weather and it is reading 50 degree then I would have them look at it. If not, why even bother wasting your time.

I noticed that since it has gotten hot outside mine is almost 10 degrees off and takes forever to come down when driving after sitting in the sun. It seemed more accurate in the winter

The ones in earlier Toyotas and Lexus were much more accurate, even when the car was sitting. Very important when driving at or near freezing temps in bad winter weather and I relied on them to help keep me safe. They have cheapened them up since and I don't trust them now - my new Corolla's is exactly the same as in the FR-S - close but no cigar.

I've never run into a situation where having the outside temperature indicator be slightly inaccurate has affected my life in any way...not even slightly.

I wouldn't even trust an accurate temperature gauge to influence my driving. It might show you that it's a little above freezing outside and if you allow yourself to think that means you don't have to worry about ice on the road you could be in big trouble. When you go around the corner and that part of the road that is in the shade of those large trees might still have some black ice on it. Instead of trusting the gauge, learn to trust your instincts and your common sense.

^I agree, definitely need to be careful and use common sense when there's any sort of precip on the roads in the wintertime.

There's no need to be a jerk here. Something on the car isn't working properly. The autodown feature for the passenger window on most people's car doesn't work properly either (mine included). Will it affect MY LIFE? No, it won't. Does the fuel pump chirping impact my life? No, it doesn't. But if you spend your hard earned money on a brand new car with a warranty you want everything to work correctly.

Would I make a trip to the dealership just so they can look at the temp gauge? No, I wouldn't. But when I go back for other items I will have them look into it.

First. World. Problems.
http://evangelicaloutpost.com/images...oblemsgirl.jpg

Your car thermometer isn't in a white wooden box (Stevenson screen) sitting 1-2m over grass.

The thermistor is located between the horn and the radiator. It will always be warmer than the weather report since you aren't taking the air temperature without other influences such as the ground. The air temp near asphalt will always be higher than the weather report.

your car is definitely a lemon,

return it now

I've already stated that my previous car's outdoor temp sensor didn't suffer these inaccuracies. In fact neither does any other vehicle (such equipped) that I've ever been in/driven. I'm fully aware of the facts. But clearly other automakers do a better job with this, from the evidence presented.

^^^I would say any minor issue at all with a brand new car is a FWP:thumbsup:

As mentioned the sensor is connected to a clip on the radiator/condenser.
So until you get moving its going to read whatever heat or cold is trapped in that area.

I just mounted one of these on the hood of my car with suction cups.
http://www.kiddietoys.com/images/bw/NT318.jpg

Funny, my two new cars are only off by two degrees.

And that's by the radio station so mine are are pretty accurate.

I even compared one of my cars consistently with a thermometer in and outside the car. Still only off by two degrees max.

^exactly, that's what I'm saying. It's far from an impossible task. I'm sure Subaru is aware of this, which makes you wonder why they'd be satisfied with such crappy execution.


As I've mentioned several times in the thread my gauge is still off 5-7 degrees after several HOURS of driving. Sure it's off by even more after sitting in a hot parking lot or garage, but I'm talking about a different issue :)

I had a customer complain about this a few weeks ago along with the crickets. He left the car with me for the day. We parked both his whiteout and my asphalt next to each other for a couple hours in the sun, and compared at lunchtime.

Mine read 3 degrees warmer.

Lighter colors reflect heat. I wish I'd used a digital thermometer to take the temps on the hood/bumper.

Then why does mine always read so high :lol:

I really just want to know if
a) this is common across the board or
b) I should see if my sensor can be recalibrated/replaced

Ultimately, not a huge deal. Not like I would tell someone not to buy a BRZ b/c it has an inaccurate outside air temp display ;)

This seems to be the case for any cars with the feature. At least to the cars we've owned over the years. The temp in the car, the temp on the bank sign, and the temp on my phone would all have different readings lol.

You do realize that the air temp a few feet above pavement is going to be hotter than what is reported in the news?

I appreciate your input, but would prefer if you read all the replies to this thread before posting. It has been stated repeatedly by myself and others that we have no had this problem with OTHER cars. In fact many people have said they have no problem with this on their FRS/BRZ.

So please stop making these unneeded and inaccurate replies.

Thank you

Yours didn't come with a NIST certificate of calibration? Take it back to the deal, STAT!

The air above black asphalt will always be hotter than reported ambient.

In my old car they put the sensor on the wing mirror so it was pretty much accurate.
If they put the sensor in the engine bay probably it will be a bit higher compared to the outside air.

This thread is still going?

This is why "bare bones" approach was used. People nit pick and then they spend time trying to appease the customer. So they spend the time (money) on a wasteful task like thermometer placement instead of something else like :burnrubber:

When I had the techstream cable connected to my car.. I think I saw an option to adjust the temp sensor reading.. When I go back in next time I will check.. But I think it is an option..