Oustside Temperature Reading

[Xtra Salsa]

First off I could really care less about having an outside temperature displayed, but having it be off by 10-15 degrees is annoying. I live in San Jose, CA and it has been in the high 90s and up to 100 over the last few days and my TE display has consistently been low. Yesterday it was 99 outside and the display was reading 84. It has seemed that is was a couple of degrees off a couple of months ago and has been getting worse. Anyone else having this problem?

 

[kmiller8821]

I'm near Dallas, Texas and my 4runner LTD has been right on the mark. I haven't noticed any issues with it at all. Personally, that would drive me crazy as well - I'd be back at the dealer to have it re-calibrated.

 

[harper7]

First off I could really care less about having an outside temperature displayed, but having it be off by 10-15 degrees is annoying. I live in San Jose, CA and it has been in the high 90s and up to 100 over the last few days and my TE display has consistently been low. Yesterday it was 99 outside and the display was reading 84. It has seemed that is was a couple of degrees off a couple of months ago and has been getting worse. Anyone else having this problem?

Do you keep it parked in your garage?
I notice when I bring it out of the garage it reads my garage temp and takes a long time to come up to ambient outside temp. Sometimes 30 minutes or so but slowly but surely it reads just about right on.

Maybe your TE knows it's not supposed to be 100 degrees in San Jose! lol

 

[Quentin]

Mine was reading lower than expected on Sunday when I got in it after a it being out all night on the mountain while I camped. Where is the external temp sensor located?

 

[prestone818]

I have noticed mine reading higher than the real temp. Thought maybe cause I was in direct sunlight. Oh well, can't be off enough to make a real difference.

 

[audiqtr]

First off I could really care less about having an outside temperature displayed, but having it be off by 10-15 degrees is annoying. I live in San Jose, CA and it has been in the high 90s and up to 100 over the last few days and my TE display has consistently been low. Yesterday it was 99 outside and the display was reading 84. It has seemed that is was a couple of degrees off a couple of months ago and has been getting worse. Anyone else having this problem?

Start by visually inspecting the sensor. Open hood, look on the right lower side in front of the radiator. Should be located on a beam (on 4th gen, I assumed it is nearby on 5th gen) Make sure it is not damaged, touching anything else etc.

That said, these sensors should read correctly, but their reading gets effected by engine heat, leaving the car in the sun, radiator fan, car color (darker colors retain more heat), heat from asphalt, etc.... They are not to sensitive either, so it might take some time to adjust itself to a realistic temp reading.

 

[Marcopolo]

Mine is accurate but takes forever to change the temperature reading. Last Saturday coming back from the desert, I was showing a temp of 51F when it was 95F. It took 2,5 hours to get to the correct reading. I was comparing it with my friends Ford F150 who was traveling in our group.

 

[ciaz]

I've noticed that evaporative cooling will lower the reading. I.E. Rain/Carwashes

 

[WFO_Racer]

TE reads lower.
Crew Max & Rav4 are spot on within 1 degree of actual. Not a big deal if people walking are sweaty I figure it's hot. As little as dealer service monkey's need to touch my cars the better for me.

 

[fins]

Accurate readings here in the Mississippi heat and humidity...

 

[buenhec]

First off I could really care less about having an outside temperature displayed, but having it be off by 10-15 degrees is annoying. I live in San Jose, CA and it has been in the high 90s and up to 100 over the last few days and my TE display has consistently been low. Yesterday it was 99 outside and the display was reading 84. It has seemed that is was a couple of degrees off a couple of months ago and has been getting worse. Anyone else having this problem?

Same here, the temp outside has been 110+ and it read 84'. Wishful thinking... I just don't want to leave it at the dealer for a whole day so they can tell me they couldn't find anything wrong.

 

[reklov]

my TE has been right on the mark. Especially with the high temps that we've been having in southern california

 

[Mtn.Rush]

Spot on limited here.

 

[Froglips]

No problems with accuracy here, but it does take a while to register temp change after sitting in the garage. At speed on the highway, it seems to change with the ambient pretty quickly.