Outside temperature fiction

[Electrified Outdoors]

My old Volvo and my VW would display a snowflake once the temp hit 39F. I guess they were smart enough to know that the road could be much colder than the measured air temp.

I agree it's wildly inaccurate especially in the heat. It's not abnormal to see it read over 100F if I'm stopped waiting in the car when it's nowhere near that outside...it reads probably 10° hotter.

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[emoore]

My old Volvo and my VW would display a snowflake once the temp hit 39F. I guess they were smart enough to know that the road could be much colder than the measured air temp.

I agree it's wildly inaccurate especially in the heat. It's not abnormal to see it read over 100F if I'm stopped waiting in the car when it's nowhere near that outside...it reads probably 10° hotter.

My VW used to read over 110 in the heat while parked.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

My VW used to read over 110 in the heat while parked.

Yeah I think they all read over. It's a big metal can that absorb heat. Plus if your parked d in an asphalt parking lot that doesn't help.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Could be worse.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Something I don't get is that nobody seems to care about the outside temperature. The way I understand it, the thermometer is under one of the mirrors. It's a bad location, because you can't get a reading of the temperature of the air. There is a number on the central display that is supposed to be the outside temperature and it is WILDLY inaccurate; lots of times it isn't even close. Other car makers do it. Or maybe I should ask the question, are any car thermometers accurate and is it even possible to get accurate outside air temperature in any vehicle? Can you get the temperature of the air and not something else? One thing I think it is really important to know is when the temperature gets below freezing or maybe close to freezing. That means the road starts icing up. Is there a solution to this, or does anybody even care?

None of them are pin point accurate. It's one of those things where precision isn't necessary. Even if you had a car equipped with lab-grade sensor, its reports would still vary widely based on the environment the vehicle is in and what in that environment is reflecting IR radiation.

 

[windblowlc]

My Porsches read much closer than my R1T.

 

[SANZC02]

I’ve never had one perfectly accurate, I find my R1S on par with other vehicles I have had. In my experience it usually takes 15 or 20 minutes of driving before it gets to a reasonable number, especially on hot days after sitting in a sunny parking lot.

 

[jwanderson88]

I had a Chevy Volt and at least the info was within the realm of reality. Actually I thought it was pretty good and I felt that I could usually rely on it. Being two or three degrees off is way different than fifteen or twenty off. I thought the thermometer was somewhere inside where it was isolated from hot metal and hot plastic and direct (or indirect) sunlight. It seems like it can be done. I understand that it will be hot in a hot parking lot and when you leave the parking lot it will be a different temperature.

 

[Mathme]

My 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee manual stated something like: the outside temp sensor is located around the rear view mirror and on a hot day will be inaccurate. Due to residual heat in the window and around the sensor, it may not show an accurate reading until the vehicle has been moving for 5 minutes above approximately 30mph.

ever since then, I haven’t put much stock in those temp sensors until the vehicle has been in motion for a while. I’ve noticed the Rivian is similar in that it will read higher than actual temp until the truck has cooled down and been moving.

 

[COdogman]

I don’t even care what the outside temp is. If I step outside I know it’s hot AF right now. I only care what the temp is inside my truck so I know how long I need it to precondition before I can get inside without melting.

 

[DD4ST]

Why can’t you measure temperature in air? Inanimate objects don’t experience wind chill. That being said, I agree with others that placement over pavement is bad placement Because radiative heat does matter. Probably just as accurate to place it resting on the sun roof….

 

[moosetags]

Opal's temperature reading also runs at least 10° over actual in the summer. She is about spot on in the cooler temperatures. We also have a 2020 Silverado Duramax. She is a little better in the summer, but still at least 5 ° over actual.

Brian

 

[84060]

Something I don't get is that nobody seems to care about the outside temperature. The way I understand it, the thermometer is under one of the mirrors. It's a bad location, because you can't get a reading of the temperature of the air. There is a number on the central display that is supposed to be the outside temperature and it is WILDLY inaccurate; lots of times it isn't even close. Other car makers do it. Or maybe I should ask the question, are any car thermometers accurate and is it even possible to get accurate outside air temperature in any vehicle? Can you get the temperature of the air and not something else? One thing I think it is really important to know is when the temperature gets below freezing or maybe close to freezing. That means the road starts icing up. Is there a solution to this, or does anybody even care?

I have a 2022 Lexus GX460 and I rely on the vehicle's outside temperature reading for the same reason. I don't know where Lexus places the sensor or sensors, but it is usually very accurate.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I depend on the outside temperature gauge to tell me when to start taking precautions for icy roads. I barely look at the gauge on a hot day, except to say, "That's interesting."

If a vehicle's external thermometer can only be accurate in part of its range, I want it accurate in the range of 27-37 degrees Fahrenheit -- from five degrees above freezing to five degrees below freezing, particularly if the temperature is dropping or likely to drop.

Does anyone know how accurately Rivian's outside-temp gauge measures temperatures from 27-37 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly -3 to +3 degrees Celsius)?

Best to all!

 

[cjbot3000]

Am I the only one here with a reasonably accurate reading? My T reads ~1.5°C / 3°F high of ambient garage temperature.

Driving around it reads what it reads, but still pretty normal, even in the blazing desert heat. It might read 104°F instead of 101°F so NBD

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