Inaccurate Exterior Temp

[HoustonCX5]

It seems that the outside temp readout on the instrument cluster is extremely inaccurate. I was driving home last week in approx. 85-90 degree weather and the readout on the display ranged from 100 to 102 the entire drive. Anyone else experiencing this? I am planning on stopping by the dealership tomorrow to have them look at this issue as well as a couple other minor issues (mirror shaking, rattle in dash when going over large bumps).

 

[TreyP]

I noticed mine is affected by wind speed. If I come out to the car parked in the shade and the temp says 110*, by the time I drive a mile, also in the shade for the most part, the temp will be down to 85*. I've never had this happen on other vehicles I've owned with temp gauges.

That being said, I really don't care.

 

[erhayes]

All the vehicles I've owned with outside temp gauges have had one thing in common. That being, that the actual temperature is not registered until the vehicle is driven for about 3+ minutes.

 

[HoustonCX5]

Thanks for the replies. I don't think I care that much about it, but my cars in the past were always pretty accurate after a few minutes of driving. I drove the CX-5 for over 30 minutes at highway speeds and still registered 100 degrees and I thought it was strange.

 

[HelloMello]

What is sad is that it is a wasted spot for more valuable info

 

[Applauso]

My previous car a Nissan Qashqai was vey inaccurate. The CX5 isn't.

 

[Buzzx6r]

Agree, CX-5 external temp is not accurate, very much affected by sunlight. My BMW gauge is very accurate and not impacted by sun, wind and works as soon as the car is started.

 

[Applauso]

Correction. It was a few degrees out this morning!

 

[REDOTTERRICH]

I also noticed this in the begining of having my CX-5. I was thinking the readings were consistently wrong, but I learned a few things. If the car is parked facing the sun (hood pointed in the sunlight), it will read up to 5 degrees warmer until the car is driven in streaming air. Also, one thing that was getting me (when the aformentioned wasn't the case), was that the air temp where I was getting the reading was infact that temperature rather than the "forcasted" temp. I never had any readings that exceeded a 5 degree difference. Afterall, meteorology isn't a perfect science.

 

[hosko]

It needs air flow to get a correct reading, it needs to be accurate because its used by the ECU to make sure the correct mixture setting is used. All cars take the temperature of the air inlet to the engine. Wind speed doesn't effect temperature, compression does, however the car can't make an accurate reading until there is air flow.

 

[TreyP]

Wind speed doesn't effect temperature

Moving air carries trapped heat away.

 

[howlin4you]

it needs to be accurate because its used by the ECU to make sure the correct mixture setting is used

The ambient temp sensor is separate from the intake air sensor on this car (and probably every other car). The ambient sensor is located between the horn and the hood release behind the grill, the intake air temp sensor is of course in the intake tube downstream from the filter (again, just like every other car). FWIW, all the cars I've ever driven with an outside temp display showed a higher than normal temp while parked and became much more accurate after some driving. If it is reading incorrectly even after 30 minutes than you most likely have a defective sensor.

 

[Crabster]

Mine was parked in the sun in 90+ degrees for most of the day. Drove 38 miles and the temp gauge showed 70 degrees the entire time.
I don't think mine has ever gone above 70.

 

[Park2670]

The only discrepancy that I have seen in the Mazda gauge compared to my previous BMWs is the time to update. The BMW cools or warms much quicker <1 min versus the 3 to 5 minutes it takes for the Mazda gauge to read correctly.