Plumbob17

My 2017 Lexus RX 350 always displays 5° more than the actual temp is outside. Can this be adjusted or is it just a bad sensor that can be replaced?

lilboi

You can adjust the temperature sensors using Carista. I've seen it for the interior and ambient (which I'm guessing is the exterior).

mikemu30

I find this is be the case in most cars. Probably the location of the sensor.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

I've noticed this as well, sometimes even more than 5 degrees. Gotta take a look at the service manual to see where the sensor is located and noticed that it takes about 5 to 10 minutes of constant driving to get a more accurate reflection of the outside temp.

dchar

5° more compared to what other gauge of temperature, an actual thermometer that has been outside for a bit?

mikemu30

Weather Apps

gregjhonda

Weather a aps in my area are pretty useless for temperature. In my little town of 7200 people there are no local temperature reporters or sensors. Actually I live 4 miles outside of town and it's usually 3 degrees cooler at my house than in town. The Weather Channel app is often off by up to 12 degrees F on the local temperature. Accuweather is a lot more accurate and usually within 5 degrees F. As long as I drive for about 4 miles or maybe 8 minutes on my way home the RX temperature reading settles into a reading within a degree of both of my home digital sensors. I can type in name of many nearby communities for AccuWeather and get the same exact "local" temp reading. This tells me they really don't have a clue what the local temp is and are just extrapolating between geographical readings from sensor locations that they do have precise readings for. It's possible your RX is quite accurate and it's possible that it's way off. You can't tell via weather apps. On my motorcycle I can feel the cool air pocket down in a road dip and then feel it rise at the top of the hill. No way any sort of weather app is going to have all those readings even though the local temp variations are real. You really need to calibrate to a known good source at the same exact location of your car.

mikemu30

I honestly couldn't care less but I know that every car I've ever owned will read a temp that is generally several degrees higher (at least initially) than the outside temp is per the two sensors I have on my property. Of course there's fluctuation of some degrees depending on location and that's not only in a small town. Point is, the car sensors typically pick up engine heat skewing the reading.

gregjhonda

Not only will the car's temp sensor pick up heat from the car but also any nearby road surfaces. Generally this effect is negated after driving a few miles to let the ambient air blowing past the car temp sensor heat or cool the sensor to get an accurate reading. The thermal mass of the temp sensor is not going to allow for instantaneous changes in ambient air temps.

toyotaman7

Yes, it can be adjusted by the dealer. I asked my dealer to adjust during my first visit. I compared the readings to 2 different temp sensors around car after driving the car for few minutes. Keep in mind that the sensor will pickup road and engine heat if you sit idle.

wa3cuj

Try Weather Underground www.wunderground.com It is a network of weather stations at homes, businesses, schools, etc. from the University of Michigan (I think). You can select any station that you want. I found several within a mile of my house.