mrgooch42

Anyone else been have erratic temperature readings especially during this heat spell. My gauge would read 83 deg. for 25 minutes then shoot up to 98 deg.It seems to like 83 a lot. I have a 2010 SV.

rkurlander

My '09 takes quite awhile to reach the accurate temperature after leaving the garage. Much longer than our Honda. I've thought about taking it in to replace the sensor.

lightonthehill

I have noticed this the entire 18 months I have owned my '09. The thing usually reaches the correct temperature, but I wish it would do that within the first five miles (I have seen it take as long as ten miles to get to the correct temp).

I keep waiting for something else to go wrong before taking the car in, because I don't want to take it in just for that one fairly minor thing.

09Maxima_Sam

As a person who runs his own weather website I expect accuracy from temp sensors and the like.
I had a go round with my dealer on this and have actually had mine replaced twice. The second time they even replaced the entire gauge cluster. It did not fix it. It is how the gauge was designed to work. I have come to the following conclusion on it's operation.

When leaving from a warm environment (garage) to a cool one (outside) or you are expecting a cooler ambient temp, the gauge temp will drop quickly to that ambient temp in the first mile or minute or operation. As Expected!

When leaving from a cool environment (garage) to a warmer one (outside) or you are expecting a warmer ambient temp, the gauge temp will rise very slowly to that ambient temp, sometimes never reaching it because of sluggishness of the designed time delay. If you have a number of short stops (a mile or two apart) and shut off the car, then this further delays the display of the correct temp. It sort of resets the timers.

What I think is going on, is the engineers were so worried of "radiator/engine heat soaking" into the sensor from under the bumper they that purposely programmed the sensor to be sluggish in response whenever there is a raise in temp. That way an erroneous temp would not be displayed. However I think they went overboard in their assumption.

I have noticed similar behavior like this on other outside temp. sensors on other NON-Nissan brands of cars I have owned. Just not as sluggish as this one.

I would like to see the algorithm of the gauge adjusted to be less lengthy or better yet just remove it and let us take our chances with the heat soaking issues. But then as one customer I do not have that much pull to get them to change it.

yvnrg1981

Hmm...i have 09' sv sport tech, and have had zero problems with this. As soon as i start driving i seem to be getting the correct temp. Let me ask this, have you guys compared the temp in the car with a another kind of temp sensor. I mean have a controlled unit and compare it to the nissan one. I mean you can't expect to see 98 deg in say your immediate area compared to what you just saw on the weather channel.

09Maxima_Sam

Oh yes I have done my own temp sensor type of thing as well.


On a side note: I run my own Personal Weather Station. So I know what you are talking about when it comes to the weather channel. Their numbers are intrinsically inaccurate for many areas.

Flip2cho

Ditto, no issues. Seems to be very much on point. It shows hotter while sittig still. Slowly drops after driving a while. When it starts to rain it will slowly drop about 10 degrees. No issues yet and I referance it all the time. I've even checked it against a thermostat I use fo HVACR and it's pretty much spot on.

mrgooch42

Some of these posts are referencing accuracy rather then [ my complaint ] erratic movement. Holding the same temperature for 15-20 minutes then jumping 15 degrees in a few seconds.

IH8SPM

Is it relevant when it happens? Is it 90 outside then it goes down to 70 then up to 98? The temp gauage is normally under the front bumper and may have gotten damaged or even dirty. Take a look at it and if not then you may have to have the dealership look and you will have to actually have to show them when its happening because techs dont wait time is money to them.

Flip2cho

being accurate does mean no erratic jumping around.

lightonthehill

Sadly, my wife will confirm I am obsessed with the temperature. I have three good thermometers carefully placed around the outside of my home where they will not receive direct sunlight. I have four inside my home, plus one in the garage and one in the tool room. Just before I logged on here tonight, I had lowered the attic stairs and checked the temp in the attic. My favorite TV channel is the Weather Channel. Obsessed, I say.

I ALWAYS have the outside temp displayed on my dash, and find I am checking it far too often. There is a seven mile trip I take most days, and the outside temperature is almost always essentially the same that entire route (no hills, valleys, etc). I have an insulated garage, which is cooler than the outside temp in summer and warmer in winter. But it is often five miles into the trip before the car thermometer begins moving toward the correct temperature, then it might move five degrees in one minute. On the way back home, the thermometer reads exactly (and correctly) the same temp all the way.

So the car thermometer has had a problem since the day I bought the car 18 months ago. But I always know the exact temp where I live, and by the time I drive far enough to be out of my area, the thermometer has adjusted and is working correctly. So it isn't a big problem for me.

09Maxima_Sam

Pretty much Ditto on what you said Lightonthehill for me as well. It is an annoyance but I know it will correct itself over the course of 10 mins.

You should try setting up one of your own Personal Weather Stations. They are a blast. Look for me over on www.wxforum.net. All kinds of info there to get you started.

umdpru

I have had the exact same experience as told by lightonthehill in my 2010 SV. In fact, my wifes 2009 quest does the same thing. I don't garage my car and the gauge still isn't accurate from the get go.

It's one of those things that you'll have to learn to live with I guess.

k757

iTrader: (1)

the temp gauge is poor. I finally gave up on it and now display miles to empty

Flip2cho

I took a 30 minute video today showing the thermostat after I got off work. It started out at 100 degrees and worked it's way down to 96 after driving. It only changed 1 degree at a time as it cooled down from sitting still. If I was under cloud coverage the temp would show by cooling down a degree. If the direct sun came out it would warm up a degree. If the pavement changed to dark black the temp would rise another degree. Nothing irratic. One degree at a time. As soon as I can load it to YouTube I'll post it. Very accurate, nothing irratic. The symptoms discribed here can't be normal if mine acts fine.

lightonthehill

I think the thing here is the sensor has problems on the way UP, not on the way DOWN. And the real problem seems to be on INITIAL STARTUP.

In winter, I can move my car from my 60 degree insulated garage out into 30 degree weather, and the gauge drops fairly quickly to 30 degrees. But in summer, when I take my car from my 75 degree garage out into 95 degree weather, it can take five miles or more before the gauge begins to climb.

Once my gauge gets to the proper temp, from that point on it seems to fairly quickly adjust up or down to every change encountered (clouds, shade, rain, etc).

09Maxima_Sam

Exactly.

hlsess

had my 2010 Maxima SV for about a month -21000 miles- no problems until today -temp is 80 and it is just now saying 68 degrees.... will wait and see what it does tomorrow I guess

lightonthehill

Did you perhaps go through rain, or a carwash?

After we go through a carwash, or sometimes even standing puddles, the reading drops. Mine drops way down as I go through the (touchless) car wash, and stays down for about ten to fifteen miles.It does that consistently, so it doesn't bother me.

Compusmurf

I've never actually used mine so don't know if it's accurate or not. I step outside and just say Damn! It's hot again!. Florida tho, so I say it a lot.

Car Addict

mine is pretty slow and acts just like 09Maxima_Sam described it, but it doesnt bother me.

RC_51

Revisiting an old thread, does this happen to anyone? Today as I was running some errands my inside temp gauge was reading 34 degrees outside when it was in the 50's and 60's. I was hoping after 10 minutes it would adjust accordingly but it never got past 38.

I just noticed this happening....and the last time I drove the car it was in fact 34 degrees outside. Would this inaccuracy have any bearing on my climate control system? I'd hate to take the car in outside of warranty for this unless it will complicate/affect other instruments, controls, or systems.

lightonthehill

Should affect nothing else. The climate control system is trying to maintain the proper INSIDE temp. But if your car had been parked overnight, then whenever you entered the car, the guage should have been reading approximately whatever the temp was where the car was sitting. Whenever I park my car in my garage overnight, and enter the car next morning, the guage always reads exactly the same as the guage on the wall in my garage, no matter what the outside temp may be.

Once I start driving, if the outside temp is lower than in my garage, the guage begins dropping right away, and drops until it reaches the outside temp, which it does within a few miles. But if the outside temp is warmer than in my garage, it usually takes up to five or six miles before the guage begins to rise. I think this is normal for most 7th gen Maximas.

RC_51

Thanks for the clarification.

Everything seems to be back to normal....and I suppose the reason it didn't adjust accordingly the other day is that the majority of my errands were stop and go's, and the car was never on for a sustained period of time.

Thanks again.

RayFan

Speaking about the outside temp gauge.... when my outside temp reaches 37 degrees or less the "ICE" word displays next to the temp. Is there any way to adjust this warning so that it only displays closer to 32 degrees?

Richard66

I don't think it can be reset to a lower temperature. At 37 degrees it is warning you that ice can be present somewhere on the road during your drive. I've seen my tempature go from 37 to below freezing in just a couple of miles because of terrain. If you could set it to around 32 degrees you could be on ice without any heads up. I left my house the other day and it was 36 degrees out and raining, the warning came on and the streets were all covered with black ice because the previous two days had been below freezing and as the rain fell it turned to ice.

lightonthehill

Absolutely. Just because the temp moves above 32 degrees does not mean the ice is suddenly gone. It can take hours or days for ice to melt if the temps stay in the thirties. I have also seen sleet, snow and freezing rain at temps in the upper thirties. The temp at the ground will almost always be different than the temp at various altitudes above the ground, which is where the precip is coming from.

RC_51

Not to mention "bridge ices before road"....used to see those signs all the time in Georgia. With the wind underneath and lack of earth, I've seen bridges ice around the 37 degree mark. Better be safe than sorry..

Maxi Prime

Hello, i have a 2012 maxima and my tempeture reading is always at -22C. i have replaced the ambient tempeture sensor and it still shows the same thing (-22c). Is there anything for me to check, so i can fix this problem? What controls the ambient sensor? Because my A/c does not work because of the low temp. reading.

Thanks