trying to be too clever - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

lutzTD · #1 02-04-2011, 02:42 PM

I just recently bought a Chevy Cruze for the wife. She has mentioned to me that the outside temperature reading on the dash is always way off. So I tell her just ignore it but she called again so I did a little reasearch. here is a technical service bulletin from Chevy :

Subject:Inaccurate or Slow Response of Outside Air Temperature Display

Models:2011 Chevrolet Cruze

The following information may be helpful if you encounter a vehicle with this condition. You may show or offer a copy of this PI to your customer.
Condition/Concern

Some customers may comment that the outside air temperature display is inaccurate when starting the vehicle, or that the display is slow to change/update after starting the vehicle.
Recommendation/Instructions

An intentional delay is built into the system, as a parked vehicle encounters conditions that may cause inaccurate readings of the outside air temperature. Higher than actual readings could be encountered if the vehicle is left sitting in direct sunlight, or if the vehicle engine is warm when parked.
To assure greater accuracy of the reported outside air temperature, the display is programmed to perform updates on the following schedule when the vehicle is started.

If the vehicle is driven at:

25-40 km/h (15-25 mph), , the display will update after 5 minutes.
41-60 km/h (26-37 mph) , the display will update after 2 min 30 sec.
61-100 km/h (38-62 mph) , the display will update after 1 minute.

Once the first temperature update begins, the outside temperature display is refreshed every 2 seconds.

Important: The outside temperature display will update immediately if the vehicle is turned off for more than 200 minutes or if the sensed outside temperature is below the value when the ignition was previously turned off.

so I ask, why is this so difficult? Are people better served by having the temp wrong for a few seconds when you turn it on until you get moving or have a built in delay for many minutes that makes it untrustworthy to even consider. My Excursion doesnt have any issue with outside temp readings..... come on Chevy.

tbomachines · #2 02-04-2011, 02:54 PM

My 300E's outside temp adjusts to complete accuracy within a couple minutes of driving around, and honestly is never that far off even in sunlight or after the car has been running and parked for a while, etc. Credit to sensor placement.

Fulcrum525 · #3 02-04-2011, 03:01 PM

Yes, i've always been impressed with the accuracy of these temperature gauges. As far as I can tell they just update continually so if there are any fluctuations they won't take long to display. (So basically once you drive away from sitting still it will tell you what is going on)

That is in stark contrast to the display from our old Dodge Caravan which never worked.

Keep it simple.

POS · #4 02-04-2011, 03:27 PM

Sounds silly and complicated.