Outside temperature thermometer

[Rat]

I just searched on the word thermometer and did not find a thread on this issue in the first three pages of results, although I'm pretty sure there was one back when the first deliveries were made. The ambient air temperature on the 2011 Leaf is essentially useless. It's never accurate, and sometimes off by 30 or 40 degrees. I'm still puzzled by this since this is among the oldest and most reliable technologies there are. Every car I've had for decades has a had a relatively accurate thermometer. I haven't seen this topic here lately, which suggests to me that maybe Nissan fixed this on the later year models. Can anyone confirm this? If yes, is it possible to get the new one installed on the 2011?

 

[TimLee]

I have a 2011 LEAF, and the ambient temperature indication has always been pretty accurate, at least as good as the one on my 2009 Altima.
Usually within 2 F to 3 F of another portable one in the garage. If the vehicle is in operation, usually a bit more accurate if the vehicle is moving.
Might read a bit high if sitting with AC running.

 

[TickTock]

It is weird for sure. It tracks falling temperatures pretty well, but takes 20 minutes to reflect a rise in temperature. Some discussion here. It appears the sensor is just fine and the temperature display on CANary displaying the raw value works well. For some reason they apply an asymmetric filter to the value displayed in the eyebrow. My guess is this is a carry-over from ICEs to combat engine heat.

 

[smkettner]

Mine works quite well actually. A little warm after sitting in the hot sun and maybe 3 minutes it corrects to any major change such as exiting a cool or warm garage.

 

[TickTock]

Mine works quite well actually. A little warm after sitting in the hot sun and maybe 3 minutes it corrects to any major change such as exiting a cool or warm garage.

Very odd. Mine definitely responds well when leaving a warm garage, but very slow to increase when the garage is cooler than outside. How long does yours take to recover from a car wash? That is where it first noticed it. Car wash drops it 20 degrees and it doesn't recover for at least 10 minutes.

 

[Jim66]

Seems likely there is something wrong with yours. My 2011 Leaf thermometer works better than any other car I have experienced, including several recent rentals.

 

[TickTock]

Mine does track the garage temp very well (or any ambient where it has been allowed to sit for a while). The problem is it is slow to respond to a rise (like when leaving an air conditioned garage into 110F heat). It isn't just the Leaf. My wife's Toyota Sienna has the same behavior. Unless you have an outside temperature gauge to compare against while driving and/or the delta is large you may not notice it. When I first saw the phenomenon at the car wash, I assumed it was just evaporative cooling and something was wicking moisture on the sensor. But I see the behavior on both cars now that I have been cooling the garage (for the Leaf battery benefit) when I leave. Both cars show mid 80's for a long time (more than 10 minutes) after leaving into 110F+ heat. The raw sensor value, OTOH, climbs to 110 fairly quickly (in the Leaf - I don't have access to this on the Sienna).

 

[smkettner]

Mine works quite well actually. A little warm after sitting in the hot sun and maybe 3 minutes it corrects to any major change such as exiting a cool or warm garage.

Very odd. Mine definitely responds well when leaving a warm garage, but very slow to increase when the garage is cooler than outside. How long does yours take to recover from a car wash? That is where it first noticed it. Car wash drops it 20 degrees and it doesn't recover for at least 10 minutes.

Mine gets hand washed while I am at work. Then it sits at least an hour before driving. No idea what the immediate readings would be.

 

[Rat]

I'm surprised at the responses. Maybe my old memory is fooling me but I was quite sure there were several other owners complaining about this back in 2011. My car sits in the garage overnight, which around here in the summer is typically in the 60s. I'll take it to the park in late morning for my run, and the temperature outside by then can be high 70s or even into the 80s. The car will sit in the parking lot in the sun for an hour and will still read in the 60s. In winter it shows even colder all the time, but the temperature swing outside may not be as big as in the summer, so it's closer to accurate. I've switched cars with my wife after driving the Leaf and her Acura shows temperature in the 90's while the Leaf is still showing 60s. My body tells me the Acura is more accurate, no pun intended (although her license plate is CCOUNTS [say it aloud "Acura CCOUNTS"]).

 

[TickTock]

her license plate is CCOUNTS [say it aloud "Acura CCOUNTS"]).

groan. :roll:

 

[LEAFfan]

I'm surprised at the responses. Maybe my old memory is fooling me but I was quite sure there were several other owners complaining about this back in 2011. My car sits in the garage overnight, which around here in the summer is typically in the 60s. I'll take it to the park in late morning for my run, and the temperature outside by then can be high 70s or even into the 80s. The car will sit in the parking lot in the sun for an hour and will still read in the 60s. In winter it shows even colder all the time, but the temperature swing outside may not be as big as in the summer, so it's closer to accurate. I've switched cars with my wife after driving the Leaf and her Acura shows temperature in the 90's while the Leaf is still showing 60s. My body tells me the Acura is more accurate, no pun intended (although her license plate is CCOUNTS [say it aloud "Acura CCOUNTS"]).

Sounds like to me that your sensors may be defective. Mine adjusts up and down within about five minutes and is very accurate. So was my 2011.

 

[RegGuheert]

I just searched on the word thermometer and did not find a thread on this issue in the first three pages of results, although I'm pretty sure there was one back when the first deliveries were made.

Here is a link to another discussion: Outside temperature sensor slow to move. Perhaps that is the one you remember?

 

[Rat]

I just searched on the word thermometer and did not find a thread on this issue in the first three pages of results, although I'm pretty sure there was one back when the first deliveries were made.

Here is a link to another discussion: Outside temperature sensor slow to move. Perhaps that is the one you remember?

Yes, it is, and I see that I posted almost exactly the same thing last year. It must be my car.

 

[TimLee]

I just searched on the word thermometer and did not find a thread on this issue in the first three pages of results, although I'm pretty sure there was one back when the first deliveries were made.

Here is a link to another discussion: Outside temperature sensor slow to move. Perhaps that is the one you remember?

Yes, it is, and I see that I posted almost exactly the same thing last year. It must be my car.

Rat, I finally hit the right garage and outdoor conditions, and I have to belatedly report that my 2011 LEAF has the same behaviour.
Having let the LEAF cool down overnight with garage door open the ambient display was at 64 F early in the morning when I closed the garage.
Later in the day when I drove out the outdoor ambient was close to 78 F while the car ambient was still around the 64 F.
It took the LEAF ambient display at least a 5 minute drive before the ambient temperature display finally was correct and displayed 78 F.
Not sure why it lags reflecting an increasing ambient temperature for such a long period of time.
I haven't noticed similar behaviour on my 2009 Altima, but I haven't done a real careful comparison of the Altima under the same conditions.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...Not sure why it lags reflecting an increasing ambient temperature for such a long period of time.
I haven't noticed similar behaviour on my 2009 Altima, but I haven't done a real careful comparison of the Altima under the same conditions.

Others have suggested that the lag is a carryover from ICE cars. The engine heat would give a false reading on a car that wasn't moving so the lag allows the sensor to equilibrate in the air flow of a moving car. That explanation seems plausible to me.

 

[Rat]

Rat, I finally hit the right garage and outdoor conditions, and I have to belatedly report that my 2011 LEAF has the same behaviour.
Having let the LEAF cool down overnight with garage door open the ambient display was at 64 F early in the morning when I closed the garage.
Later in the day when I drove out the outdoor ambient was close to 78 F while the car ambient was still around the 64 F.
It took the LEAF ambient display at least a 5 minute drive before the ambient temperature display finally was correct and displayed 78 F.
Not sure why it lags reflecting an increasing ambient temperature for such a long period of time.
I haven't noticed similar behaviour on my 2009 Altima, but I haven't done a real careful comparison of the Altima under the same conditions.

I would be delighted with a mere 5 minute lag time. That's pretty normal so far as I'm concerned. When I go to the local park to run or hike, the total elapsed time outside the garage is usually about an hour, with the car running or parked in the sun. Even though it's in the 70s the whole time, the car thermometer reads in the low 60s, the temperature in the garage. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen it read over 70. I probably have, but I just ignore it now and never think to look at it.

 

[Rat]

I've complained about this enough times but never done anything about it. I've been checking and the reading is almost always right around 55 degrees, which is the temperature of my garage, more or less. If the car is out for two hours in 70 degree weather, parked or driving, it will rise to maybe 57 degrees.

So maybe it is as simple as a cover or piece of tape over some air intake vent somewhere. Is there someone with a maintenance manual who can post a picture of where the business end of that thermometer is? Maybe I can just peel off a piece of tape and fix this myself. It isn't worth a trip to the dealer.

 

[mgoleta]

This was a problem on my 2011. The temperature would be off at times up to 15-20 degrees F. When I talked to my dealer they replaced the sensor under warranty. Since then it has worked reasonably well and matches a reference thermometer within 1-2 degrees.