anybody know where the thermometer for the exterior temp is located???

 

Two places. It's one of the display choices on the instrument panel display, which is chosen by pressing the "DISP" button on the steering wheel until it comes around. And it is also on the "Climate" screen on the nav display.

 

I think he meant the sensor for the digital thermometer. Not the readout.

I'm also wondering where.

 

Ah, sorry, bet you're right.

On my previous cars with such displays, the sensor was located near the air opening in the front bumper, in a place where it would see incoming air when the car is moving, yet be sheided from the brunt of radiated heat from the A/C condensor and radiator.

My educated guess would be that it's in a similar location in our cars, for the same reasons.
1. On coming air blows to the back of the vehicle, so you want it in front of the engine, radiator and A/C condensor.
2. Heat rises, so you want it lower than the engine, radiator, and A/C condensor.

 

yeah i meant the sensor.. sorry for the confusion.

 

I'm curious about this as well. On my previous car (Audi A4), the temperature probe was too close to the engine bay, so it always read about 4-5 degrees too high.

This weekend the outside temp on the IS350 read 122 degrees in Rowland Heights, CA (Los Angeles basically). I know it was friggin' hot this weekend, but 122 still seems a tad high.

 

I've noticed mine reads ~4 degrees too high. I wonder if there is a way to adjust the baseline like I was able to with my Acura TL?

 

That's one of the previous cars I referred to in my post above (actually, mine was an S4). On that car, it was under the front radiator bracket, behind the front bumper.

Was that when you first started the car, or after driving for a while? I usually give mine about 10 mintues of highway driving before I take it seriously. When operated thusly, the one on my IS only reads 1 - 2 degrees high.

 

Yup, to piggy back off of what Bichon said, you've gotta give ur car a few seconds before taking the temp seriously because it'll cool off by 4-5 degrees as you drive off. The reason why it's always high as you first hop in the car is because the sun's been beating down on the sensor while your car is parked but the minute you drive off, the temp lowers to what the actual temp should be.

 

FYI, the 4 degree error I'm describing occurs after allowing the thermostat to stabilize by driving the car.

 

I have seen this difference too,and I have to imagine that some of the difference is the heat radiating off the pavement. The radio/weather stations thermometers are probably mounted somewhere with less radiational heating.

 

it also depends where you are also. i notice that my temp always reads higher while on the freeway.

 

We were driving near Woodland Hills on Saturday (that’s the northern valley portion of Los Angeles) around 3pm and the car’s reading said 117 degrees! What? That must be an error. But no ,sure enough, the TV news later said the high for the day in the valley was 117, breaking the all-time record.

We’re suffering in the heat here, but at least our IS readout is accurate.

 

That's crazy-hot!!!

 

Mine always reads really hot when I first start the car, but once I start driving, it will cool off a bit. Sometimes it's right on the money, but other times it can be a few degrees high...