01 ls430 UL Does anyone know where the outside air temp. probe is located. Must be in the grill somewhere. After going thru a car wash a couple of weeks ago, the outside air temp reading has been off, mostly reading low and slow to change. I have a service manual on CD , but haven't been able to find it. It had been VERY accurate before that. Jon...

 

Asked just over a year ago...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...r-located.html

 

Don't know if the 01 is the same as the 04, but in my 04 you cannot see the temp sensor by viewing down and in front of the radiator with the hood open. You can only see it by viewing into the lower front grille in the bumper. It is located about 12 inches to the left of the center of the car. You can reach it by reaching from above and in front of the radiator. You can do that while viewing into the grille and also see where the lead goes.

 

Thanks for all the help, This site is "Awsum".. Big Jon..

 

Post the solution if you find one. The outside air temp. on my 04 is doing the same thing ---reading low and slow to change.

 

I have found the 'ambient air temprature sensor', it is indeen down below the grill
on the drivers. Nothing aparently wrong with it, it is a solid probe. They are
around $20-25 on ebay. Tried local parts house, nobody carries them. The part
is used on many models, lexus and toyota. I cleaned it but no change. I will check with
toyota/lexus on availability, but expect they want a lot more $$. Will post results when
I get them. Jon..

 

Well, I cleaned the 'Ambient outside temp' prob and haqve not had any problems since.
it would appear than if the probe gets dirty it reacts slower and is affected by water, as if
there was a 'wet towle' on it. Seems OK now.

 

Thanks for the post. First take a look at the photo and verify this is the ambient sensor. My question(s) are how did you clean it, did you clean all of it or only the cylindrical end, how did you reach it, and what did you use to clean it?

 

I cleaned the peobe with a 'towlete', used for 'freshing up' I reached it from above with the hood open. Seems to work better, but still seems to 'lag' behind temp changes a bit. The picture is correct, thats it! Jon..

 

Thanks Jon, I'll give it a try.

 

Greetings All, I am now having this exact problem. The sensor looks to be shockingly cheap, but the verbiage in the description isn't super helpful.
Is one of these the outdoor air temp sensor, and if yes, which one?

https://parts.belllexusnorthscottsda...862547031.html

https://parts.belllexusnorthscottsda...879022131.html

Thanks.

 

the first is the "sun load temp sensor" i believe thats the one on the top of the dashboard that measures the intensity of light entering the cabin and is used in conjuction with your air conditioner if im not mistaken.

edited: so as not to confuse future readers...i was wrong...thx for chiming in bigboomer

 

The part you want is 88790-22131
https://parts.belllexusnorthscottsda...790-22131.html

or aftermarket parts available from Ebay for about $10
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...sid=m570.l1313

 

Thank you both!
Hah, there is just one key word there, "outside". Lexus chose not to use it, Ebay did.
@LowkeyLS , you make good sense, but if you look at the Ebay link Boomer provided, it uses the word "outside", pretty conclusive. The discussion above and pic are hard to track.

I wonder if it does just need to be cleaned off, or if the tunnel wash destroyed it. My general experience is these little sensors rarely go bad, but never impossible; I had a rock destroy a parking sensor. Also, there is one more sensor that I replaced once in regards to HVAC, right up front in the hood, the one that switches the air source from fresh to recirculated.

I'm good to go here. Thanks again, gents. Boom, when you are working Friday and we're not, remember we're all friends now, and I'll be watching lots of Wimbledon thinking about you.

 

Y'all enjoy your day off and fireworks 🍺🎆