My wife is concerned there is a problem with her external temperature guage. She said it is taking the reading 15 minutes or so to get to the correct current temperature. We have had the car for 2 years, she thinks it just started doing this. Once it reached the correct temperature it seems to adjust in real time. Is this a normal period of time for it to register to the correct temperature or should I have the dealer look at it? many thanks.

 

I think it's normal. I wouldn't worry about it. If the car is sitting in the hot sun, it will take some time to get down to ambient temp. You could always ask your dealer, prior to wasting time on an appt.

 

I brought that same issue up to the dealer a year ago, and the service advisor laughed and said it's a problem with many/most Chrysler vehicles. Ours will stick on an inaccurate temperature for 10+ minutes, and then mysteriously begin showing a more accurate reading. I'm not clear whether this affects the air output if you have automatic climate control.

I don't understand the point of having the outside temperature reading if corporate won't spend a few extra pennies and install sensors that work correctly.

 

I was having the same issue. But what I noticed that sometimes it shows the correct temperature and other times it wont. I was thinking of taking it into the dealership, but now that it seems that it is the way it was built. Ohh well. I know when I get to my car it is hot, but it is funny when it says it is 64 outside when it actually is 100. Guess it is just trying to make my mind think it is cooler then it actually is.

 

Our 07 does the same thing. Have to drive it for a while to get the correct temp. I guess outside air has to flow past the sensor to get it to work properly. We have a Chev Blazer as well and it's temp display is a lot more accurate and quick. Just one of those things we have to live with.

 

read your owners manual it will explain this

 

Yes it can be heat soak and thus driving it over 20 mph is supposed to put outside air past the sensor but I have also noticed the reverse on mine. It will read quite a bit cooler than the outside temperature on some mornings. We have several thermometers around the yard. If it is related to the sensor being too close to the AC or coolant lines/heater hoses/engine block then this is just a problem we have to live with until it is driven a few miles above 20 mph. Just a poor design as all 5 Chevys we have been through since 2000 worked a lot better. The only time that it is big a concern for me is when the temperature hovers around 0 C (32 F) as that is when it can get icy.

 

The manual states:

NOTE: Temperature accuracy can be affected from heat
soak. For best accuracy, the vehicle should be driven at a
speed greater than 20 mph (32 km/h) for several minutes.

With that said, mine was VERY slow, and sometimes never really changed from the incorrect reading it had at startup. I went ahead and changed it -- $10 for the part and 10 minutes to do the work -- and it's much better now. It is annoying that you have to drive and watch it slowly drop/raise to actual, though.

I think the system is programmed to allow drops/increases of a certain increment over a certain amount of time, as mine won't ever change significantly (e.g. 75-55 will go 75.....73....68....65....60....57....55).

Practically useless unless you're in the vehicle for an extended amount of time.

 

Good to know 15951a\, where did you get the part.... dealership? Where is the part mounted on the vehicle, a couple of pics would be great.