my temp gauge is always about 10-15 degrees above what I reasonably believe the temp to be. then again I have a black TSX in the middle of a California summer... so that may have something to do with it.

 

I have a black TSX also... mine always seems about 10 over what the real temp probably is..... I'm in VA

 

I had started a post about this a while back. The general consensus is that it is only accurate after driving for so long and at a certain speed (it talks about it in the Owner's manual). I agree, it is pretty useless if it is not always accurate.

 

It's definitely high... my guess is about 6-10 degrees as well. Our other car has the same problem, so maybe it's universal. Even though it improves after driving around, I don't think it's ever truly accurate. The dealer tried to tell me that it says what it 'feels like' outside, but that's a load of c**p. It's not like it has a hygrometer in it or measures wind chill!

 

I find mine to be fairly accurate. Maybe 3 degrees too high, MAX.

 

Mine's similar to TWong1200's I do find that it "settles" down after I drive little while.

 

Mine also seems exactly 3 degrees too high.

 

I think the color of the car makes a big difference. I'm with Twong in that I feel the gauge to be fairly close to the actual temperature. We both happen to have silver cars, rather than a black or carbon grey color.

Have any of you guys with 10-15 degree problems seen whether or not the problem exists at night, when there's no sunlight complicating things?

 

The temp issue I have seen in a number of cars I have owned. I don't know where the sensor is in the TSX, but usually somewhere near the front of the car. The Engine compartment heats up in the sun, and until you get the car running, it takes time for the area near the sensor to cool down to the ambient temp. Another thing you will notice, is after running the car for awhile, the engine heats up and when you stop, the heat builds up in the engine compartment and will raise the temp of the sensor. Once again, you get moving and the temp will normalize after about 10 minutes. The colder the outside temp, the quicker the system will get back to the true temp. Most times, after I run the car for 10 or 15 minutes, the temp is very close to what is probably real.

 

Guys..as usual ..RTFM.


It discusses the accuracy of the outside temp guage.

 

as usual... SMFD.

maybe you have time to read a 500 page manual and read about the 75 different winshield wiper settings, but some of us lead busy lives.

and if it said in the manual that my car could fly... I'd probably still post here and see if anyone else thought that the car was incapable of flight.

 

Sorry FDL, but you had it coming....

Anyway, my temp guage is usually within 2 or 3 degrees of actual (news reported) temps after I got moving. I thought it was broken last week when I got in the car and it read 110 degrees.... apparently it was spot on.

 

Yes..you must live such a busy life to be posting on here...

It takes far less time to look it up in the manual than post here and wait for an answer. The manual is an essential read for ALL TSX owners...so next time take 5 minutes to go through it instead of wasting bandwidth and our time.

 

Easy fellas

 

You are correct. The temp sensor is mounted on the dash near the wind shield. Now during a sunny day, the wind shield heats up the temp sensor even more, similar to a magnifying glass. But as you drive, heat dissipates quickly and thus, the temp gauge returns to accurate within +/- 2 degrees.

 

I guess my title of this thread should have been "if you can't do it right, why do it at all?"

 

AMEN! I mean come on there's a whole little paragraph in the owner's guide describing almost exactly how the thing operates.

If you really want to know how it operates and how to adjust the sensitivity spring for the '04 Shop Guide.

 

a) The manual would never state it

b) If you don't have the time to read about a $30K vehicle before operating it then you take your chances.

c) Is it that hard to hit the index of the book, saving you some 499 pages of reading?

 

This is NOT correct. The sensor you're talking about is for the climate control. The sensor for outside ambient is mounted in the front under/behind the bumper like usual.

 

What can I say... I like to live my life on the edge.

On another note... what if the TSX had a clock that was always 30-50 minutes fast? Wouldn't that be silly?

 

Acutally, the temp sensor is outside, under the front license plate. The sensor near the windshield is just a sunlight sensor for the climate control. The manual states that the temp will not be correct until you are traveling over 19mph.

 

Who cares? :whocares:

The truth is, you don't know if it's right or not. As long as it doesn't get into the red part, you're pretty much ok. The car isn't going to overheat unless in extreme conditions(it's not a GM). 120 degree heat + driving uphill and air conditioning. Use your imagination.

If you really care so much, place your own thermostat in there.

Edit: Change that to internal temp. I was thinking engine temp, but it may still be applicable minus the uphill driving and air conditioning.

 

Hey jack -- I think we're talking about different things!

 

 

how useful can the temp. guage be if you already know how it feels outside while walking to your car? to me, the guage is just another little thing i like to point out to my passengers when they first board my car.

 

Ok guys ... this is funny!

It seems people are talking about two different things.

What I understand this thread to be about is the Temp Gauge...
Specifically: THE OUTSIDE WEATHER READING .... in other words, how hot or cold it is weather wise...... THERMOMETER!

If I am on the right track, then mine is pretty accurate:

Usually within 1 to 2 degrees of the reported radio station numbers ... if not spot on.

And that is understandable ... cause, the radio cast could be off by one or two, depending on the accuracy of their thermometer.

TSXKid

 

And the temperature around even a medium size city can vary 6 or 7 degrees.

Also, if the sensor is low on the car, the heat from the road in the summer can affect it.

If it's always 10 degrees higher than reported, that's pretty far off, although I doubt Acura will do anything about it.

 

I agree on all counts. Mine is that accurate too. And, BTW, it is very useful. Firstly, our sense doesn't always tell us what the temperature -- we can be fooled by things like wind and humidity (not to mention mood ). Also, you know, sometimes the temperature can change while you're in the car.

Yeah, all of this would've been clearer if he'd said "thermometer" rather than temperature gauge in the first place.

And finally -- we've been talking about THREE different things, not two, at least in our heads. For the longest time I thought this thread was about the temp. indicator on the climate control --

I thought people were talking about how the air conditioning doesn't really take the car to whatever number you set -- which I think may be true. But that's another thread.

 

I think the problem with the inside temp gauge is that there is a relationship to the measured OUTSIDE temperature... especially when the A/C is on AUTO.

For example sometimes it's about 75-ish outside, but the temp reading says 92. I turn on the A/C to AUTO 70F and the thing turns on like a Siberian windstorm.

 

Same here... Now can somebody explain what the heck is a sunlight sensor for the climate control? Does this mean when it senses light, it blows more cold air?

 

It's not just sensing light - it's sensing SUNlight. And the radiant heat of sunlight can make the air temperature much less important to how you feel. The air temp is going to have to be much colder on a sunny day to feel the same as it would at night or even on a cloudy day.

Lay a cap over the light sensor and drive for an hour with the sun beating directly on you through the windshield, and you'll see what I mean. The climate control will keep the air temp at 70 or whatever you have it set at, but it won't feel like it.

 

Then you should ask the dealer to replace the temp sensor - if other people have accurate readouts, and it's affecting your comfort and the operation of the HVAC they should take it seriously.

C.