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Outside Temperature Incorrect - 2012 Focus

45K views 50 replies 25 participants last post by  RonMaiden 
#1 ·
Hello, I have seen several posts on the web and here in Focus Fanatics regarding the outside temperature reading being incorrect on later model Focuses. What I have not seen is a solution to this issue.

My 2012 base model is constantly showing 2 to 8 degrees higher than the actual temperature. I brought the car into the dealership and they replaced my passenger side mirror because the sensor is mounted in the mirror. This did not fix the issue. The dealership has now created a trouble ticket with Ford. I have not heard back from the dealership for several days even though I have called them a few times so I have called Ford directly and created another trouble ticket to see if that would help.

I have seen on several posts that Ford has told other posters that the root of problem is that the system first calculates the outside temperature in Celcius and then converts it to Fahrenheit which is hard to believe that Ford's software developers couldn't do basic math. But you never know?

I use the outside temperature to warm me of potential hazardous ice so it is important to me that this works. If I can't get it working correctly, I am going to get rid of this car.

Please let me know if you have a solution to this issue. I will post my solution once and if I find one.

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Wow. Tough stance.
Throw away $5K or more trade in loss because you are too cheap to buy some aftermarket temp gauge?
I also note my temp gauge is higher than the real temp outside.
Usually I can tell if it is below freezing. Something I picked up walking outside once in a Blue Moon I guess.
My car is parked in a heated garage, so the temp drops from 78F/68F (year round) down/up to whatever the temp is outside in a minute of so. It stays higher than the real Winter temp by about 8 degrees I guess. Summer it seems to be right on actually.
I might try to change it to Celcius temp range and see if that is correct. [popcorn]
 
#3 ·
I tried changing it too Celcius but there doesn't seem to be a way to do it. Probably something the dealer can do via their scantool? (I have the base model)

Sorry for sounding sour but this issue looks to me like a software problem which should be an easy fix. I see all sorts of Ford Focus owners with the same problem but Ford seems to be ignoring them. Our F150 hasn't ever had an bug or did our two previous Ford Mustangs. I wonder if Ford did this work themselves or outsourced it?

I will let you know what I find out.
 
#5 ·
I've not noticed it being off by 8+F, when it was zero F outside the car read exactly 0F, when I got to the interview it had warmed up to about 5F, and then later in the day by the time I got home it read only about 14F and it felt like it.
 
#10 ·
How did I ever survive without a temp sensor on my car...oh wait I till don't have one...

Do what I do, if you suspect ice, scuff your foot on the road and see if it is slick before you get in the car, and YES I'm serious...it works.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, that would work if I didn't drive 70 miles to work. Also, if Ford is going to put a temp sensor on a car it shouldn't be inacurrate.

Also, I am looking for advice regarding the outside temp sensor and if anybody out there has a fix for it. Filling up the thread with sarcasm doesn't help me or the next guy who has the same problem.
 
#16 ·
I have been comparing it to my home outside temp guage, the one we have at work, temps posted online, radio news, banks and other buildings that display the outside temp.

The one at work is dead on for sure. My home one is pretty accurate as well.

Thanks
 
#19 ·
Thanks for helping out.

Is this Forum for posting and resolving issues and questions or for attacking people who have found problems with their cars?

Request: Unless you can add useful input to this thread please refrain from adding useless text. I am hoping I can get this resolved and make the information available to other Focus owners. As an owner of two Fords and a fourth generation owner of Ford stock, it isn't in my best interest to try to get my car declared a lemon because of an incorrect outside temperature reading.
 
#25 ·
In the past, Ford has changed things due to customer complaints. For example, Ford used to put oil pressure gauges in lots of different vehicles. Customers complained that the oil pressure would drop at idle- especially in the summer with the AC on. Nobody sued back then, but there were plenty of complaints. Ford then put a resistor in the oil gauge circuit, and changed the sender to a switch- now oil pressure remained steady as a rock, until it would drop to nothing at 7 psi about 1 second before the engine locked up.

I hope Ford will get on the ball and fix this horrible issue for you. How can a 21st century digital man such as yourself survive without knowing the exact outside temperature? Maybe we'll get one of those famous Ford fixes. Instead of actual temperature- what if it simply said: Icy Cold, Cold, Sort of Cold, Warm, Hot, Sweaty Stinky Hot, Hot as Death? Then you'd know exactly what you were up against.

You might want to sue your weatherman too. I've noticed that they are off by as much as 5 degrees every day.
 
#26 ·
........the sensor is mounted in the mirror......
Does the manual say anything about what the accuracy is?

I was curious where the sensor was mounted. If the inside of your car can climb to over 100 degrees F on a winter day in the sun, think what the temperature might do inside your mirror. Same with the source of your reference temps. And then with a moving car vs. stationary temp sources - it may take awhile for ambient air to permeate the mirror assembly.

If you are looking for a meaningful comparison - you'll need a stable and controlled environment and a calibrated reference source. Depending on accuracy, traceable to NIST. How well insulated is your garage?

Comparing it to anything else may be part of the problem - especially if the sun is involved and/or the temperature changes quickly over a short period of time.

How important it is to you and to what expense you want to go to to find the answer is up to you. .... Remove the mirror (keep it electrically connected) and put it in an "Ice Bath" (bag of water and lots of ice). See what it reads after soaking for say 30-60 minutes. You know ice is frozen at 32 degrees F. - That becomes 'one' point for your graph/experiment.

Do this when the ambient temp is above freezing so you don't end up with a "Popsicled Mirror" (the other point on your graph deals with another known scientific point - "boiling water", 212 degrees F. But I don't recommend this or absolute zero either).
 
#30 ·
According to Ford, the temp sensor is OK at + or - 3 Degrees F. When checked inside the dealership it is + 2 over. Since it is within specs while sitting in the dealership, there isn't much else to do.

The strange part about this sensor is that it has wild swings of 2 to 8 degrees over. The longer the car has been on, the higher the variation.

The sensor is in the passenger side mirror. The variations are seen during the day or after sunset so the sun does not seem to have much of an impact on the inaccuracy.

Thanks for the reply.
 
#29 ·
As a 26 year mechanic ( on bikes ) ...They replace the part with new...inspect the connections. it still works the SAME...let me ask...in my position as a tech ( thats what hipsters like to call us mechanics)...what would you like me to do next???? seriously? tell me...I would love to know.
 
#32 ·
On one particular vehicle I drove for work with an outside temp gauge, the temps when sitting still were quite variable compared to the "real" outside temp.. Once moving for a while the readings stabilized close to "reality".

Keeping track of just when it reads "funny", you may learn over time what effects it the most. Sun effects have been mentioned, icing can actually "freeze" it at 32 if it gets caked with enough ice to keep it's temp stable, warm air from the engine area would bump up the readings at low speeds or when stopped (even though they TRIED to isolate the sensor it still gets effected)....

Just my personal observations after using that factory model a few years, followed by mounting an aftermarket unit on another rig that showed similar reactions.

My current rig has one that sometimes gives useful info., but I gotta tell ya - the educated eye for snow & ice conditions is still what I have to rely on. Ice Warning gauges just sound off at temps near freezing, & really "cry wolf" quite a bit - too many other factors determine when the road gets slick.....

Luck!
 
#34 ·
I think I will need to educate my eye a bit. I always appreciate a false and real alarm every so often to remind me that I need to stay aware of the weather. I used to live in an area that didn't have any ice so this is something somewhat new to me.

I have been really surprised at the number of cars I have seen slide off the road. Cars that looked to be going straight as an arrow and at a reasonable speed and then whoosh, they fly 50 feet off into a ditch.

Thanks
 
#36 ·
I think I will need to educate my eye a bit. I always appreciate a false and real alarm every so often to remind me that I need to stay aware of the weather. I used to live in an area that didn't have any ice so this is something somewhat new to me.

I have been really surprised at the number of cars I have seen slide off the road. Cars that looked to be going straight as an arrow and at a reasonable speed and then whoosh, they fly 50 feet off into a ditch.

Thanks
Let me guess most of them are 4WD vehicles. I grew up in Washington and know exactly what you are talking about. Could be a nice sunny day and because of all the trees covering the road the black ice never melts.

on another note, if you hit the multiple quote (on the post that you want to quote) then hit quote on the last one you can answer all the posts in one shot and not have to do three or four posts. Just a pointer for ya.
 
#37 ·
Let me guess most of them are 4WD vehicles. I grew up in Washington and know exactly what you are talking about. Could be a nice sunny day and because of all the trees covering the road the black ice never melts.

on another note, if you hit the multiple quote (on the post that you want to quote) then hit quote on the last one you can answer all the posts in one shot and not have to do three or four posts. Just a pointer for ya.

You are right, all except one were 4WD vehicles. Kind of strange.

Thanks for the quote tip.
 
#33 ·
Of the many type of sensors it's probably a thermistor - fairly inexpensive - resistance changes with temperature. And since they have changed the mirror assembly already then it points to a problem with a connector/contact/resistance that is changing slightly with temp or vibration. Mirrors aren't heated on a 2012/focus?
 
#35 ·
Of the many type of sensors it's probably a thermistor - fairly inexpensive - resistance changes with temperature. And since they have changed the mirror assembly already then it points to a problem with a connector/contact/resistance that is changing slightly with temp or vibration. Mirrors aren't heated on a 2012/focus?[/QUOTE


The mirrors are not heated on my car.

The connectors is something I heard one of the Ford mechanics mention but they did not look any further since it was within the + or - 3 degrees at the time which met factory specs.

I would not mind testing the connectors myself. I am guessing there is one at the mirror assembly and one more under the dash somewhere? I would guess I am just looking for loose connections and checking the resistance with a multi meter?

Thank you
 
#41 ·
I usually just use my handy, dandy Weather Channel app on my phone to obtain weather info such as temp, wind, etc. Using this info, along with some general knowledge that water freezes at 32*, I can then apply it to figure out if there will be ice on the road or not. Just sayin'. [facepalm]
 
#42 ·
Yep. Weather channel rules. It wouldn't matter one whit if the gauge is within 2 degrees, ice forms at 32 and not 33 but at the measured LOCAL SPOT only. Here in Texas ice can be on overpasses with wind and 34 temp listed on anything you want to read. Meaning something like wind chill going on there. Temperature can vary up to 5 degrees easily just depending on where you are in the city, the northern reaches of Fort worth here always have plenty of accidents because flat and not much building there to break the wind. Elsewhere in city no ice at all but same temp everywhere there, just local spots vary. Common, the outlying regions get worse because less concrete to radiate heat and less traffic to keep condensation scrubbed off overpasses and outer highways. Concreted areas can be 33 at the surface and the air 12 inches higher above is 25, dead accurate gauge will not help you there.

Car temp gauges are absolutely worthless for determination of road condition. So is a single weather report. One learns to use EVERYTHING to determine that, meaning look at the cold front on the weather for effects in other states before it gets to you, you can tell pretty much how much trouble you will have. NOAA invaluable for that. That plus your realtime temp and wind, plus listening to traffic data, plus time the ground has been above or below freezing point, and you can make a pretty much bulletproof guess on what the driving conditions are.

That someone would seriously consider dumping a car over a temp gauge, well, I won't say what I think about that. If that important, I certainly would be looking for a stand alone certified scientific measuring instrument instead of relying on junk.
 
#43 ·
Anyone happen to catch the story recently about next gen smart cars in the not too distant future that will collect weather data and transmit that to roadside towers along with embedded sensors. Then to a data center that processes the information and sends it back to drivers warning them of black ice/fog and other current/pending weather conditions. The story mentioned weather is the main cause of vehicle accidents and death. It was relating to that 75 car pile-up in recently in Virgina due to fog.

I don't know about you but distractions have to be catching up with weather. Grandma and grandpa are overwhelmed with every new car purchase.
 
#44 ·
I have a 2012 Focus Titanium. I have noticed that the thermometer in my car is actually 10 degrees higher. I just wanted to let you know that I am having a problem with mine too. I am going to take it to the dealer and see what they can do. Perhaps they will change out the mirror assembly. I hope they do something. I just like to look at it and know that it is accurate within 2 or 3 degrees. Ten degrees off is a bit much for me.
 
#46 ·
Let us know how things go at the dealership, bwolper. I'm also happy to check out ways to assist, just send me a PM with your information and I'll get to work. Please be sure to include your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name.

Thanks!

Crystal
 
#45 ·
Yes, ten a bit much. I used to have one car ages ago with a $5 gimmick plastic clunky thermo that actually was pretty dang close and for the long term. Not like it's not doable. It finally caved in from slow melting after several Texas summers. First time I ever realized it can hit 140F in a car interior.
 
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