Anyone know how this system works? During the recent “polar vortex” the temperature measurement system in our 2010 Escape went haywire. The reading still varies with the outside temperature but is about 40 degrees low. A true 30 degrees will show as -10; 60 degrees will cause a display of +20 degrees. I don’t know if this is a sensor problem or if there is some vulnerable electronic device that translates an analog signal from the sensor into an (incorrect) digital display. Ideas?
More likely to be a sensor or connector problem. But first take a visit to the Ford dealership parts department and ask if there is a calibration procedure available. You may be able to just re-calibrate the existing sensor.
Are you sure you didn’t accidentally switch the display to Centigrade?
First make sure it is not set for the centigrade scale. To do this you may need to look in the owners manual for the instructions to reset it. What the heck just get out the manual and read it. It just might tell you what needs to be done.
Here are the instructions for switching Fahrenheit to Celsius. At least make sure it’s set to Fahrenheit.
1
Scroll through the digital display used to display trip distance, until it displays the outdoor air temperature.
2
Locate the stalk next to the digital display. This is the stalk used to reset the trip distance to zero.
3
Press the stalk inward for five seconds. This will cause the unit the temperature displays in to change between degrees F and degrees C.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5989096_change-focus-temperature-display-celsius.html#ixzz33JP1KXUV
The display is set for Fahrenheit per Owner’s Manual, and twice it has “fixed itself” and displayed normal Fahrenheit readings for a couple of weeks (including right now). Maybe it is flipping to Celsius randomly; next time it flips, I’ll check for the F/C ratio.