External temperature display problem

[doubleO7]

We are having a very warm September here on the West Coast of Canada. Temperatures in the Vancover area and Fraser Valley have been around 23C (73F) to 28C (82F) depending on how far from the coast you are.

So, I get into my Journey yesterday as I am taking it in to get two wheels changed under warranty, and the EVIC external temp is showing -40C (-40F). Thats weird. So I start driving and stop in at MacDonalds for a coffee and free newspaper. Sit down read and finsih coffee. Get back in, start the vehicle and the EVIC displays what is probably the current early morning temperature of 11C (52C). OK everything is fine.

Leave the Journey at the dealer and get a call to pick it up around noontime. Get in the Journey and the EVIC is displaying 15C (59F), but the temperature is around 23C (73F) according to one of the radio stations. So maybe it just has to reset itself.

Since the Journey has been sitting in the sun, I open the windows and drive a few kilometers before turning on the AC. Set the temp on my side to low and set AC to auto. The AC will not blow cold air, even after 10 minutes, so I set it to manual, still no cold air. At this point, since I have almost finished my "chores", I decide to head back to the dealer and show them the problem. But before I can get there, the EVIC all of a sudden jumps to 23C(73F) and the AC starts to work normally, blowing cold air.

This morning I have to head back to the dealer as one of the wheels that they replaced, has been damaged during installation. (won't go into detail on wheels). The EVIC is still showing 23C (73F) at 6:30 AM in the morning. My weather station temperature is showing 10C (50F). When I start the vehicle the EVIC changes to 10C. So it looks like everything is OK. Go to the dealer, show them the damaged wheel, and mention the problem with the EVIC display to the service advisor and said I will keep an eye on the display.

Sure enough, the temperature is rising outside, but the EVIC is showing 10C still. The all of a sudden it jumps from the 10C (52F) to 18C (64F). We are about mid morning at this time, so the temp agrees with the radio station weather report.

So,when I go back to the dealer to get the wheel fixed, I am going to have this looked at.

I guess what concerns me the most, is that when the temp on the EVIC is showing a cooler temp on the outside then what it is, the air conditioner doesn't work.

It appears to me that what there is a problem with the external temperature sensor, but if the dealer can't replicate the problem, they may not do anything..

Has anybody else had this problem?

Dodgecares or DodgeCAcares, have you encountered this problem before?

[Lebowski]

Yes, I saw it too.

Edit: I checked because I thought I heard it before, and a couple of users on a Spanish forum reported the same problem.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Lebowski

[doubleO7]

I have scheduled an appointment for Monday to have it looked at. The service adviser I talked to indicated there is a corelation between the outside ambient temperature and the amount of cold air the AC unit will emit. I had set my AC temp to low, but the indicated Ambient temperature was 15C (actual ambeint temp was around 23C), so the AC would not blow cold air.