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Do active grille shutters use ambient air temp for ecu input?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by parked, Aug 9, 2023.

  1. parked

    parked Junior Member

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    My ambient air temperature gauge was giving bad readings by about +/- 15°F yesterday, then I got the “Grille Shutter Inoperative” dashboard message. Does anyone know if the active grille shutter system uses the ambient air temperature as an input for the controller? I don’t see any obvious obstructions or damage to the shutter system.
     
    #1 parked, Aug 9, 2023
  2. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Here ya go...
     

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    #2 RRxing, Aug 9, 2023
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yes, it's monitoring ambient temp for it's operation. If it's cold enough in winter, it'll purposely leave the shutters inoperative and partway open.
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Aug 9, 2023
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  4. parked

    parked Junior Member

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    Ok, thanks so much for the quick reply! So I wonder if my ambient temperature sensor is giving some out of bounds signal, and the active grille shutter system went into some sort of safety mode. The shutters are open, but I haven’t really evaluated whether they’re 100% open or more like 75% open.
     
    #4 parked, Aug 9, 2023
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Your avatar pic was how far back? Maybe something damaged or disconnected?
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Aug 9, 2023
  6. parked

    parked Junior Member

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    Excellent information! Thank you guys so much!

    Now the big problem is that I’m on the road 900 miles from home and 500 from my destination with hardly any tools.
     
    #6 parked, Aug 9, 2023
  7. sylvaing

    sylvaing Senior Member

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    Trying to read the grill shutter operation pdf, is there any precedence to the operation? For example, if I'm driving at 70 km/h and it's 38C outside, what will the shutter position be?
     
    #7 sylvaing, Aug 9, 2023
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Is the shutter message obscuring anything? If not I'd just ignore it till you're home.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Aug 9, 2023
  9. parked

    parked Junior Member

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    My avatar is a pic of one of our dearly departed Nissan LEAFs. Both smashed and sent to heaven.
     
    #9 parked, Aug 9, 2023
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  10. parked

    parked Junior Member

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    I don’t think the message will be a problem. I’m just worried that the shutters aren’t totally open while I drive through the middle of nowhere in triple digit heat.
     
    #10 parked, Aug 9, 2023
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