Grille Blocking --> OAT Sensor --> Auto A/C control

So... our first taste of winter on the west coast hit us this week with overnight lows below freezing.

One thing I did notice is that the Prius' OAT reading never went below 0°C even in the early morning.

Listening to the radio, they tell me it's -2°C outside. The Prius says it's +3°C. Later that day, it reads +8°C when I know it's only 4°C.

Now this has an effect on the automatic climate control. I set it at 22°C and it gives me heat in the morning. In the afternoon when it's still freezing, it blows luke warm air instead of heat.


This leads me to think, does the grille blocking have anything to do with it?

I've only blocked the upper grille. The air dam is completely untouched. If so, then that means the OAT sensor is somewhere behind the grille? cause it seems like the engine heat that's retained is giving the unusually high reading which then affects the climate control.

Any ideas?

 

ahh brilliant, thanks for the pic!! Hmm... It almost seems like it's between the grille and the lower air dam. I'm surprised the grille blockage has such an impact. Just now on the ride home, it read btwn 3 and 4°C. It's currently btwn 0 and +1°C

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Nov 24 2007, 10:44 AM) [snapback]543609[/snapback]</div>

ohh.. so do you think the grille blocking will have an impact on the sensor?

 

good thanks. I gotta find the sensor I suppose? Then figure out where to leave a gap.

My foam insulation is actually in 4 pieces. Two pieces above and two below the grille so I can leave the centre open a tad if needed (and hopefully the sensor is near the centre of the car)