Daddymac

Whenever I listen to the radio and they report the current temperature, there's always at least 3 degrees Celcius difference between what they tell me and what the gague indicates. My C overestimates the current temp. i.e. radio says it's 2C outside, it says 5C on the instrument cluster. How accurate is your outside temperature indicator in your W203?

amdeutsch

I believe that wheather stations measures the temperature more at face level whereas the C measures the temperature close to the roadsurface. This in turn could be warmer because of all the cars driving on it as well as the ground taking longer to reach the air temperature.

mctwin2kman

As well as the sensor sitting right in front of and below the radiator. And only a few inches off the dark heat absorbing assphalt. My wife told me the coupe said 81 when she got into it yesterday, then finally came down to 71. Of course the car had been parked in a huge parking lot with no tree cover or building cover so the assphalt was most likely very hot. They are pretty accurate but not perfect. Also remember the radio station is measuring temp from a sensor that is not in the sun and also temp can vary within a few feet let alone several miles. Just because the DJ says it is 3 degrees at the studio does not mean it is 3 degrees all over the city.....

MB-BOB

Radio stations get their temperature readings from a variety or sources, some are actually close to/or at the station, while others have little relevance due to distance.

As noted, the way the temperature is acquired also matters. Official weather stations have purpose designed weather huts, where tempertures are taken "in the shade" at a standard distance above the ground to eliminate surface heating effect. The temperature probe on the cars is in the bumper next to the right hand fog light. Not only is this much lower to the ground, but the probe itself is often exposed to direct sunlight. Both contribute to a higher reading.

MikeSL5

Well you guys shouldnt be complaining. My 03' C230 sedan was reporting 138F one time when it was actually about 90F. The dealer fixed the problem. Maybe you guys might have a problem too. Take it to your dealer and let them fix it.
-Mike

jbcritch

Mine always starts off wrong, but corrects within a minute or two to within 1 degree of our local bank and radio station....so I'm happy.

revstriker

I had a similar problem, but I was able to fix it myself. It looks like when I was washing the car, I pushed the sensor in so it was just sitting under the radiator. I didn't realize this until I started to get very high readings. After I snapped it back in place, it worked fine.

MB-BOB

Mine sits in the garage at night, so it's always a bit warmer than the ambient outside on start-up. But as you say, once the air flows over the sensor for a few minutes, it stabilizes to within a degree or two of external sources. Close enough for me.

And as Revstriker says, the sensor can easily be pushed out of its mount and into the engine bay, where it will be out of the air flow and naturally start to read engine compartment temps.

Junbug

I also had a problem with my temp gauge fluctuating between 95 and 75 degrees when it was 65 degrees outside. took it to the dealer and fixed in 30 minutes.

Mike T.

It does not matter if the temperature sensor on the car matches the temperature reported on a radio station or bank sign....

...because, of course, it is the temperature of the road surface that is of most relevance to driving a car safely.

That's the main reason the sensor's there, and why it reacts by flashing when the temp gets down to 3 degrees C or less in some cars like BMW and smarts (I've never noticed if it does this in the C)....

But maybe in the Banana Belt it's just a simple amuse-tête.

CitronC230K_03

mine also seems to always read 5-8 degrees higher than other temp gauges i see at banks and whatnot. doesn't matter how long i drive. maybe ill have it checked out when i take my car in for service in 3 weeks.

lars

It is an oversight on MB's part not to provide some kind of warning when the temp sensor hits about 2 degrees.

pokerFACE

daddymac, are you trying to see if you can report a temperature difference to 680am news and win the jackpot?

s14sr20det

Where exactly is the temperature center? right and side of the fog light, facing the car or in the car? Is it behind the gril of the fog light? How di I get to it.

Thanks in advance.

Paul

sleepygeneral

yea...my temperature gauge is known to be off on really hot and sunny days...but it goes back to normal after like 20mins of driving....no biggie...happens to big body benzes tooo not just mine...

Infact we are lucky we got benzes......in my piece of ****...01 ELCLIPSE didn't even have a reading...and when it did....it was never ever right....ever...it was almost like the ****ing weather report...

TNblkc230wz

The owner's manual states it will usually read warm after the car has been park and that is exactly what mine does. Within a couple of minutes of driving though, it is within a degree (f) of the bank signs and radio.

MB-BOB

Right side fog light grill, inboard of the lamp itself. It's dark gray/black, and looks like a push-pin on top of a ball-point pen. It projects from the small hole in the grill "texture." Don't push it in, because it will hen fall out of its mount.

revstriker

It looks kind of cone shaped, with the point sticking out as Bob says. Also, if you do push on it (as I did while washing my car) and it comes out of the mount, it's not in a very accessible place.

revstriker

In my wife's BMW, it blinks and it makes a sound when the temperature is at or below 36 degrees F. I don't think there is any low temperature indication on the C (unless I just have it turned off). No biggie for me really. To me, it's annoying in the BMW, and I pretty much know when it's cold enough to freeze outside.