Ambient temperature display not changing (Found the ISSUE); it's normal per this PIT5232D Diagnostic Tip

rav3 · January 30, 2022

Guys, the ambient temperature display on my 2017 Silverado is acting funny. When I got in it today, it showed 14F, which was about correct. Drove it to church & when I got back in 2 1/2 hrs later, it still showed the same 14F degrees it did when I turned it off. Came home, about a 2-mile drive, and it hadn't changed to show the then warmer temp. Went out & checked it again 3 hours later & it still shows the same 14F. Hummm, so I pulled the radio fuse to see if that would "reset" it but still shows 14F. Maybe it's frozen! LOL.... Has anyone experienced this with their truck? Is this normal? Or is my ambient sensor going bad?

EDIT: See the PDF document attached. Hope this helps others

"Please make sure the customer is aware of the following information regarding how the outside temperature updates:

The ambient temperature uses an algorithm that delays updating the display until certain conditions are met. This ensures that the sensor does not detect engine or road heat when the vehicle is idling/slow speed driving.

The outside temperature will begin to update if driven above 20 mph for at least 5 minutes. If the vehicle speed drops below 20 mph, the timer will reset back to 5 minutes and/or stop updating. Once the display starts to update, it may take several more minutes of driving above 20 mph for the display to fully update. Additionally, if the vehicle sits for at least 8 hours, the display will be updated when the ignition is turned on.

Short trip driving habits along with large outside temperature swings between the ambient temperature in the morning as compared to later in the day/afternoon, like in the spring and fall seasons, can aggravate this concern. The morning temperatures can be very cold (example 30 degs F) and later in the day/afternoon the outside temperature can be much higher (example 70 degs F). In this example, if the vehicle was started in the morning, with an outside temperature of 30 degs F and then later in the day the vehicle was restarted when the outside temperature is much higher example 70 degs F, it may need the above drive cycle for the outside temperature display to update and improve HVAC performance"

Ambient Temp sensor MC-10123216-9999.pdf

Edited January 31, 2022 by rav3
Found document