I haven’t finished reading my manual yet. I hit the high points in it. I am hoping to finish it by Wednesday when this semester is over with. But I have a question about the location of the temp gauge sensor in the 2002’s? Where is it? I was getting reading over 100 and the official here was 96ish.

"Official" (Weather Service) temperatures are measured in a shaded instrument shelter under standard conditions. Almost regardless of where the sensor is (I don't know)if you have the truck parked in the sun it could read considerably higher than "official." Also, a lot of commercial electronic thermometers just aren't calibrated very well to start out with, and never get re-calibrated, so they can be off by a considerable degree. They aren't inherently inaccurate, they just don't get set and reset properly.

Sometimes my xterra temp on the mirror will say 114 I know it's hot here but it's not that hot. Why dose it do that?

Many reasons why it does that. First off, if you are on a blacktop road, all the heat is being absorbed there and rises off the road. Secondly, depending on where the sensor is, the engine could heat it a little. Or if it is exposed, it could be the sun hitting the sensor.

YA that is why I am wonderign where it is. I know in a BMW Z3 it is behind the front bumper and gets the heat off the pavement. I am wanting to know where it is at so I can figure out what is makeing it higher. The road, sun or what? Thanks for everyones help.

i think there is definitely an issue with the temp sensor. i haven't had my truck that long, no real road trips yet, but the temp routinely reads 8-13 degrees F above what it actually is outside. i just got rid of my 98 explorer and it's temp guage was right on all the time. i don't expect the guage to be that accurate, but more than 10 degrees off routinely? seems a bit excessive. anybody else with this issue?

The temperature sensor for the mirror is mounted in front of the radiator.
http://www.xterraparts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/inst_ecmirror_04.html
Should give a fair reading if the vehicle is moving, but when you stop it will pick up heat from the engine or pavement.

dave and xtoy - better I don't know

Yep, Dave's right on the money(as usual).

Don't worry, you're not the first to wonder about it. At least you have a sensor.

sounds like a cheesy problem. guess i'll just suck it up and deal. thanks for the responses.

The heat off the road definately plays a big part in the temp reading. Driving home on the highway in the afternoon, it will be around 100, but by the time I get home (much more shaded) it reads much lower and is pretty close to the digital thermometer I have in the house. The highest temps I see are when I get out of work and the trucks been sitting in the sun all day.

I put my sensor a bit farther up and I stuck a piece of cardboard behind it to keep the engine heat from impacting it too greatly. It's usually pretty close (+-2 degrees).

SX,
that's a good idea, i'll try it.