Help! -E reading for outside temperature ?

[1Girl3Cats]

Hi everyone!

Brand new member to this forum. I sure hope someone can help me with this question ...

I am in California, and we must have our cars that are a certain age smog checked every other year. Question: I just had my 2001 Corolla LE smogged the other day, and when I was driving home, I noticed that the outside temperature reading on my instrument panel was not displaying a temperature, but rather said -E instead!

Unfortunately, I have misplaced my owner's manual or I would look this up. It seem to be some sort of error code, but I have no idea what it means, or why it showed up immediately after the car had its smog check.

I put gas in the car afterward, so I have removed and replaced the gas cap (someone I know suggested maybe I should unscrew the gas cap -- I have no idea why. Anyhow, I did that by default when I filled the tank). I am still getting the -E display.

Any ideas what this is, and how I can fix it?

Thank you in advance for your help!

1Girl+

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Welcome to the forums! The sensor that measures the outside air temperature is located just behind the front bumper, usually on the passenger's side. It will look like a small siren. Make sure that it's properly plugged in and that the wires aren't corroded. Maybe someone bumped it during your smog check.

[1Girl3Cats]

Thank you for the response, Kiwi-Corolla, I really appreciate it. I will have a look at the temp sensor and see what I can see, but may have to have the mechanic do that for me if I can't get to it easily or figure out it if is plugged in or not. I sure hope your suggestion works, thank you for it!

[ChargerGL]

Another suggestion would be to disconnect the negative battery terminal for a few minutes then reconnect it. This will reset the engine computer and may resolve the issue.

[brooklyn99corolla]

maybe your ambient air temperature sensor, its plug and play should be in front of the radiator.