Patent ID: 7599812

Claim:
A method of determining air temperature outside a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having an engine and an outside air temperature (OAT) sensor disposed outside the passenger compartment, the OAT sensor in a region which is exposed to heat after the engine is turned off, the method comprising: measuring the temperature with the OAT sensor over a series of spaced apart time intervals to define a plurality of measured OAT sensor values, at least one of which is after the engine is turned off, wherein the measured OAT values define a most recent value; using the measured OAT sensor values to extrapolate a temperature-time function; generating an adjusted OAT value using an observed time, the measured OAT sensor values, and the temperature-time function; and applying a correction strategy when the vehicle is traveling at a speed at or above a threshold speed to determine the adjusted OAT value, wherein the step of applying a correction strategy further comprises: updating the adjusted OAT value to the most recent value when the most recent value is less than the adjusted OAT value; and setting the adjusted OAT value as a function of the most recent value and the adjusted OAT value when the most recent value is greater than or equal to the adjusted OAT value.