Check engine light on and it says its 190*F outside

Waffle34 · January 7, 2021

So my 18 silverado with 18K on it (5.3L gas) hasnt had any issues. Till today I was driving down the road (maybe 20-25*F outside) and after 30 min or so i start to notice im still cold. Turn the auto climate up to 80*F. Notice the fan picked up but still blowing lukewarm air. Dash says engine temp is slightly under 210 (normal spot for this truck). Turned the knob all the way to HI and start getting blasted with very hot air as expected. Turn it down to 89 and starts blowin cold. Wtf. Then i notice the upper corner of the infotainment screen says its 190*F outside... I assume this is the sensor behind the grill up front? After about 2 hours of off and on driving today the check engine light comes up so I scan it for P0072 : Ambient Air Temp Sensor Circuit Low.

Called dealer and got a warranty appointment for Monday but just mainly curious if this is a simple dead temp sensor or if anyone else has ever encountered this. I was driving in the slushy frozen crap few days ago that did cake the front end and its melted off the truck but its still all over the trees and non road areas so maybe water got in the sensor/sensor plug and it froze?

Does it have 2 air temp sensors? One for outside air and one for inside air? Its gotta figure out what the in the cabin temp is at any given time to be able to auto adjust right?...