Is it possible to tamper with digital odometer

If you have already purchased the vehicle and you start noticing signs of odometer rollback, getting professional help is a necessity. The laws are very different from state to state, so having a lawyer representing you who knows the Consumer laws in your state is priceless. There have been many times where I have noticed switches on the dash that don't belong, being curious, I would pull the switches to see where the wires would lead.

I wasn't very surprised to find the switch controlled the speedometer like a light switch; it turns the speedometer off and on. Some switches were factory switches, like a fog light switch or AC switch, other switches were simple toggle switches. This type of tampering is not like odometer rollback, the vehicle owner would just shut off the switch for a few months while driving so the mileage wouldn't rack up, and if the driver need to see the speed of the vehicle at any time, that's all they would have to do is turn the switch on for a few seconds, check their speed and then turn it off.

This type of odometer mileage tampering was rather ingenious, it was well planned, very difficult to expose, and very deliberate. The fact is that even if the service records were pulled, it would look like the vehicle was driven very few miles per year, but it always had accumulated some mileage, without any odometer rollback. If a digital odometer is replaced legally, the mileage doesn't have to be synced onto the new odometer, but the shop or garage doing the work will have to install an odometer replacement sticker somewhere very noticeable in the vehicle.

The usual area for this type of sticker would be in the driver's door jamb area, common placement of this sticker is near the VIN plate in the driver's door jamb, it will be noticed as soon as you open the door.

The odometer replacement sticker will have the original mileage hand written on it from the tech who replaced the meter. The repair order will also have the original mileage and date on it, the repair order is a legal document, and it is proof of original mileage. The new odometer will start clocking mileage from that point starting at zero miles.

To figure out the actual mileage on the vehicle, you will have to add the mileage from the sticker to the mileage on the new odometer, and that will give you the actual mileage of the vehicle. It will take longer, but this slowly lowers the mileage numbers on the odometer. Both methods will have signs to look out for — some may be a bit more obvious than others.

With analog odometers, any evident physical tampering is cause for concern. Scratch marks, fingerprints under the display, and loose screws could indicate that your odometer has been tampered with. Auto manufacturers created some safeguards in their odometers to warn people of mileage tampering. For some odometers, the number never lined up properly after they were tampered with. If you notice the numbers are slightly crooked, have uneven spacing, or are difficult to read in any way, your odometer may have been tampered with.

You can also test drive the car and see if the numbers increase — a sure-fire way to see if the odometer was messed with. But if you have time, it will be a good idea to have a professional look at it before purchasing it. As a buyer, you want to know if your vehicle will be immediately reliable or whether it needs a few repairs.

You want to know how confident to be in your car before using it. Knowing how far your car has traveled can tell you how much life it has left to get you where you want to go safely.

Mileage rollback can make you pay more for a vehicle that has more miles than you think. They will also have the tools to reset your odometer if needed. A trip to the car shop can be time-consuming, and there are a few things you can do before that. This number is unique to the car - not the make or model but the physical vehicle. With VIN checking websites, like Vingurus, you can see the full vehicle history report at different time points.

You simply type in the VIN number, and you will be provided with a report with the full mileage history and whether the odometer was tampered with. Always request the original title and not a copy. In addition to rolling back the odometer mileage, some sellers may forge document copies to make it appear that the vehicle has fewer miles or repairs that it actually does. Take some time to go through each document and look for consistency of mileage readings.

You may also contact previous owners or inspection companies to see if their answers match with the information on the documents. You can check your car by clocking your odometer using diagnostic devices. But do not use only this method for assessment of mileage, as it may not be accurate.

Mechanics can also point out whether the vehicle is internally in good condition. They have more knowledge about how many times the oil and tires should have been changed by the state of the rest of the car.

All of this information can lead to an accurate statement of how many miles the vehicle has traveled. If the seller refuses to allow a mechanic to take a look at the vehicle, this is a tell-tale sign that something is amiss about the situation.

There are many parts you can check yourself. A quick glance around the vehicle will tell you everything you need to know. Here are a few things to look out for:. Most people who use their cars to get from one place to another will not need to reach the underside of their odometer reader. Fingerprints on the inside of the glass or around the odometer are evidence of tampering.

What questions do you usually have in mind when you step out to buy a used car? The first parameter by which we can judge how the car has been used in the past is the odometer reading. While every customer in the used car market looks out for less driven cars, meter tampering has become a really common habit in the market. As an attentive customer, you should stay clear of the odometer frauds. The simplest way to judge an odometer fraud is to obtain the service record associated with the particular car.

Even if the record is not up to date, it can give you a fair hint of the car odometer being tampered. For example, if you are buying a 3-year-old car which shows 70k kms on the odo and you find out that a 2-year-old service record shows the reading to be 65k kms, this can be a case of odometer fraud.

Body Condition Avoid Cars with Rusted Panels Another way to determine an odometer fraud is to have a careful check at the bodyline. If a car has been on the roads for long, it is more likely to have scratches or dents in comparison to a car which has been lying stationary in the garage. If you see the paint fading or the car has got too many scratches, dents or rust on the surface, you can suspect an odometer rollback.

Have a careful look at the pedals and evaluate how the pedals have worn out during their journey. Generally, it takes around 1 Lakh kilometres for the pedal to lose its grooves considerably. If you find the pedals in such a condition while the odometer shows less reading, you are definitely being subjected to odometer fraud.