Odometer hacking with ease - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

California98Civic · 09-07-2015, 05:29 PM

I got curious, imagining it must be pretty easy given the lax security on these vehicles. Wow! Easy!! Don't believe any used car for sale odometer reading is what I would say.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/11MtfM...youtube_mobile

James

pgfpro · 09-07-2015, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I got curious, imagining it must be pretty easy given the lax security on these vehicles. Wow! Easy!! Don't believe any used car for sale odometer reading is what I would say.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/11MtfM...youtube_mobile

James

Thank Goodness for Car Fax.

Before I bought my Insight I did a Car Fax on it and found a nice long history with odometer reading tag to the maintenance records and emission testing.

It cost me $50.00 but gave me a piece of mind on buying the car.

user removed · 09-07-2015, 08:04 PM

That definitely is scary, if buying used. Personally I'd rather buy wrecked.

In Va the state will give you inspection data including odometer readings recorded when the vehicle was inspected. Triple damages plus legal cost of collection is the fine-penalty for odometer tampering. I keep all my inspection receipts and try to make sure they are available on any car I consider purchasing. Carfax help, but since I have done almost every maintenance myself a Carfax report would not show that. The wife keeps a notebook with every service performed.

Carfax also will not show accident damage repaired, if the owner had it done privately, especially if that owner paid cash for the repairs, and the shop did them under the table, with no insurance involvement

Obviously if a seller was advertising the vehicle as low mileage, I ask for every inspection reciept to see the progression of mileage accumulated and pay special attention to wear and tear items that would reveal fraud.

regards
mech

Baltothewolf · 09-08-2015, 01:50 AM

The problem is, this feature HAS to be here. In the event the instrument cluster dies, they have to have the ability to reprogram a new one with the correct miles. Or the ECU, depending on where the information is stored. Carfax and other vehicle reports will help, but not fully protect you.

Let's just say I went and bought a brand new civic, and I wanted to keep my 70 mile commute down. Any time I would go to a dealer for oil changes or to get smogged I would just plug in and roll back to a believable number (to equal about 5k a year). Nobody would know, as long as you take care of the car properly. This would really only work in states where rust isn't an issue, but you get the point.