Odometer

D

Devin

Registered
Well, in 15 BC the Roman architect Vitruvius invented the odometer, so besides the door hinges that is probably the most simplistic piece of my car and it's broken.

I was driving along and noticed that only one mile had gone by since my last oil change according to the little sticker on my window. The speedo itself still works (invented by Nikola Tesla) and the various things in my dash display still works (LED invented by Nick Holonyak) like my average MPH, distance to empty, oil life left, etc.

As much as I would like to believe that my car no longer ages or has become a time machine (H.G. Wells), my biggest question at this point is: do you have to have one of these? Am I going to have a problem when the car is inspected? Has anyone else had this problem? Is this the end of the world?
 
One possible solution is to buy a used instrument cluster and install that in your car. You may be able to find one with similar mileage to your own.

All of the connections are electronic, there are no cables anymore. It could be something simple like a loose connection.

There should be a write up around here somewhere detailing the remove and replace procedures for the instrument cluster.
 
I've had the cluster out before, heck I have had the whole dash off before so I am not afraid of that. :) I am just wondering if I should even bother. I don't really care about how many miles are on the car and if I change the cluster it'll be wrong anyway. Mostly I am wondering about the potential legal aspects.

I am convinced that I will NEVER sell this car. I'll either drive it until it collapses like the bluesmobile or it'll end up being a donor for another car, so I am not concerned about misrepresenting it to a new owner. Or, if there's a quick and easy fix, I'd do that too.

I'll be pulling the cluster in the near future one way or the other because there's a bulb out back there and it's driving me nuts.
 
At least in IL a long time ago - it didn't matter, you'd just have to specify UNK miles on the car.

I replaced the speedo in my 88 Mustang with another one, had both and presented both to the dealer when I traded the car in (so actual mileage was a combo of the two), but according to them, although I knew the actual mileage, since the current odometer was incorrect the title had to say unknown miles.

And thanks for the info provided in your post. :)
 
I believe that law is federally mandated. If the odometer has been broken or replaced, the vehicle mileage is not necessarily a truthful representation and such a disclosure must be made upon transfer of ownership.
 
Or exceeded its mechanical limits.

My 57 Chevy only reads to 99999.9. My now dead 85 T-Bird reached 199999.9 and then reset to 100000.0
 
The odometer quit on my green Mark last summer. Same thing, everything else still works fine. I posted about it here.

I updated my signature with the accurate mileage then.:D

Like you, I'm not going to sell the car (the mileage is too high to be worth much anyway). I actually want to fix it, just so I know the miles that I will be putting on it.

I'll probably pull the cluster out this spring and check it out. Maybe I'll swap the red Mark cluster in, just to help diagnose the problem.

Let me know if you figure it out before I do.:D
 
I'll be pulling mine soon because of that burned out bulb, when I do that I'll poke around on it and see what I can find out. I'll post it on here for sure, billcu!
 
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