Every third report from the Autocode service shows that the car’s mileage is incorrect. On average, each car travels about 20 thousand km per year. However, on sale you can find many 5-7 year old vehicles with mileage of 50-60 thousand km, or even less. Owners of such cars may claim that they only used the car “on major holidays.” But, most likely, the actual mileage is much higher than that indicated on the dashboard. Let's figure out what methods fraudsters use and how to determine the twisted mileage.
Why do they twist the mileage?
Most often, the odometer readings are changed in order to sell the car at a higher price. However, there are a number of other reasons why sellers resort to this procedure. Twisting of readings may be caused by the need to:
- avoid expensive maintenance (the on-board computer of some foreign cars contains information about the time of maintenance; if this schedule is violated, it begins to issue alarm messages);
- hide the fact of replacing the dashboard (after an accident or for other reasons);
- keep silent about malfunctions of components that may affect the correct operation of the speedometer (for example, generator, battery, etc.).
You may be faced with the fact that the mileage of used cars imported into Russia from those countries where the amount of transport tax is calculated depending on the kilometers traveled by the car over a certain period of time is increased.
For example, such a system has been in operation for several years in the Netherlands, where a car’s mileage is tracked using GPS. In some US states, car owners have to pay $0.012 per mile.
By the way, under American law, mileage abuse is a criminal offense. Serious liability for such actions is provided for in Germany and France (up to 1 year and up to 2 years of imprisonment, respectively). Russian legislation does not provide for punishment for mileage inaccuracy.
Should this be done?
Adjustment of odometer readings is carried out both by artisans and by professional specialists. Special devices are commercially produced to perform this procedure. But, nevertheless, if this event is carried out for selfish purposes, then caution and a sense of proportion should be exercised.
An experienced and attentive technician can accurately determine the fact of falsification of testimony. A car that has a high actual mileage always has some microtraces on the body - dents, scratches, abrasions. The upholstery does not look fresh.
In Western countries, unauthorized modification of the odometer reading is a criminal offense. You can get a real prison sentence for this. Although for folk craftsmen the task of “how to wind up a speedometer” is not a completely insoluble problem, it is not recommended to do this.
Ways to twist mileage
Fraudsters have several techniques in their arsenal to deceive gullible customers. The choice of one method or another primarily depends on the type of device installed on the machine, which is responsible for calculating the distance traveled.
Here it is necessary to clarify and talk about the fact that many inexperienced car owners mistakenly associate the increase in mileage with adjusting the speedometer readings. In fact, it shows the speed of movement, and the number of kilometers traveled by the vehicle is recorded by another device - odometer .
The device works in close connection with the speedometer. And the panels that display the readings of these two devices are usually located next to each other. Apparently this is where some confusion in concepts arose. In order not to confuse the reader even more, we agree that the use of both definitions is acceptable.
A car can be equipped with one of three types of odometers:
- mechanical;
- electromechanical;
- electronic.
Mechanical and electromechanical devices were used in the automotive industry until the end of the last century. They are distinguished by a rather primitive device: the speed of the gearbox gearbox is transmitted through a special cable to a meter, the readings of which are displayed on the dashboard. It is easiest to check the mileage of such a device.
Method number 1. The odometer is disassembled, and the necessary readings are set on the meter manually.
Method number 2. To implement it, you will need to disassemble the dashboard and attach any power tool with high rotation speed (screwdriver, drill, etc.) to the speedometer cable using a special attachment. After this, the readings are twisted to the desired value. Of course, this can be done manually, but using a power tool speeds up the process many times over.
For an electromechanical odometer, twisting is carried out in a similar way. The only difference is that if, when taking readings from a mechanical device, the on-board power of the car is turned off (the terminals from the battery are removed), then when carrying out manipulations with an electromechanical device, the power cannot be turned off (otherwise the meter wheels will not rotate). Therefore, there is a high probability of a short circuit occurring.
The cost of the work is quite affordable and ranges from 1 to 1.5 thousand rubles. It’s quite easy to find advertisements in newspapers or on the Internet for companies willing to provide such a service. They are usually hidden under signs like this: “Speedometer adjustment and repair.”
Quite a few home-grown “Kulibins” in their own garages make a living by turning mileage. Usually people find out about them through word of mouth.
Instruments and devices for winding
If you don’t know how to rewind your mileage, but don’t want to go to a car service center, you can purchase a special device with which you can rewind the speedometer. There is a wide selection of mechanisms available on the market, which makes it possible to choose a device suitable for a particular car. These devices are easy to use, so any car enthusiast can adjust the speedometer. There are different options for speedometer winders, which differ in design and operating principle.
CAN twister
Speedometer corrector via digital CAN bus, used for modern cars equipped with a control unit. Through the CAN bus, blocks of electronic devices exchange impulses with each other. Before tightening the speedometer, the CAN twister must be inserted into the OBD diagnostic connector. It is located within the driver's reach, usually near the steering column. Thanks to exchange protocols, this connector allows you to access electronic devices.
Thus, using CAN knobs, you can adjust the necessary memory cells in the control unit to set the desired mileage. These devices are popular among dealers of used cars. They use them to twist the speedometer to reduce mileage. It is almost impossible to detect that changes have been made to memory cells, even with the use of modern equipment.
Pulse
The pulse speedometer corrector is used on imported cars that are equipped with a digital CAN bus. To use the device, you must insert it into the OBDII diagnostic connector located near the driver’s feet. Pulse winding of the speedometer sends impulses to the odometer, which are imitation of signals from the speed controller. With its help you can change the mileage readings.
Rolling up the electronic odometer
The operation of devices of this type is based on reading the readings of special sensors (they can be optical or magnetic), which are installed on the gearbox shaft or directly on the vehicle wheel. The readings go into the on-board computer, which records them and transmits them to the electronic display.
On expensive car models (Toyota, Audi, etc.), mileage data can be stored in several memory blocks at once. According to experts, it is most difficult to change the mileage traveled on a BMW (the car can have up to 10 backup storage points). However, experts unanimously claim that if you have the appropriate equipment, you can check the mileage of absolutely any vehicle.
Several tricks are used to manipulate electronic odometers.
Method number 1. Designed for fraud with budget cars. To implement it, it is enough to remove the dashboard and connect the car’s on-board computer to a laptop on which the appropriate software is installed, or to a special device - a programmer. After this, the actual readings change.
Method number 2. Used for fraud with expensive cars that have several backup data storage units. In its principle it is almost identical to the first. However, it is very important for the fraudster to detect all information storages, otherwise during further operation the car computer can restore data from the backup storage, then the real mileage will again be displayed on the display.
The cost of the service depends on the complexity of the work and can vary from 2.5 to 10-12 thousand rubles.
“There were difficulties with the Polo Sedan that were very frustrating for taxi drivers”
The owner of the Lobster Lab service station, Sergei Kozlovsky, claims that if a specialist has the necessary knowledge and equipment, then after his work it will be impossible to find out the real mileage.
“Almost all cars can be adjusted for mileage. With the advent of new models comes newer software and equipment. Situations when there is a car and it is impossible to “twist” the mileage on it are extremely rare. An interesting example of such a car is the VW Polo Sedan. There were indeed difficulties with this model for some time, which greatly upset taxi drivers.
But the situation with the Polo Sedan is rather an exception. In “public sector” cars, adjusting mileage is quite simple. The leaders in the production and development of such programs and equipment are countries such as Italy, Poland and Lithuania. Naturally, they are primarily aimed at the European market, and the Polo Sedan was never sold in the EU countries, so it turned out that the opportunity to rewind the mileage on this model appeared late.”
Speaking about the complexity of this procedure, the specialist conditionally divides all cars into three groups. The cars produced by the GM concern are the easiest to adjust.
“Chevrolet, Buick, Opel - cars of these brands are very weakly protected from mileage deterioration. The list also includes cars of Asian origin - manufacturers from this region traditionally do not bother much with such issues. The “French” and “Italians” can be classified as medium in terms of complexity. Cars of the VAG family, by the way, are also quite simple. The hardest thing to hide the real mileage is in BMW and Mercedes.”
How to check if the speedometer on a car is twisted
In order not to overpay for a supposedly “almost new car,” you need to remember how you can find out about the fact of fraud.
Unfortunately, there is currently no technical means of checking whether the mileage has been adjusted or not on a vehicle with a mechanical or electromechanical odometer.
Here you will have to be guided by the data of the external examination. The fact that the speedometer is twisted can be determined by the presence of traces of removing the instrument panel, the degree of wear of tires, brake discs, etc.
Also read: How to check car mileage
Alteration
With such a sensitive issue as making changes to the electronic odometer readings, you need to be as careful as possible. Unauthorized interference with electronics operating algorithms can lead to an imbalance in the functioning of vehicle systems. There are some factors to consider during the process:
- Correcting the mileage will require dismantling the dashboard, as well as opening the instrument units and connecting programmers to them. These operations are typical for Japanese car brands.
- Owners of Nissans and Fords can avoid disassembling the panel and instead stop at removing the electronic unit. The appropriate equipment for making changes is connected through the diagnostic connectors.
- The vast majority of cars respond to connection to the OBD-2 connector. This eliminates the need to dismantle panels and other disassembly or removal of blocks.
- A relative novelty on the market are soldered microcircuits connected to the speedometer or odometer circuit. From them a reset button is displayed, pressing which resets the daily mileage readings. You can perform a reset not once a day, but many times.
In the latter case, obvious intervention in the design is required, which will become noticeable during a detailed investigation. Not everyone agrees to this step.
In general, Japanese models are considered the most problematic for hacking. Their ECUs are firmly imprinted into the boards. To make changes you have to replace the board with a similar one. Expensive cars require special software and connectors connected to the CAN-BUS bus or EOBD interface connectors.
How to find out if the mileage on a car with an electronic odometer is wrong
To establish the fact of fraud, you will need to conduct computer diagnostics. If you have the appropriate software, equipment and knowledge, you can check the car for twisted mileage yourself. But it is better to contact a trustworthy service center.
The ideas of many car enthusiasts about the wonders of computer diagnostics are too exaggerated. Those who think that there is a special item in the memory of the on-board computer, by looking into which you can check the real mileage, are mistaken. Most often, you can find out about the fact of interference in the electronic filling of a vehicle only by indirect signs.
Usually this is a discrepancy in data, for example, about the time of an event recorded by the on-board computer. For example, if during a check the car’s odometer shows 75 thousand km, and the memory contains information about an error recorded after 150 thousand km. Or the owner swears that his “iron horse” has run no more than 50 thousand km, but when dividing the kilometers traveled by the number of engine hours, the average speed of movement is 4-5 km/h.
The more such oddities revealed by checking the car’s speedometer, the more reason the buyer has to wonder whether he needs such a “dark horse”.
How to find out real mileage online
You can check whether the mileage is correct on the website avtocod.ru. To do this, just enter state in the search bar. vehicle number. After this, within a few minutes you will receive a full report about the desired vehicle.
In addition to data on actual mileage, using the service you can obtain information about the number of accidents in which the vehicle was involved, former owners, the presence of fines, check for restrictions and find out a lot of other information from the car’s history.
If you are a professional car seller, use the “Autocode Pro” unlimited car check service. “Autocode Pro” allows you to quickly check a large number of cars, add comments to reports, create your own lists of liquid vehicles, quickly compare options and store data about cars in an orderly form.
Check the car right now!
Before concluding a purchase and sale agreement, we also advise you to check the owner of the car through a special service. The check will show whether the seller has problems with the law, whether his passport is valid, whether there are debts and enforcement proceedings. If serious problems are discovered, it is better to refuse the deal. View an example report
Show everything that is hidden
To see in practice how mileage diagnostics work, we checked three cars: two Mercedes W211s that were under repair, and a Lancia Lybra.
The odometer of the first Mercedes shows a mileage of 150,442 km, which is suspiciously low for a 13-year-old diesel sedan. To diagnose this car, select Wurth.
“In terms of mileage diagnostics, Wurth has a convenient Power search function. We select a car, enter “mileage” or “odometer” - and the program gives us a list of blocks in which mileage parameters are saved. Next, we “click” on the block we need and verify the information.
A detailed check of the car shows that the data on the instrument panel and the blocks are the same, although in one of them there is a difference of 7 kilometers. But this can rather be called a small error than a fact indicating twisting. The engine control unit shows 50,442 kilometers, but this is its peculiarity; it never displays the first digit of the mileage,” says Sergei.
Based on the results of checking the car, the technician comes to the conclusion that either the mileage is truly original, or it was adjusted professionally, leaving no traces.
Next in line is the pre-restyling W211, which is a couple of years older than its “brother”. It has 306,430 km on the odometer. The actual mileage turned out to be 100,000 more - 408,165 km. To show the difference in the operation of various equipment, LAUNCH x-431 Pad V was used to diagnose this car.
“It was possible to find out the real mileage in this car due to the fact that the data in the Assist Plus maintenance unit was not changed. Mercedes often “fires” at this very block.
There are several reasons why, after calculating the mileage, you can still find out the real data. Perhaps the master simply doesn’t know what needs to be done, or maybe the customer wants to save money and complete the mileage as budget-friendly as possible. There are also many such options. For example, in Renault, mileage can only be changed on the odometer, or you can make it so that no one will ever know the truth.
In general, the “rejuvenation” process occurs differently in different machines. In some, everything can be done through the OBD connector, in others you will have to remove the instrument panel and connect directly to it. In some cases, you need to dismantle the blocks, open them and work with each one separately. Naturally, the price will depend on the amount of work and level of complexity. Some sellers want to save on mileage adjustments and, if possible, correct the readings only on the odometer. Thanks to such “economists”, during diagnostics it is possible to find out the actual mileage of the car.
Also, in my practice, I have encountered cars where the mileage was recorded according to all the rules, but the specialist was too lazy to erase the memory in the fault history. There may be new data on the odometer, but the error freeze frames will store the mileage at which the problem occurred. If someone forgot to reset all errors in all blocks, then viewing freeze frames in all blocks will help establish the fact of rewinding the mileage.
Another loophole exists in diesel cars equipped with a FAP filter. The “mileage after replacing the particulate filter” parameters shows the actual mileage. Using this indicator, it was also possible to detect fraud,” says Sergei.
The last one we check is the 20-year-old Lancia Lybra, with 381,405 km on its odometer. The car is quite old and not very complicated. For diagnostics we use FIAT ECU Scan. In addition to the instrument panel itself, mileage information is stored only in the “brains” of the engine. There the computer showed us completely different numbers. According to data from the engine ECU memory, the mileage of this car is not 381,405 km, but only 262,206 km.
The specialist explained this difference in performance by saying that, most likely, the engine control unit was changed at some point.
“In older cars, there are situations when the speedometer shows more mileage than the ECU. In Belarus, used spare parts brought from England and Europe are sold, where cars with low mileage very often end up for “disassembly”, so examples such as this Lancia are found quite often,” admits Sergei.
