Hi.
Lately I've been wondering whether there is an in-phone application which can tell you the actual miles on the odometer of a car.
I've been reading that high-level pricey scan tools are capable of displaying real odomoter data, but somewhere I came accross an information that phones might do that as well.
Is this possible? Do applications like that exist at all?
Thank you.
- What depends a lot on makes and models some you can't even actually get the mileage on them so it all depends. But to see if a transmission is slipping is rather simple you just drive it if you got attack on but you'll see it will rev up and it doesn't take off fast enough if you don't have a tachometer you just step on a gas if the engine racism doesn't pick up direct it's slipping
Usually the high high pro level scantools tell you that. A regular scanner won't tell you that. There was a pro level scan tool that connected to your phone but they don't make them anymore.
Here's a secret if you're buying a used car, simple google search the VIN. Sometimes auction listings or vehicle listings will pop up.
I caught many people selling rolled back mileage cars. For example, saw a van with advertised 130k miles when it had 220k miles...
@mrrangerzr1
Good tip
The crime is not changing the odometer reading. The crime is not telling everyone it has been changed. The Google search does help validate miles, and crime. Every older low mileage car is suspect.
Hello Scotty & Crew! What is the least expensive scan tool I can buy that will reveal the true mileage of a vehicle? Thanks and Happy New Year!
I'd go with bluedriver (not a counterfeit one) re: cheapest/overall value. It'll do the job plus more. Non counterfeit ELM327 is good too.
Great. Thank you, HilBilly!
By the way, I'm new to the forum, and I thought the blue arrows to the left scrolled through answers. I didn't realize they were up or down votes on the comment. I may have chosen the down vote. Sorry about that if I did!
Not sure but I think you can click UP to change your vote. Hope so.
Upvote once to cancel downvote.
@ScottEvans
hehe... no worries... the votes don't matter to me but glad ya figured it out... and thanks... long overdue a training video site operation.... on the list now ; )
On several Toyota’s in the 2000’s (Corolla, Matrix, Prius), the odometer gauge stops tracking at 299,999 miles. I’m at 295+K with my 2004 Prius.
How can I fix this problem in a cost effective manner?
Are there ways to avoid it or hack it, to bypass the problem before it happens?
Are there any ways to get an accurate odometer reading besides the gauge cluster?
On several Toyota’s in the 2000’s (Corolla, Matrix, Prius), the odometer gauge stops tracking at 299,999 miles.
The fix is to replace it. Have you tried contacting Toyota to see if they can help you with that?
The last place I would want to go is the stealership, but hey, it might be worth a shot.
you have nothing to lose in asking
Toyota doesn't just have dealerships. The also have national customer service.
Gotcha.
I’m open to hearing any options, not just cost effective ones. You never know, expensive suggestions could lead to finding cheaper options.
The true mileage is stored in the vehicle’s computer modules so you’ll need a higher level scan tool to retrieve those. That’s what I would recommend to do: periodically scan and record the reading.
In fact when buying a used vehicle, a person will want to verify the odometer reading is correct, hence why a mechanic needs to check it out using his fancy scan tool. Not all scan tools can get that information.
That may be the best cost effective option... assuming I had a scant tool that did that!
May i ask what scan tool yiu have that does it?
@kaizen I have the Autel MX808 scan tool ($400). I will need to double check for you to see if it retrieves the mileage: I am sure it does, but I want to be 100% before you run off to buy it. There may be cheaper ones than mine that scan it too, but I don’t know which ones.
@kaizen looks like my $400 Autel MX808 does not tell me mileage after all, at least on my 2009 GM vehicle. I haven’t tried my other 2 vehicles, but the mileage is a scan tool data parameter available to read on my vehicle (per the service manual), but my specific scan tool is unable to read it. I wonder if Scotty’s $1,500+ Autel MS906BT can read it or it is SOL too.
GTK. Thanks.
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing this.
Well, thank @inthrustwetrust too for his post there:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/rust-rust-rust-cheap-please/#post-67747
Honestly I have never seen that happen on a Prius so you actually might be alright. It was a very common problem on the Corolla, Matrix, and Vibe, along with manual transmission failures, and clock failures (the cheap fix for the clock failure is to get a used clock from a junkyard).
I guess only time will tell!
I wish I could say I was 29 forever.
Is there a scan tool that you can buy that reads the miles on a vehicle in case they try to scam you on the mileage that's on the car?
Are you asking us how to read the mileage stored in the computer with an OBD device, in case the odometer on the instrument panel is incorrect?
Yes
try contacting customer support for Blue Driver. That seems to be a popular choice.
If you’re looking for recommendations on which OBD2 scan tool to buy, look under the Tools section of this website, in the top right corner.
Hey bud, good on you to be skeptical and ask questions. Things have changed since the old pre 90's days of people swapping out analog gauge clusters to bring down mileage when selling used cars. To my knowledge, most cars made in recent years will still have their mileage stored electronically in the memory chips nearest to the gauge cluster ecus. With some doing, you can desolder these memory chips and interface them with desktop computers to edit the mileage down to whatever seems believable. A youtuber I watch did a very interesting vid on this process that you can check out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wygJwWnFm4 . The best advice I give to people is to go by the carfax or some other similar vehicle history website. Assume the 1st,2nd and 3rd owners are laymans who wouldn't go through the trouble of conning the mileage. On that history report you would likely see a gradual increase in mileage for that VIN only for it to drop by 140k miles when the vehicle is about to be sold to you, there is the big red flag to watch out for.
Thanks for the info
Germane to this topic: … here is a tool that allows you to "correct" odometer reading of your car.
https://youtu.be/bgGCPSShiOg
If that indeed is the case, I suspect every used car lot owns one! fwiw.
F.S.
What would be the least expensive Scan tool that has the ability to read the cars actual mileage off of the ECM/PCM? And also tell you if a transmission is slipping? Thank you Scotty in advance
I have a very good $400 scan tool (Autel MX808) and on 2 of my vehicles even though the mileage is listed as an OBDII data parameter accessible by a scan tool (per my service manual anyways) my own Autel scan tool is not able to access it. Even at $400 price point.
Hi,
I recently purchased a VW Touran 1.4TSI and later had an OBD scan done. Apart from a "P0301" error (which I later on found to be 1st cylinder misfire" the actual mileage did not seem to be available.
Is there a public-level OBD scanner that can read/display the car's real mileage ? It would be handy when looking for a second-hand vehicle.
Thanks for your answer.
Regards,
I am waiting for the answer on that as well. My $400 Autel MX808 (a really good scan tool) won’t even read the odometer mileage on any of my 3 vehicles. The odometer mileage is an OBDII parameter called out in my factory service manual so I know it’s available to read, but my own scan tool just won’t read it.
I'm curious about this as well. Keep us updated.
did you ask Autel?
@MountainManJoe I have not yet, and there was no information online.
he says in the comments "the process would be different to find the mileage on other cars,"
Worth a try.
On my scan tool ($400 Autel MX808 through authorized dealer), that parameter does not come up on my 3 vehicles.
Interesting. I think there should be a way to find that parameter.
The next higher up scan tool that is authorized in North America is the Maxisys MS906, but that is easily 2x the price of my MX808. Would be intersting to see if that can read the parameter on my cars.
Hi Scotty how can I know the real mileage in old car and new cars please in-depth explain
The easiest way is to ask for the documentation history (titles/registration, services, recalls, records etc.). I didn't think it was a concern with new cars.
FWIW in my experience, there's a big difference in the owners who keep organized receipts for their cars. They are the kind of owners who take care of their cars, get the scheduled maintenance, floss between meals (jk). These are the owners whose cars you can buy and sleep well at night. I always search for cars with good documentation, and I've never been let down.
You had me at ‘floss between meals’..
Hi Scotty, I went to check for friend a 2014 Honda CR-V 140,000 “km” on it. The odometer showed the mentioned mileage on it, but my scanner(Autel MaxiCheck MX808) showed 225,153 km. How do I approach this issue? Can a digital odometer be tampered, could it be a scanner error? What’s the best way to make sure that the car is clean? Thank you
I would not buy that car. They could swap the gauge cluster with a less mileage one.
Thank you- i will not buy it
+1 @yaser
Who knows what else has been tampered with..
The CR-V is a great vehicle, but look for another clean example.
Thank you, I’ll keep looking 👍