diy_dreamer

Can the odometer be rolled back on our cars? I've been looking at "for sale" adds and have seen some max'es with really low mileage.

BourneJ

Well, there's a few things that can be done.

If analog (not digital), it can be rolled back.
If digital, it gets rolled back by using a software package via laptop.

or it can basically be swapped with one from a max with lower mileage (plug & play).

There are cars with low mileage out there though.

Don't trust just carfax - take the car to a mechanic.

I don't know if Nissan has this available but when my mother was buying a Dodge Intrepid, she took it to a dealer & he hooked it up to a computer that checked **Approximate** mileage.

Hope that helps.

- Jay

96ItaliaSE

iTrader: (3)

it can be swapped out with a cluster of lower mileage, it can be rolled back but most of the time the numbers wont lineup exact anymore or it will damage the cluster itself. When you are unsure of the mileage on a maxima goto carfax.com to get the mileage everyyear at each inspection station. ALso by looking at the physical condition and the wear items is a must. A car with 60k should not need any front end work, have a transmission other than the orginal and still be on the mostly the orginal parts.. Obviously there is exception to this rule but its a great guide...

Nissan MAximas 95-97 have a tendency for the mileage cluster to stick and sometimes stop regestering all together. Be on the lookout for this as some owners will drive months and possibly years before they correct the problem and present thier car with lower mileage than whats called for. Maximas run so well that if the car was cared for exteremely well and the mileage was changed even a trained professional will have a run for thier money trying to tell whats up.

If the maxima has digital cluster the mileage is stored the ECU and no worrries

BourneJ

Good points on everything but ......................

Not True. The mileage does not come back to its original state. Whatever the mileage on the cluster you put in, will stay.

- Jay

Metal Maxima

iTrader: (30)

That is correct.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

I thought for the analogs I couldnt be rolled back, if so it will trigger something that will make it known that the guage was tampered with. Some tricky setup is in place so people/dealerships cant just roll back milage and sell a car for more.

maxgtr2000

iTrader: (29)

If they were on the same lot I would be cautious. Most likely they are just here and there so they should be legit.

2 Da Max

iTrader: (2)

and rolling it back my friend is illegal.

lol whatever you do dont cut that main wire comming out of the cluster...or lets just say your car wont be moving at all....

matts95max

iTrader: (11)

can it be rolled up? My odo. stopped working in my 95 and im putting a digital odometer from a 99 in but it has like half the miles. I want to be able to know what I really have, or close to it.

96ItaliaSE

iTrader: (3)

Jay , to my knowledge, regardless what the digi cluster says and reads ....mileage from the previous cluster can be extracted from the ECU by the dealership

Mdeezy
one bored day at a pull and part yard in my teens i tried to roll the odometers back on various cars to see what would happen. Prettty much everyone broke, one or two worked but the mileage numbers were uneven and i think one looked ok but i obviously couldt test it out after.. bottom line if someone is sneeky enough they can cheatmileage off the cars. The longer they own the car the more miles they can shave..after all how can u prove what the did or didnot drive>? Inspection station report yearly mileage so its tougher and tougher to trim

BourneJ

you're probably right about the ECU but there are professionals that know this also & if they change the cluster, they'll grab that ECU also.

Here in Europe it's very common that cars have rolled back miles. There's even advertisements in the newspapers "Odometer Calibration" they call it.

You never truly know what you're buying when buying a used car here.

Wills98MaxSE

it will, you'll just see silver lines b/w the #'s in the analog odo.

it can, but as 2 da max said, its illegal, hence, odometer fraud

why would you want to roll back the odo. anyway?

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

the digital odometers have the mileage stored in several places on these cars. the cluster, ECU, BCM, and ABS computer all store mileage readings. if any of them are off by xxx% then they will show an error. In some cases, the cars will even refuse to start. (I've seen them start and run for ~2 seconds, then shut off when all of the computers talk to each other and the mileage numbers don't add up.)
there is no way to reprogram many of these modules, except through the dealer..

this didn't start happening until later though. I think the 95-97 models just use the mileage in the ECU, cluster, and possibly the BCM or ABS module. they didn't have some of the anti-rollback designs in place then that they do now.

As for rolling back an analog odometer, it's extremely easy. they tried to put tamper proof stuff on the backs of the assemblies, but it's nothing a couple minutes with a dremel can't fix.

remember- just like computers hackers.. the FBI is hiring the best criminals and asking them to go to work preventing these things... as soon as something is put in place to keep people out or stop tampering, there are countless others trying to remove those things.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

Good Point Matt.

Best Bet if you need your odo rolled back call you local dealer(s) and ask how much it would cost. I'm sure they will log this info with your vin number incase you sell your car, the next owner can see the milage was rolled back.

lanky2882

Im interested in getting the newer cluster for our cars from a junk yard or something but then the miles will be off. I know some have done this but where did they go to get the miles acurate. and if so how much did it cost?

mchne

iTrader: (3)

it's actually more common from what I've seen for people to not roll-back the odometer, but to just turn of the speedo and drive it around for tens of thousands of miles...

I have a buddy shuts the speedo on ALL of his cars... and they're all newer than 2000 model years. he has a mechanic friend who puts it on a switch hidden under the dash, so he can turn it back on or off instantly.

I suppose because rather than rolling it back, the speedometer is turned off all together, none of these mechanisms register any mileage being put on the car? he's never had any problems with any of his cars starting.

not condoning this, just letting everyone know that it does happen. =p

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

hope your friend likes it IDB.. cause he's gonna get it when he goes to jail.

Haibert88

You can look at some things like the brake pedal plastic cover to see if it's worn out, but I know our cars have the sticky odometer problem, I had mine looked at 2 times by my mechanic and he finally got it fixed but still sometimes I find the numbers stuck...not too important in my case since I don't plan on selling the car

Slickismax

iTrader: (4)

In response to the original question...maybe its like my Max where its been sitting for 5 years with 70k miles?

RockfordMax

iTrader: (2)

well in the case of my car, a 95, the resale value is so low anyway that its almost not worth selling/trading. I plan to keep this car till it falls apart or i crash it, so my odo could change to 8675309 tonight and i would laugh, but wouldnt make an ounce of difference to me. I know how well it runs, and I know why, and thats all that matters

ny96max

digital odometers can be rolled back a kid i know had his done and worked perfect. 95/96 odo's can be rolled back but you run the risk of possibly damaging the dial inside the cluster.

Both methods are ILLEGAL and i highly suggest you dont do it!

Ant

_StangGT_

Yes the odo can be rolled back, and you can probably roll it up using the same software, I think that they just put whatever milleage you want in the software and it will change it.

mchne

iTrader: (3)

hah, not my anus, not my problem.

Haibert88

there is a small memory chip in the back of the cluster electronic board, it's real small with 4 or 5 solders on each side...you have to have a skilled hand to unsolder those VERY small connectors, then you take the chip and hook it up to a little scanner look-alike thing with the 4 or 5 pin connector and program the correct mileage into the chip...you solder the chip back onto the board and it displays your set mileage...

dmitri

Date:
Mileage Reading:
Source:
General Comments:


10/06/1995 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cornwall, ON
Registration issued or renewed
First owner reported
Registered as lease vehicle


03/28/1996 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cornwall, ON
Registration issued or renewed


03/27/1998 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Laval, QC
Registration issued or renewed


12/22/1998 83,354 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Odometer reported as 134,146 kilometers


03/31/1999 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Laval, QC
Registration issued or renewed
Registered as
personal vehicle


09/01/1999 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Laval, QC
Registration issued or renewed


09/14/1999 91,312 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Odometer reported as 146,954 kilometers


04/05/2000 97,895 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Odometer reported as 157,547 kilometers


10/11/2000 104,385 Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Odometer reported as 167,992 kilometers


08/30/2001 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Saint-Eustache, QC
Registration issued or renewed


05/27/2005 Quebec
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Registration issued or renewed
New owner reported


06/11/2005 94,154 Ontario
Ministry of Transportation
Central Ontario
Registration issued or renewed
Registered as
personal vehicle
Passed safety inspection
INCONSISTENT ODOMETER READING
Vehicle previously registered in Quebec
Vehicle color noted as Green
Odometer reported as 151,527 kilometers

********************************
i am looking to buy this car but odo reading is incositent as u can see
Reading reported on 10/11/2000: 167,992 kilometers
Inconsistent reading on 06/11/2005: 151,527 kilometers

98SEBlackMax

iTrader: (9)

'96 to '98 cluster conversion

I did the conversion on my '96 a while back, though I can't move the gauges backward and I would never want to try cause it's illegal. However with the electronics stuff I have they can be moved forward quite easily. I have a gauge set on "burn-in" right now so the mileage matches the customer's car mileage. Only problem is that it takes a few weeks...

ArcticW

Mileage on a Max is like Time to the Pyramids; its a laughing matter.

When buying a car, carfax it .Period.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

ah, who cares what the mileage is anyhow. Not like a 96 maxima is worth much, regardless of mileage.....

99SEL4ME

Like all have said, this act is highly illegal in ALL states! If anyone is caught you will get

98SEBlackMax

iTrader: (9)

I did it to prove that it was possible to advance the mileage on the gauges by myself. I could of easily put in gauges and tell people my '96 had 68,000 miles on it.

codyli007

um...intersting

Sy0p

go buy a gauge cluster with like 20,000K miles on it and swap it out for the old one you have know.

Supermax95

iTrader: (2)

Even if the speed sensor stopped working??