Can a Digital Odometer Be Rolled Back?

Your car’s odometer is one of the most essential features on the dashboard. It’s how you can track how far away something is and how many miles your car has. However, movies and shows often portray the odometer as being tampered with; is that possible?

A digital odometer can be rolled back to show fewer miles if the car’s circuit board has been removed or by connecting a computer directly to the car’s system. There is no other way to manually roll back a car’s odometer. However, doing this is illegal and can lead to a fine or even jail time.

This article will tell you everything you need to know about rolling back a car’s digital odometer. That includes how it’s possible, why it would be done, and if it’s something you should look into doing.

Is It Possible To Roll Back a Digital Odometer?

Everyone has seen at least one show or movie that has portrayed a character trying to reduce the number of miles that will show on a car’s odometer. Many of these even comically showed characters elevating their car and letting it run in reverse to do this, which is, of course, impossible!

However, most of these movies showed older cars that had fewer digital components that might seem like they would be easier to manipulate.

Unfortunately, while digital odometers are harder to roll back, it’s not impossible.

It’s possible to roll back or otherwise tamper with a digital odometer if someone is able to get access to the car’s circuit board or computer. Unless you have special cables and software, this is difficult to do, but it’s not impossible.

A modern car’s circuit board is its internal computer. If any dashboard lights turn on, like the check engine light, that’s usually due to a signal from the circuit board.

This is also the part of the car that keeps track of the number of miles/kilometers a vehicle has traveled. 

If the circuit board is removed and connected to a computer, it can be “hacked” and reprogrammed or reset. That means that someone could artificially zero out the odometer.

Unfortunately, as cars become more modern, hacking into them becomes a little easier because mechanics need to easily connect to the car’s computer in order to diagnose any problems.

If someone has the right cables, they could also connect to their car’s circuit board externally without having to open up the vehicle to remove it. This makes checking for signs of odometer tampering a little more complicated.

Why Would Someone Roll Back a Car’s Odometer?

You might miss the days when your car was brand new with just a few miles/kilometers on it, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be tempted to artificially turn back the clock and start your car’s odometer at zero again.

So, you might wonder, why would you want to roll back a car’s odometer?

A car’s odometer will often be rolled back to make a vehicle seem like it’s been used less than it has. A car with fewer miles/kilometers will typically be worth more as it’s undergone less wear and tear from the road and is considered to be more “pristine.”

There are multiple reasons why someone might wish to make a car seem like it’s been used less than it has in reality.

Someone may roll back a car’s odometer in order to get more money when they sell the vehicle. A vehicle with a lower odometer number will likely have fewer problems that naturally come up when a car is used often, which will lower its value overall.

For example, someone would be much less likely to pay the same amount for a car with over 100-thousand miles (almost 161-thousand kilometers) as they would for a car with 40-thousand miles (almost 64.5-thousand kilometers) because they expect a car that’s traveled more to be closer to the end of its life. This is especially the case when one would expect to drive in harsh weather conditions, which tend to cause cars to break-down faster.

Someone may also try to roll back their car’s odometer to get more credit when they trade in their vehicle at a dealership for a similar reason.

Since a car with fewer miles/kilometers is typically valued higher than a car with more miles/kilometers, rolling back the odometer before trading it in can lead to paying less out of pocket for another vehicle. This is especially true at a smaller, unbranded dealership that may not have an on-staff mechanic and when the car itself doesn’t have many other issues.

Are You Allowed To Roll Back a Digital Odometer?

Suppose you’ve figured out how to hook up to your car’s circuit board. You might wonder if tampering with odometers is legal.

You’re not allowed to roll back an odometer. In the US, rolling back a car’s odometer is a federal crime. It’s called odometer fraud, and getting caught doing this carries a risk of $10,000 in fines, three years in prison, and damages to be paid to anyone you might have victimized in the process.

Even if you don’t intend to roll back your car’s digital odometer for nefarious purposes, you just want to see if it’s possible, or you want to do it as a prank, it’s still a crime.

Every country has its own specific laws, however. Though it’s worth noting that, even if you find yourself in a place where tampering with a car’s odometer isn’t a crime you can be charged with, it’s still unethical, which should be enough to make anyone shy away from it.

When It’s Okay to Roll Back An Odometer

The one exception to rolling back an odometer is if your odometer has specific settings and counters that are separate from the main count. For example, many car odometers have a specific setting to track the miles/kilometers of a trip. In this case, there is typically a button that you can press to roll back this number to zero so you can see how far you’ve traveled on a specific car ride.

In this case, the odometer’s main tracker goes unchanged, and it’s just this secondary counter that gets reset. This is completely legal since you can still easily see what the main odometer counter reads.

In Conclusion

Digital odometers are an easy way to track how much you use your car. However, with a bit of work, they can be rolled back, making them less reliable. Rolling back a car’s main odometer is illegal in most places around the world, though, leading to fines or imprisonment for those who do it.

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