Resetting odometer?

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Hey guys,

(This pertains to late models only.) I was thinking last night (never a good thing) about odometer laws. I was hoping one of you would know. Basically what I'm wondering is, is there any way to legally reset your odometer to 0? For instance, when rebuilding a classic muscle car, most everyone resets the odometer to zero, or installs a fresh odometer. Given a full rebuild, this is perfectly legitmate. My question is--is there any way to do this legally on a late model car? Within the next couple of years, I will do a full "resto" on my '96 Tahoe, and I guess that is the main point of my question. Any way to reset to 0 miles? I was thinking there must be some law of the car being off the road for X amount of years, or claim it as a rebuildable? Anyone have any ideas or experience with this?

Thanks,

[Steve1968LS2]

Well.. on a late model f-body the odometer info is stored in the gauge cluster and not the ECM..

Buy a new cluster and magicly the odometer goes back to zero..

That being the case I am sure someone had figured out a way to reset whatever chip is in there to 000000.

If you reset you odometer you just have to make sure you disclose such to the DMV.. usually there is a box marked "not actual milage" or "milage unknown"..

That is about all I know on this..

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Well.. on a late model f-body the odometer info is stored in the gauge cluster and not the ECM..

Buy a new cluster and magicly the odometer goes back to zero..

That being the case I am sure someone had figured out a way to reset whatever chip is in there to 000000.

If you reset you odometer you just have to make sure you disclose such to the DMV.. usually there is a box marked "not actual milage" or "milage unknown"..

That is about all I know on this..

Ohh, so it can be done?! Hmm, I knew about the F-bods and having to change out the whole cluster to swap back to zero. My Tahoe has an old school odometer so it could be switched back very easily, but I know that if you just turn it back it's considered insurance fraud in NY. I guess if you disclose it to the DMV and reset to 0 then it's good to go. Very cool, thanks for the info.

[derekf]

if you just turn it back it's considered insurance fraud in NY.

Pretty sure it's only fraud if you claim that as actual mileage - in Texas I believe it's not fraud until you sell the car without having that box checked.

[Foudie]

Be carefull though Ralph. I bought a dually a few years back that supposedly had 54k actual miles on it. The dealer I bought it from gave me all the documentation that said it was a true mileage car but when the title came it was box C (aka true miles unknown or TMU). So I did a search at the DMV and the last time the vehicle went through emissions it had, are you ready, 246k miles on it . To make a long story short this guy would buy high milers at the auction for dirt and put some money into refurbishing it and mark it box C. He put a new cluster in it and sold it as actual miles but with a title discrpancy. The law here in AZ says that you cannot knowingly alter an odometer and mark it box C. The dealer had to buy my truck and 300 others back under a class action suit.

[Foudie]

Pretty sure it's only fraud if you claim that as actual mileage - in Texas I believe it's not fraud until you sell the car without having that box checked.

Plus I am not sure those laws would apply to a private sale. Dealers for sure, but at any rate it is a real sticky situation to get yourself into. I think the general consensus is that you are probably ok as long as you document and disclose.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Be carefull though Ralph. I bought a dually a few years back that supposedly had 54k actual miles on it. The dealer I bought it from gave me all the documentation that said it was a true mileage car but when the title came it was box C (aka true miles unknown or TMU). So I did a search at the DMV and the last time the vehicle went through emissions it had, are you ready, 246k miles on it . To make a long story short this guy would buy high milers at the auction for dirt and put some money into refurbishing it and mark it box C. He put a new cluster in it and sold it as actual miles but with a title discrpancy. The law here in AZ says that you cannot knowingly alter an odometer and mark it box C. The dealer had to buy my truck and 300 others back under a class action suit.

Damn, that sucks! Atleast he bought the truck back. 246k, oof. I would have been upset. I don't think I'll ever sell the truck, as it probably will be worth very little in a few years when I resto it, and after the money I put it, it would be a huge loss on my end. I'm just mostly concerned with getting arrested for insurance fraud or something, lol. The 2 door tahoes and tahoe sports are pretty popular trucks, and they're pretty hard to find. I like to think of them as the '96 Impala SS' of trucks. I'll mostly just be doing some freshing up of the bodywork and new paint, but the motor will likely be swapped out and everything else rebuilt or gone through. Since it will look and feel like a new truck, I'd like to have people see 2500 miles when they get in, rather than 125k. That's the main reason for the odo set back.

Thanks for the help guys,
Ralph

[Foudie]

Does the old style odo roll over at 100k? How many miles does the title say it has? Are you or anyone in the family the original owner? Have you checked ****** for any mileage reports on it? I have a reason for asking lol.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Does the old style odo roll over at 100k? How many miles does the title say it has? Are you or anyone in the family the original owner? Have you checked ****** for any mileage reports on it? I have a reason for asking lol.

Nope, ODO rolls over at 1mil. Currently the truck has 117,7XX miles on it. I believe the title says it has 99k on it. I bought the truck from a salvage dealer in Minnesota three years back and fixed it. Replaced quarter, quarter glass, door, fender, fender flare, hood, windshield, grille, and front diff. I don't like ****** much. I ran a ****** on it a few months ago when I was considering selling it, and it says the truck has a salvage title issued to it by Minnesota. Funny thing is, I have a clean NY title in my hand, and had a clean Minnesota title sent to me. The first thing I asked the guy when I bought it was if it was a salvage title. That kind of killed my chances of an online sale with that ****** report, so I kept the truck.

[Steve1968LS2]

It all comes down to how you present the car.. if you lie it's a crime and if you disclose it is not..

I had a car stolen and they took the guage cluster (mechanical).. when I got my new one it was 000000. When I had to sell the car I disclosed this and checked the right box. I was as good as gold..

[62wagon]

Ralph, At the GM dealership that I work at, we regularly replace defective clusters with reman units. When we order these from one of the many repair centers nationwide, they will set the mileage to existing vehicle mileage or if requested, they will set to zero and provide a sticker that is to be signed and placed in the vehicle. Usually runs less than $200 for a new cluster. Might be an option. Mark

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Mark,

Where does the sticker have to be placed? Is it just to say that gauge cluster was replaced at XXX mileage?

[62wagon]

Mark,

Where does the sticker have to be placed? Is it just to say that gauge cluster was replaced at XXX mileage?

Ralph, They always told us to place the sticker in the glove box or the door jam. The sticker actually states that the cluster was replaced with another cluster with zero mileage. Mark

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Very cool, thanks for the info, Mark!

[JMitch19]

Most newer vehicles also have the mileage stored in the BCM as well as the cluster and or the ECM. So say you were trying to scam on a lease to keep the mileage down and you discounted the odometer the actual mileage is still in the BCM. I work at a dealership no one ever checks the BCM. Anyway if you really want everthing back to 0 you'll need a new BCM. As long as you don't sell it as actual mileage you are OK.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Most newer vehicles also have the mileage stored in the BCM as well as the cluster and or the ECM. So say you were trying to scam on a lease to keep the mileage down and you discounted the odometer the actual mileage is still in the BCM. I work at a dealership no one ever checks the BCM. Anyway if you really want everthing back to 0 you'll need a new BCM. As long as you don't sell it as actual mileage you are OK.

When it gets torn down, it'll be receiving an LQ9 6.0L anyways, so a new comp is mandatory. Not that it matters though. I wouldn't try to scam anyone and couldn't care less if the truck had 500k on the body. I'd just like my efforts in restoring the truck to show a little bit with the 0 mile odometer. I guess it's more of a "poser" thing than anything else in regards to the low mileage. I guess when the time comes, I'll lump it into the pro-poser category, lol. Thanks for the heads up!

[BRIAN]

I am almost positive that it can be retrieved through your ECM as nothing is really stored in the dash. Yes it is illegal and Yes it is just wrong!!!

[Ralph LoGrasso]

I am almost positive that it can be retrieved through your ECM as nothing is really stored in the dash. Yes it is illegal and Yes it is just wrong!!!

Even if done as mentione above? With the sticker, and proper DMV documentation.

[62wagon]

You guys are right for some vehicles as far as storing the info. Ralph's Tahoe is not like that. I checked with my service mgr this morning to be sure and he said on a 96 Tahoe, it is all stored in the cluster. In Ralph's spot, he would be OK, but you guys are correct for a lot of vehicles. Hope this helps! Mark

[USAZR1]

In Texas,once a vehicle turns ten years old,the mileage is considered irrelevant and the mileage checkoff is unnecessary.