Speedometer *ROLL BACKS* Thing of the past ~ yes or no?

2015vwgolfdiesel

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Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
2015 VW Golf S DSG Silver
Speedometer *ROLL BACKS* Thing of the past ~ yes or no?

Is this scourge still going on these days?

Many decades ago, even new car dealerships did roll 'em

Even on their "new car" DEMOs
 

xerootg

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Oct 20, 2015
Location
USA
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Mk7 Golf Sportwagen, BHW Jeep XJ
I'd say for the most part a thing of the past due to the technical knowledge and equipment required to perform such a forgery in a non-obvious way.
 

GoFaster

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Joined
Jun 16, 1999
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Not a thing of the past. If anything ... it's worse than ever.

Type "speedometer rollback" into your friendly Google contraption and see what turns up. (A lot.)
 

JSWTDI09

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Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
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2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
In the "old days" odometers were mechanical devices. You had to open them up and physically roll them back.
Today odometers (and speedometers) are electronic devices. Therefore, anyone with the right knowledge and tools can make them read whatever they want. Modern cars require only a computer and a little "know-how" to hack the instrument panel.

This is also why many manufacturers (including VW) store the odometer data in more than one place. If you buy a used VW compare the odometer in the instrument panel with the same info in the ECU. They should match unless the seller has a record of replacing either the ECU or the instrument panel in the past.

Have Fun!

Don
 

pdq import repair

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Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
I think it is a thing of the past mostly. Back in the mechanical odo days before legislation prohibited it, it was quite common. Making it illegal and punishable helped that a lot. I know of one speedometer shop that disappeared due to tampering and getting caught.

Later digital ones are getting harder and harder to crack, plus the legality issue and fines have escalated quite a bit, making it a threshold that no one in their right mind would want to cross in my opinion.

I have software to get into clusters that I use mostly for immo issues, but odo reset is an option there too. I use that capability if I put in a used cluster. I can then reset the used odometer to read the original miles on the car. I have had customers replace clusters and need them woken up. I tell them I will only do it if we revert to the vehicle mileage, or at least ECU mileage.
 

TornadoRed

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Aug 3, 2003
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West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
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2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
I got the odometer rolled back on my ALH Golf, as it was approaching the 621k limit and I need a working odometer so I can take a tax deduction for mileage. The actual distance is still recorded in the ECU.
 

k1xv

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Apr 4, 2009
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southern Vermont
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09 TDI sedan, sold back 12/16. Present cars 2013 BMW X5 diesel, 2015 Corvette convertible
I think a rollback would be easily detected on any car where routine maintenance is tracked on Carfax
 

Oberkanone

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Joined
Feb 16, 2001
Location
NW Indiana
TDI
13 Jetta TDI Premium manual "gone"
Carfax

I think a rollback would be easily detected on any car where routine maintenance is tracked on Carfax
Routine maintenance is not consistently reported to Carfax. Carfax is not an accurate record of vehicle maintenance.

There are multiple electronic components on vehicles where the mileage is recorded. Odometer mileage may be validated by scanning these components.
 
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