Is Your Odometer Cheating You?

If Found To Be Too Fast, It Can Affect Warranty, Lease Fees, Resale Value

(CBS)  How many miles you have on your car can affect everything from your warranty coverage and lease fees to your car's resale value.

Some automakers are being accused of cheating owners out of thousands of miles by designing cars with defective odometers.

Sharon McQuiston bought her Honda SUV for its high numbers in gas mileage, resale value and reliability. But she soon found that some of her Honda's numbers were running too high.

"The reputation of Honda is so, so great," she told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann."I feel cheated in that, I'm being cheated out of miles that I haven't driven."

While McQuiston's odometer says she's driven 25,000 miles, she has really gone 500 miles less. Her car is one of millions of Hondas with faulty odometers that rack up miles too fast.

"They were accelerated, they registered more miles than the car actually traveled," attorney James Holmes said.

Holmes has tested the odometers in many Honda models and says on average, they run 2 percent fast. While that doesn't sound like much, it makes a big difference.

"Over the lifetime of your car, or the lifetime of your lease or your warranty, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of miles that are being stripped off of those cars that they've never been driven," Holmes said.

To prove the point, we compared Sharon's Honda to an SUV that had an accurate odometer.

Each vehicle was driven 10 miles according to its odometer and then stopped. The Honda odometer clocked 10 miles before the distance was actually met.

"You can see the distance is over 1,000 feet between these two vehicles, this distance is distance that Honda owners bought and paid for, but never received," Holmes said.

In a class action lawsuit, Holmes charged Honda with fraud, claiming the company actually designed their odometers to run too fast.

"It shortened the warrantees, it shortened the lease contracts, it increased the lease mileage penalties that customers pay — and as a result, Honda was able to generate and save millions of dollars," Holmes said.

Honda says the error was an accidental oversight in 2002 through 2006 models and has made new models more precise. In a settlement, Honda agreed to extend warranties on 6 million cars and reimburse owners for out-of-pocket repairs and lease fees. It cost Honda millions of dollars.

But the case has raised the question: How accurate are the odometers in other brands of cars? To find out, CBS News put four popular makes to the test: Toyota, Ford, Chevy and Nissan.

Jim Smith, who works for the Society of Automotive Engineers — the group that sets voluntary odometer standards — tested the cars. First, he checked tire pressure, filled up the tanks and hit the road on a 40-mile trip. Smith used a GPS to track the real mileage and measure each odometer's margin of error.

In the end, the Ford Taurus, Chevy Impala and Toyota RAV4 all passed. But the Nissan Altima's odometer ran over 2 percent fast, which was unacceptable to Smith.

"Two percent with new tires, I start to get suspicious," he said.

So did James Holmes. He found the same odometer error in 10 Altimas and has filed a new class action suit against Nissan.

"I expect that we'll find that they knew about the problem and made a decision not to correct it," Holmes said.

Nissan declined to comment, but in court documents, the company denies its odometers are designed to be inaccurate — and says they meet all industry standards.

Holmes is on a crusade to expose faulty odometers in car makers so consumers like McQuiston get every mile they pay for.

Honda's odometer settlement includes all 2002-2006 Honda and Acura models, and some 2007 Honda models. For more information about the settlement and whether you qualify, log onto HondaOdometerClassAction.com.

For information about the Nissan odometer class action lawsuit, contact attorney James Holmes at JamesHolmesLaw.com or EagerOdometers.com.

[mitywhity]

Dammed ***! It makes the MPG look better too. Buy American and forget those tiny, UGLY little imperial go-karts!

[bushfan3]

Thats why you buy American cars instead of imports.

[jeffro934]

So an extra 2,000 miles when you reach 100,000 miles? Who cares. Unless you have a problem at 61,000 miles and you had a 60,000 mile warranty, its hardly going to matter. I get 500 miles on a tank in my Honda Accord. If its off by 2%, that means I actually only get 490 miles. Hardly worth losing my head over.

[kaiyo4u]

I have an older S-10 Blazer. The odometer is off. I have tested it against the mile markers in WA state and other states (these are there specificslly to check your odometer). It is always a tenth of a mile long in a five mile check. This is with OEM tires with good tread (brand new and older). It would seem the auto makers are cheating us and have been for years. Albeit it would seem a small amount, but it does add up. Every 50 miles you drive, your odometer is showing 51 miles... you do the math. It adds to more total miles and less trade in value.
Where is the truth in advertising?

[nothappyatall]

Odometers are also affected by minute tire diameter differences, the smaller the diameter the faster the odometer/speedometer goes, I'd find it extremely difficult to believe a crudely manufactured rubber tire is going to be EXACTLY the same or correct diameter as the others on the car- especially if they come from different lots or different machines at the factory. A 1/16th of an inch can make a difference and tires because they wear and are dynamic being they are filled with air- are biased towards reduced diameter as they wear down. As the tire wears your speedometer will increase slightly.

But BFD, 500 miles inaccuracy on 25,000??? I hardly believe those mechanical older type odometers were very accurate either- the things were never designed to measure distances by the inch peoeple- they were to give the driver an idea of the distance they travel and speed within a few mph.

[nothappyatall]

Bushfan3: there's no such thing as an "American car" look under the hood- almost everything under there is manufactured in Japan, China, N Korea, Phillipines and a bunch of others- Detroit these days is little more than an assembly plant.

[jxf57]

why is nothing said about FIXING the odometers that are registering incorrectly? Extending the warranty is nice but why can't the problem be fixed instead. This extra milage effects not just warranty repairs and leases but resale values and MPG ratings as well.
Why wasn't this picked up by the agencies that have been checking on the MPG standards?

[jxf57]

why is nothing said about FIXING the odometers that are registering incorrectly? Extending the warranty is nice but why can't the problem be fixed instead. This extra milage effects not just warranty repairs and leases but resale values and MPG ratings as well.
Why wasn't this picked up by the agencies that have been checking on the MPG standards?

[rodriguezyvo]

I think you should also check the Saturn Vue 2006.
I have heard many complaints recently. I purchased one in August 06 and I already have 10,000 miles on it and I don't really understand why...

[bfarris4]

I have a 2006 Nissan Altima, and if there is a problem with it, regardless how "small" some people think it may be, I would like to be aware of it. I would like to find out more about this. I bought Nissan because of the good ratings, but so far, it isn't proving itself.

[Syndicate]

The Japanese auto makers are dirty. They do stuff like this all the time. Some of you may think this was an accident, but knowing how modern cars are built and operate I can tell you this was dileberate. It was done to Inflate gas mileage figures. Modern cars use an electronic sensor wich is extremely easy to calibrate. The fact that Hondas are %2 off across the board would seem to indicate a concerted effort on the part of Honda. All that is neede to fix these speedos is a new calibration uploaded into the computer.

[mustang17_17]

I have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma that I have run with two different GPS's and have gotten the same overmileage also. At higher speeds the margin of error is greater(Almost as much as 5 MPH). I reported the discrepency with my Toyota Service but was told it checked out good, but I still have the discrepency.

[berf4023]

Great Job! Finally someone is sticking up for the %u201Clittle guy%u201D!! I have been telling people all along my odometer was screwy. I had a 2003 Acura TL Type S. My lease allowed for 48,000 miles and I returned it with what it read around 90,000 miles. I was charged $6,244.95 in overage mileage. I feel cheated. There is no way I put that many miles on that car in 4 years.I want justice..and justice is spelled M-O-N-E-Y!!!

[gbloodgood]

I owned a 1999 Toyota Tacoma that was always off by 1 tenth of a mile. When I would travel I would consistently have travelled more according to my odometer than I had according to mile markers.

[nscastillo]

Is there any news on the volkswagon passats odometer??

[Syndicate]

mustang17_17: I did that with a Mustang. It was a 95 GT the thing was dead on. I think the American manufacturers are scared to pull this ***.

nscastillo: Probably just a Japanese con.

[gbloodgood]

I owned a 1999 Toyota Tacoma that was always off by 1 tenth of a mile. When I would travel I would consistently have travelled more according to my odometer than I had according to highway mile markers.

[darreldd]

It is time that someone chanlenged Honda. I had a 2000 Accord that registered 4 miles faster than it was going, so at 75 MPH per the GPS the speedometer said 79MPH. I took it back to Honda 3 times and was told how did I now it was wrong and they verified it and said Honda allowed 10% error. This was my seventh Honda and my last I now drive a Chevy and will not ever go back to Honda as long as they feel they can be this dishonest with the public.

[jhcooper1]

I wathed the show this morning about the odometer in the Honda car. I have a Kenworth truck that has the same problem. I bought it to the attention of the dealer and they blew it off. Where/who else do I report this to an how.

[thomderr]

Hey, check them ALL!

There is no difference between turning the odometer back by a cheating used car dealer or a new car company installing a 'micro-program' in their on-board computer to increase the mileage.

The odometers should be checked by the government, the same as impact crash ratings. Why? It's fraud!

[bettyanne2]

Back in 1993 I was having to make business trips to our District office about 140 miles away. I realized my car showed the trip as 7-8 miles longer than other people making the same trip. That sent me out to compare my odometer with the .1 mileage markers on the highway. My VW Passat was noticeably over. I went to the dealer and made them put in a new one. The new one was better but still not fully accurate. So, this problem is not new. Apparently we've been getting cheated for a long time.

[gangesdak]

All I know is that I always drove Chevy or Ford, and they served me very well for 40 years. Only once I bought Japanese built Dodge Colt, and there were no end of problems. Even today if there is one car with rust on the road, it is a Japanese car. I always got reliability and value in US cars. Based on my experience, business practices of other Japanese industries is not clean. I am glad that they found out about the odometers. Other findings will sure to follow.

[edjohn66]

Same problem with my Kia Spectra. I wouldn't benefit from a class-action lawsuit, because I bought it and I'm driving it until it dies. But Kia owners who leased or sold their cars, take note! It might be time to call a lawyer.

[hondaowner]

If Honda and Nissan intentionally calibrated their odometers to read high, which artificially inflated MPG on at least 6 million vehicles, then isn't it possible that they calibrated their engines to burn 2%-4% more gas as well? My wife and I each purchased a 2006 Honda and, MPG aside, they both burn more gas than our other Hondas (our family owns four). If these automakers intentionally calibrated their odometers to read high to mask an engine burning more gas, then isn't possible that the big oil companies are involved in this problem somehow?

[hondaowner]

If Honda and Nissan intentionally calibrated their odometers to read high, which artificially inflated MPG on at least 6 million vehicles, then isn't it possible that they calibrated their engines to burn 2%-4% more gas as well? My wife and I each purchased a 2006 Honda and, MPG aside, they both burn more gas than our other Hondas (our family owns four). If these automakers intentionally calibrated their odometers to read high to mask an engine burning more gas, then isn't possible that the big oil companies are involved in this problem somehow?

[bettyanne2]

Back in 1993 I was having to make business trips to our District office about 140 miles away. I realized my car showed the trip as 7-8 miles longer than other people making the same trip. That sent me out to compare my odometer with the .1 mileage markers on the highway. My VW Passat was noticeably over. I went to the dealer and made them put in a new one. The new one was better but still not fully accurate. I thought this was a fluke and have never checked my more recent cars. Apparently we've been getting cheated for a long time.

[nonameabc]

I own a Honda too. I think the court should order Honda, in addition, to change or recall all meters. Because, Honda is "accidental oversight", then, it is their mistake. We cannot carry a mistake on each car, and Honda needs to pay the price for it. Good points, MPG problem, and why only in Honda and Nissan but not the others.

[nothappyatall]

CLass-action suits are a joke, the "class" gets about $3 each, the LAWYERS get the millions- just take a look at the Household Bank class-action suit, on my statement I received TWO cents credit back for my share of the class-action litigation resulting from the bank's shady national practices, overbilling, overcharging etc.

I got a whopping 2 cents, the law firm in the case got millions, whose the winner the consumer? LOL

[redstripe12]

My Subaru also has the same odometer issue. There was a piece on Cartalk on NPR where some scientists tested this in Montana a few months ago. They tested by checking the mile markers on the highway against the odometer.

Guess what, the problem ain't the mile markers. Gasp! The auto industry trying to squeeze consumers for more money and no honoring warranties! That's actually pretty believable.

Who's to say the dealership can't get their service guy to tweak the odometers either? Dealerships make most of their profit off of warranties.

[jdjd1572]

Better add in Mazda Corp and the Big Three. Basically its pay back from both Big Oil and the Big Three US Car Companies. For years Toyota made profits because of being better built and better mileage per gas tank. Apprently, these foreign companies have sold their sould to satisfy US makers and make up profits loss by penalizing US citizens for choosing a product efficent and superior to US auto makers. Trace the oil dollars and the auto producers money trail and one will find the "sheisty mechanic" with the wrench in his hand!!

[noview1]

When a company test the car for it's mileage, they use brand new tires. After minimal use, the outermost layer of the tires (1/32 of an inch)will wear off quickly. The smaller the tires, the more revolutions required to travel a distance. Odometer's measure the revolutions of the tires to determine distance traveled.

[hortonjr]

FWIW, I checked 4 2004 and 2005 Durangos when they were new (I had one that was fast by 3.5% and wanted to see if I was the only one). 3 of the 4 were off by exactly the same amount. The only one that wasn't was one that was not equipped with the upgraded tire/chrome wheel option. My guess was that the diameter was altered slightly with these wheels and that DCX didn't see fit to re-calibrate those vehicles, especially since the error was in the company's favor (FYI, dealers had no fix; they all said "live with it"). In the old days of mechanical speedometers, a 5% error was considered acceptable. With electronics, I estimate the acceptable error range to be one-tenth of the old range (one half of one percent) and that is only due to tire wear.

[brucenews]

I have a new 2006 Ford Freestyle. After the odometer reaches 500 miles and or possibly a six month period it is locked out (no display) as well as trip odometer and compass, and is replacedwith a warning Oil life is 0% change oil. From that point on you are flying blind until I suppose you go to Ford to get an oil change. There is a proceedure in the owner's manual for resetting but it doesn't work, at least until you get an oil change. I don't know if there is a hidden switch somewhere for the Ford mechanic. The speedometer does not have a zero on the dial. If you use the spacing between the other numbers and then apply it to where zero should be the car when standing still indicates approximately 3 - 4 miles per hour. I am very suspicious and plan to get the accuracy of the odometer checked after my oil change, since I can't do it without the odometer. By the way, my car is a driveway queen. To the supermarket and bank and that's about it. Bruce

[jeffmccabe3]

I leased a BMW 325xi last august. I new something was wrong when the speedometer showed 80mph, and I was not passing that many cars.
For Xmas we received a GPS which indicated 75mph when the speedo showed 80mph. I called the BMW dealer (in Reno) and they basically blow me off.
With the (roughly) 7 percent error, and based on 15k miles a year over the three year lease term,ths will cost me $600, which, I suppose, BMW expects me to eat. See you in court BMW

[hondaowner]

The makes and models in question were brand new cars with brand new tires. If the inaccurate odometer readings stemmed from tire wear, then wouldn't all makes and models have been affected? If the problem stemmed solely from tire wear, then why didn't Honda rely on mathematics for their defense? The circumference of a 25" tire can be easily compared to the circumference of a 24.96875" tire (a new tire with 1/32" tire wear). Why did the courts agree to hear a case that could be explained so easily with math?

[Syndicate]

brucenews: The manual says to hit setup until you see "Oil Life XX% reset if new" then PRESS reset then HOLD reset until it resets.

[melanie1971]

Wow! I am saddened by this report. I had a 1995 Honda Civic for 12 years until it was totaled in a car accident in Dec 2006. I wonder myself if that Honda had the same problem because I noticed if I was cruising at 70mph, the odometer showed I went less miles (I always thought the speedometer was off). I JUST purchased (2 weeks ago) a new 2007 CRV, now I will have to test the odometer! I am amazed at this travesty, especially when Honda's warranties are notably less (3/36) than most vehicle manufacturers. It is appalling that Honda would try to further shorten the already short warranty by ripping off consumers with faulty odometers. Then you get ripped off again when you have to take your car in for service (and that is at any dealer/repair shop for any vehicle). I think most major repairs are not really needed, it is just another way to add to the price of the vehicle over the long haul.

[melanie1971]

I agree with the person who posted about the class action suits. The only ones who make any money are the attorneys and the ORIGINAL parties who went to them for the lawsuit to begin with, as they are named as the "named plaintiffs." There seem to be special provisions for the "named plaintiffs" to recover a significantly large portion of the award, I guess because they are the catalyst for the suit. Unfair no matter how you look at it, however, I guess that is the only way to get an attorney to take the case.

[ndg1979]

O.K. - So we all want to cry and complain that this is this and that is that - but what are you doing about it? Well, a couple people decided to send a message by starting a lawsuit - GREAT!

Now, how about the rest of you? Are you going to wait for a "Consumer Action Group" to tell you that you are getting 475 sheets of Charmin in a roll but you should be getting 500 or are you going to start checking for yourselves? It is now time for you to take back your country!! And push for Bush to be kicked out of office - corporate welfare scum!!

YOU ARE AMERICANS AND THIS IS AMERICA - LEARN IT, KNOW IT, LIVE IT!! (Thank you Spicoli)

I will be testing the odometer in my 2006 Dodge Charger and possibly my 76 Dodge Monaco over the next 30 days and will be posting the results on my MySpace site at - http://www.myspace.com/76monaco06charger

Time to also grab that roll of Charmin and call my congressman (assuming I have 10 grand for him and a timeshare in Tahiti otherwise I'm invisible).

[americanmaid-2009]

Why didn't the consumer magazine(s) find this problem when they tested these vehicles??? They always give them such high ratings...

[americanmaid-2009]

Why didn't the consumer magazine(s) find this problem when they tested these vehicles??? They always give them such high ratings...

[americanmaid-2009]

Why didn't the consumer magazine(s) find this problem when they tested these vehicles??? They always give them such high ratings...

[americanmaid-2009]

Why didn't the consumer magazine(s) find this problem when they tested these vehicles??? They always give them such high ratings...

[jawilson52]

As a long time motorcyclist, I am not suprised by this. Motorcycle speedometers are notorious for reading "high". In fact if you study the data sheets in magazines that provide hard test numbers on motorcyle performance, one of the areas they usually report is "speedometer error". Honda motorcyles (as well as other brands)typically read 10 percent or more high. In other words if the speedometer says your are doing 60 mph you're probably only doing between 54 and 56. As far as I know none of the magazines has tested for odometer error, but it does make you wonder.
To be honest with you, I had always assumed this was some sort of passive-aggressive safety ploy by the manufaturers to make us ride slower than we thought we were.

[drcamp1]

Thank you for this most needed broadcast of faulty odometers and i bought my 2007 Honda Accord on december 29th, 2006 and my car is showing approx. 7,500 miles and i only drive locally. there is no way i have driven that many miles.

[kdmalone]

It is amazing how it seems that everyone is trying to get over on someone and it seems that everyone is quick to excuse the actions of others who are doing the wrong. I am surprised to have heard this information, but what is sad is I thought something was wrong with the odometer in my 2006 Altima but my husband and I chalked it up to me being paranoid. Now who is being paranoid. I think that when ever a company now matter how large is doing something wrong no matter how small or big, I think they should be called on the carpet to explain and take responsibility for their acitons. I applaud those who came forward and started the class action lawsuit. It is not about the money. It is about the truth and being responsoble for your actions. If itis found that Nissan does have faulty odometers they should be held accountable for this issue in all their vehicles.

[alohanuiloa1]

I cannot believe that I am not going crazy! I truly thought i was after leasing a 2007 Dodge Caliber when living in Hawaii. I recently left and turned the car in and although was well under the mileage to turn in , found that within a week it seemed like another 1,000 miles added onto the odometer.. I kept thinking something is wrong.. i live on an ISLAND!

Funny thing is one time i was mentioning it to my brother who lives in NH and purchased a Caliber last September..and he said the same thing. He cannot imagine how so many miles are racking up on his car! I dont know if any further investigation is being done, but if anyone wants another odometer to check into ..the dodge caliber is it!