How To Disable Odometer From Reading Mileage [3 Easy Steps]

Looking for a simple way to disable the odometer of your car? We have got you covered. You probably won’t find much information regarding this issue on the internet. Most people don’t think it’s something necessary.

However, we can feel that you might need to reset or disable the odometer sometimes. This is why today we are covering how to disable odometer from reading mileage in 3 easy steps for you. Keep on reading and your problem will be taken care of. 

How To Disable Odometer From Reading Mileage [3 Easy Steps]

If are looking for an odometer kill switch, you are probably not going to find it. Most car doesn’t have this feature. But you can disable the odometer from reading mileage with a secret method. 

However, it will also reset your car odometer to zero. So keep this in mind before proceeding. Still, want to know how to change the digital odometer reading to zero? Follow these 3 steps.

1. Finding The Perfect Fuse:

Your car has different types of fuses for different purposes such as light, alarm, ignition. You have to find the perfect fuse in the fuse compartment. Look for the odometer fuse there.

2. Remove The Fuse:

After locating the perfect fuse you have to remove it. Take a fuse removal tool and gently pull the fuse out. This should disable the odometer of your car.

3. Wrapping Up:

Fuses of cars can be delicately installed. So after removing the odometer fuse, make sure that every other fuse is properly installed. Take the car for a short drive to see if everything is working fine while the odometer is out.

Is everything in the way you want? Then congratulation, you have perfectly disabled your car’s odometer. But keep in mind that it will reset your odometer as well.

What If You Have An Older Model

The method we discussed above is for cars with odometer digital. But what about old modeled cars? For example, how to disconnect the odometer Toyota Hilux? Well, we have a simple solution for that as well. In the case of cars with mechanical odometers, you have to:

  • Move the wheel in reverse motion. To do that you need to clock the car first. Then use an electric drill to drive a wheel backward. This will roll back the odometer to zero. 
  • And now you know how to reset car mileage. Knowing how to reset mileage on a car can come in handy when you are selling your old vehicle.

Odometer Blocker: An Alternative You Can Consider

You may not want to disable the odometer manually and that’s okay because you can use a mileage blocker instead. A mileage blocker or an odometer blocker is a simple tool that prevents your car from counting the Miles/KM while it is in motion.

It is software that basically stops recording the mileage. Such a tool is actually used for testing the performance of a car. But you can use this to block your odometer reading as well. 

How To Install An Odometer Blocker

Here are the simple steps to install an odometer blocker in your car:

Step 1: Remove the speedometer first. You will only need a screw for this task

Step 2: Then remove the instrument plug from the cluster

Step 3: Attach the odometer blocker via the plug

Step 4: Don’t do any soldering and don’t cut any part of the wire

Step 5: Put the plug back in its place

Step 6: Now activate the blocker using the buttons you will find on your steering wheel. Press the wheel mode+BC to activate the tool

Step 7: Notice if the turn signal is flashing to the left. In case it doesn’t, wait for a few minutes and press the buttons again 

And now you have successfully activated the odometer blocker in your car. Your car will not show any mileage reading from now on.

How To Disable The Odometer Blocker

When you want to disable the odometer blocker, you can easily do that as well. Just press MODE+BC and wait for the cluster to flash to the right. This will enable your odometer to record the mileage again.

How To Reset The Odometer On A Car [3 Easy Methods]

As you already know it’s not legal to reset the odometer on a car without written permission from the authorities. You’ll learn how you can reset the odometer on your car in this section and this information is shared with you for education purposes only.

There are many ways you can reset the odometer on your car. Here’s how you can reset the odometer on a Toyota vehicle. Most of these methods will work on other car brands as well.

1. Replace The Information Cluster

The mileage data is stored in the instrument cluster instead of the ECU in many Japanese vehicles. Such a mechanism gives you the opportunity to reset the odometer by simply replacing the instrument cluster in your car.

If you replace the instrument cluster with a new one, it’ll show that you have zero miles on a car. If you replace it with that of another car with lesser mileage, your car will display the information from the new instrument cluster.

Doing that is illegal. But if you need to change your odometer because there’s something wrong with it and you want to do it the legal way, you need to get written permission to do so and then transpose the original miles from the previous cluster before you replace it.

2. Reset The Knob

There’s a knob in the instrument cluster that shows the fuel percentage and temperature evaluations in your car. You can use this knob to reset the odometer in your car and manipulate the mileage on it.

Locate the knob and press it for a few seconds. The fuel economy will come up and your odometer will automatically set to zero. That’s all you need to do to reset the odometer using the knob.

3. Reconstruct The Odometer

Another effective way to reset the odometer is to take it apart and put it back together. This method is ideal for you if you’re a gearhead and you love to play around with car parts. Here’s how you can do it:

  • Remove the instrument cluster using pliers and screwdrivers.
  • Reset the mileage on your car using your hand.
  • Put it back together.

Unfortunately, manufacturers have caught up with this trick and that’s why they add a tamper-proof seal to the odometers. If that’s the case with your car, manipulating the mileage on it without getting caught will be hard.

How To Remove Odometer From Car

You must remove the instrument cluster if you want to remove the odometer in a car. The instrument cluster comes as a set piece that contains your speedometer, odometer, and essential components.

You can change the information cluster but you cannot take the odometer out of it. Technically, you can do it but your instrument cluster won’t work anymore. If your goal is to disable the odometer, then you can locate the odometer fuse and disable it.

But if you want to remove the information cluster, you’ll need screwdrivers and all you need to do is unscrew it from your car. There’ll be a bunch of connectors connected to it from behind. Once you pull them out, your instrument cluster will be completely free from your vehicle.

How To Disable Odometer On Uhaul

Disabling the odometer on a Uhaul truck may seem like a good idea to save a few bucks by not paying the rental company for their service. But if you get caught, there will be serious legal ramifications against you.

They have also started tracking the cars with GPS. You can try removing the odometer fuse to disable the odometer. But if you get caught and you’ll most likely get caught, you’re looking at paying a lot in legal fines.

Is It Illegal To Change The Mileage On A Car

Changing the mileage in your car by turning the odometer forward or backward is illegal. You’ll get a gross misdemeanor if you get caught as you’re breaking both federal and state laws by changing the mileage on your car.

Not only changing miles directly, but it’s also illegal to disconnect or reset the odometer to manipulate the mileage on a car. When buying a car, the seller must give a written document to the buyer stating that the mileage shown on the car is correct.

If the buyer finds that the odometer has been rolled back to show an incorrect mileage, he’ll get compensation from the seller. Only if the vehicle that’s sold is over 10 years old, no such written document is required.

According to a report done by the National Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), odometer frauds account for $4 – $10 billion in consumer losses. If you’re considering changing the mileage on your car to command a better price, you shouldn’t do it.

How Do You Tell If A Car’s Mileage Has Been Clocked

Here’s how you can tell if a car’s mileage has been clocked:

  1. Inspect the mileage on the old MOT certificate. Look for its service history.
  2. Worn pedals are a strong sign of a used car. Extra shiny steering wheels tell the same thing.
  3. Observe the car’s bonnet and look for stone chips stuck there. It can bear signs of heavy use.
  4. Look at the odometer closely and see if the numbers are readable. Gaps between numbers can mean that it has been clocked.

FAQ:

Why my odometer stays on when car is off?

It’s completely normal for the odometer to stay on when the car is off as the odometer in most modern vehicles is programmed to stay on for a while after the car is stopped and locked.

Can you fix odometer rollback?

Unfortunately no, you can’t fix the odometer rollback. Once an odometer has been disabled or reset, it loses all of its previous data. This makes it impossible to fix the odometer rollback.

Should I buy a car with odometer rollback?

It is better not to buy a car that has an odometer rollback. An odometer rollback usually means that the owner is trying to hide something. And that is not good.

Can a mileage blocker be detected?

No, it is not possible to detect an odometer blocker or a mileage blocker. Mileage blocker interacts with KOMBI (dash). The mileage is received from here and then sent to other modules. When the mileage stops in the blocker, the module only demonstrates what is on the clock.

Are car mileage blockers illegal?

Well, technically it is not illegal to use car blockers. What the law says is it’s illegal to sell a car after adjusting its odometer.

How to reset anti theft system?

To reset your car anti-theft system, put your key inside the switch and on the ACC. Then off the ACC and do it gan after 12 minutes. Repeat it 3 or more times until resetting.

Conclusion:

When you have bought an old card and want to remove all the data of the previous owner you can do that pretty easily. Just disabling the odometer will allow you to do that.

So follow our simple process of how to disable the odometer from reading mileage and get it done. If you have any queries, then feel free to leave them below.

About John M

John contributed as a technical head at an automobile company just 2 years after his post-graduation in Automobile Engineering. He loves to lead a free life, so he left his job & started blogging. Now, he does research on every automotive problem, part & product and seeks a better solution & best products & shares his findings with his readers to help them as well as to minimize their struggle.

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