Yes it is a federal crime to alter in any way an odometer unless you provide paperwork and then the car is considered TMU (True Miles Unknown). Now the only way to do what you friend wants to do is change out the instrument cluster in full. The mileage stays with the cluster and not the computer. This may not work for all vehicles but Ihave heard it will for chevy and ford pu trucks. The mileage and hour meter are in the cluster. Just for kicks I was at a ford store and they plugged in the computer to a 05 super duty with a deisel engine. On the computer we could not find the mileage in any of the areas to look. only the dash. Just remember if you get caught doing this you are altering the mileage and can go to federal prison.

I've had customers in the past ask me to change odometers on pre-computer cars... NOPE.... won't do it. I won't even change the miles on a totally restored car. I've seen cars that underwent a total restoration and the speedo was reset to zero. I still don't think doing it is right.

it just seems to me that the disconnection of the odometer(by pass switch) at the dash board seems "too good to be true"...that the Big Auto manufacturers have too much too loose with these leased vehicles to not be sure that the traded in leased car has the actual milage shown on the odometer.


Must be several other locations within the cars computer system that can and does track the milage and they should be able to check the real milage on these cars????

Otto

the odometer is only there for the consumers use, the computer has everything it needs already stored.... he turns that car in that way, and i bet he won't be happy with what happens after that....

Can't be done on that volvo. All odometer functions are handled by the central electronic control module. The mileage display is a signal sent to the dash cluster module on the control area network ( CAN ) info bus. The cluster has no storage ability for mileage or trip mileage. The C.E.M. gets the mileage info in the form of a digital signal from the electronic brake control module by way of the CAN info bus.. The EBCM gets the info from the Vehicle Speed Sensor. Putting a "cut off switch" in there somewhere will cause some CAN Bus faults for sure which will be recorded in the C.E.M. memory.
Opening the circuit form the VSS to the EBCM will screw up the ABS and set codes, the transmission shift points controlled by the PCM and set codes and the CEM will record the faults as well. The only way to doctor the mileage would be to replace the C.E.M. and Volvo isn't likely to just sell him one over the counter. The new ones need to be programmed to the vehicle and mileage would be one piece of info they would take from the old module to put into the new module.

just to test this theory on GM truck I just put my friends cluster in my truck
both are 2002, guess what!!, his miles, trip info and hours stayed with the cluster. I think each manufacturer is doing things slightly different.

just so you know , when you go to your dealer they record your miles and its saved to that vin, lower miles would draw a big red flag.
in NYS DMV reports your inspection Miles and it DOES show up on a CARFAX.

I even heard some places like Jiffy Lube sell the miles data to Carfax just to help fight rollbacks

No offense, but I personally think your friend is a cheap dirtbag for doing that.
Just buy the miles upfront at lease inception and be done with it.

Just a thought but if your friend can afford a Volvo 2005 XC90, then he should pay for it. This is fraud and I promise you any judge will see it for that. Please let us know what happens when he goes to turn it in he will wish to god he just purchased it from the beginning.

Could have told ya that about gm and saved ya the work. GM usues the Instrument Panel Cluster Module as a major player on the info bus. Many body control systems use storage space on the IPC memory board that the instruments don't need. Just GM's way of saving money The VIN is stored in there too so don't think you can get a bone yard cluster with lower mileage and just swap it out to show lower than actual mileage. Any TECH2 scan tool can acess that info.

hey it was no work, I can swap a cluster in 3 minutes
I have a extra one that has the trans temp gauge