In the last two or three decades, the odometer in vehicles has changed from a physical spin dial in which the numbers rotated for a readout to a digital readout.
That digital odometer has progressed from a simple LED number block to a graphic as part of an electronic dashboard.
As the change from physical to virtual odometer readouts has commenced, so has the number of odometer fraud cases.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that around 450,000 vehicles are sold every year with false odometer readings. This does not include vehicles whose odometer is broken, has “rolled over” (common in older models), or otherwise not changed for non-nefarious reasons.
These are purely those which are done in order to increase the value of the vehicle. And it costs car buyers over $1 billion every year.
A recent Carfax research report says that over 2.14 million vehicles on the road have false odometers. That’s up from 2023 and up by over 18.5 percent since 2021. The areas with the most odometer roll-backs are those states which have the most used vehicle sales. Places like California, Texas, and New York. But it happens in Wyoming as well.
Busting miles (rollback fraud) is most common in used cars where the value can be greatly affected by the number on the odometer.
All other things equal, a vehicle’s value can jump by as much as 25 to 50 percent if the odometer reading is lower. Using Kelley Blue Book values as an example, a ten year old Ford F-150 with 200,000 miles on it is worth almost $4,000 less than one with 100,000.
Recent crackdowns on odometer fraud have brought charges against car dealerships nationally, including one in Illinois that is suspected of changing the dial on over 250 vehicles in just the last year alone.
For consumers, odometer fraud can be a big problem. But there are ways to tell if a vehicle you’re about to buy might have been turned back. With modern electronics, no physical sign of dashboard tampering will be obvious, but other parts of the vehicle might be giveaways.
If the vehicle has less than 20,000 miles on it, it should still be on the original tires the manufacturer shipped it with. Maintenance records can also indicate changes. Sellers often forget details like removing an oil change window sticker (or several of them) from the inside of the windshield.
Running a maintenance report or collision report on the vehicle might show mileage inconsistent with the claimed odometer reading. This was how the dealership in Illinois was caught, for example.
Buyers received Carfax or dealership maintenance records that didn’t match the odometer. Ditto with previous owners who wrote maintenance logs inside the owner’s manual. Something an unscrupulous dealer might not have checked for.
A seasoned mechanic giving a pre-purchase once-over to the vehicle might also spot things that seem more worn than the odometer might indicate they should be. Another reason to have a pre-purchase inspection done on any used vehicle.
For their part, manufacturers are working to harden the electronics in today’s computer-heavy vehicles.
Odometer fraud, one of many ways a car can potentially be “hacked” by anyone with access to its systems, is a going concern. In general, access to a vehicle’s computers requires access to the vehicle itself. Either from under the hood or inside the car.
Stellantis, the parent company behind Ram Truck, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, and Jeep, told me the following: “Mileage data in Stellantis vehicles is protected with layers of security that are in place to thwart unauthorized access.”
That’s on top of compliance with federal and state laws that require accurate odometer disclosure.
So while odometer fraud is real, it’s mostly happening in older vehicles on the used car market.
Aaron Turpen can be reached at: TurpenAaron@gmail.com
