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Carfax Warns: Odometer Rollbacks on the Rise
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Enlarge PhotoRemember the failed odometer rollback attempt in the '80s flick Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Well it seems that the electronic age has made such attempts both more numerous and more successful.
Whereas the old mechanical odometers had lockouts to prevent such hijinks, your average 13-year-old iPhone programmer can probably hack into the OBDII port on modern-day vehicles and electronically turn back the clock. With used car sales on the verge of an increase as new car sales nosedive, Bob's Shady Corner Used Car Lot is probably hiring young hackers in droves.
"Odometer fraud is alive and well," says Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax, pointing out that their research indicates a 57 percent increase in the con in the last four years. Naturally, Gamache suggests a Carfax Vehicle History Report as a good starting point, and indeed the Carfax report has become de rigeur in the used auto sales industry--for good reason. Carfax will let you check for potential odometer rollbacks for free at http://www.carfax.com/odo.
NHTSA claims that more than 450,000 cases of odometer rollbacks are reported annually, costing consumers more than $1 billion. They also say that experts have found digital odometers easier to hack than mechanical ones, and evidence of tampering is much harder to trace.--Colin Mathews
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Make sure you check out our partner sites dedicated to focused news, reviews and more for Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and the Toyota Prius.
Whereas the old mechanical odometers had lockouts to prevent such hijinks, your average 13-year-old iPhone programmer can probably hack into the OBDII port on modern-day vehicles and electronically turn back the clock. With used car sales on the verge of an increase as new car sales nosedive, Bob's Shady Corner Used Car Lot is probably hiring young hackers in droves.
"Odometer fraud is alive and well," says Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax, pointing out that their research indicates a 57 percent increase in the con in the last four years. Naturally, Gamache suggests a Carfax Vehicle History Report as a good starting point, and indeed the Carfax report has become de rigeur in the used auto sales industry--for good reason. Carfax will let you check for potential odometer rollbacks for free at http://www.carfax.com/odo.
NHTSA claims that more than 450,000 cases of odometer rollbacks are reported annually, costing consumers more than $1 billion. They also say that experts have found digital odometers easier to hack than mechanical ones, and evidence of tampering is much harder to trace.--Colin Mathews
---
Make sure you check out our partner sites dedicated to focused news, reviews and more for Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and the Toyota Prius.
Responses (5 total)
By civic hybrid | Posted: Nov 28th 2008, 05:44:34 PM
Nope, all of you are wrong! That is the speedo of the 03 Honda Civic Hybrid... Anybody doubts search images on google... And for the record ,Ford speedos are never this clear!!! btw, yes I've owned a 03 Honda Civic Hybrid...
By Colin Mathews | Posted: Nov 28th 2008, 05:15:52 PM
Marty got it - it is indeed a Ford IP. Honda's tend to have slightly crisper fonts for speedo, whereas Ford (and other domestics) tend to use smoother, smaller fonts.
By Ed | Posted: Nov 28th 2008, 04:27:57 PM
The font looks like a Honda. FOrd may have similar fonts in recent cars (maybe the Fusion Hybrid), but the above looks too neat and perfect to be a Ford.. LOL
By Marty Padgett | Posted: Nov 27th 2008, 04:48:33 PM
It's a Ford - I think.
By D.W. | Posted: Nov 27th 2008, 04:26:58 PM
I've been trying to figure out what vehicle's instrument panel is in that pic. First I thought GM Lambda. Nope. Then I thought CR-V...nope. Anyone know?
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